Production Electrometallurgical Treatment of EBR-II Spent Fuel

摘要

Following the successful demonstration of electrometallurgical treatment, the Spent Fuel Treatment Program was established at Argonne National Laboratory* (ANL) to treat sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel. The treatment of 24,750 kg of heavy metal is included in this program. Production treatment operations begin in September 2000. The program also includes additional research and development activities to increase process throughput and to obtain final qualification of the resulting high-level waste. Through two years, all Department of Energy (DOE) milestones established for the program have been met or exceeded. Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) at ANL-West in Idaho was treated during the demonstration. Sodium was used within the fuel elements to provide a thermal bond between the fuel matrix and cladding. This sodium metal is highly reactive. Because of its presence, the fuel is generally believed to be unsuitable for direct disposal in a geological repository and to require treatment. Table 1 provides a list of the sodium-bonded spent fuel in the DOE complex.