Process intensification applied to spent nuclear fuel reprocessing: An alternative flowsheet using small channels

摘要

Commercial plants for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing rely on the Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) process, based on traditional liquid-liquid extraction technologies. In this paper, an alternative flowsheet for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing is proposed, based on small-scale extractors to overcome some of the issues related to the conventional technologies, such as solvent degradation, size and nuclear criticality control. The main goal of the process is to preclude the risk of nuclear proliferation, hence a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide is produced instead of pure plutonium.