Use of decay heat from spent nuclear fuel processed by electro-reduction

摘要

A method of reprocessing spent oxide nuclear fuel is described comprising: removing the spent oxide fuel from its cladding; electrolytically reducing the spent fuel to an alloy of uranium and other metallic elements in a molten salt at a temperature above the melting point of uranium; continuing the electrolysis without adding further oxide fuel until the majority of plutonium and other actinides have been reduced to metal and have mixed into the molten alloy; and then transferring the molten alloy to a molten metal/molten salt contacting apparatus where the plutonium and higher actinides are extracted into a further molten salt containing uranium trichloride. The process may be repeated multiple times without changing the molten salt electrolyte, the resulting highly radioactive heat generating salt being used to heat a working fluid which is then used to generate electricity. The further molten salt may also be used as fuel for a molten salt nuclear reactor.