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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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AI at work: Southern Nuclear’s adoption of Copilot agents drives fleet forward
Southern Nuclear is leading the charge in artificial intelligence integration, with employee-developed applications driving efficiencies in maintenance, operations, safety, and performance.
The tools span all roles within the company, with thousands of documented uses throughout the fleet, including improved maintenance efficiency, risk awareness in maintenance activities, and better-informed decision-making. The data-intensive process of preparing for and executing maintenance operations is streamlined by leveraging AI to put the right information at the fingertips for maintenance leaders, planners, schedulers, engineers, and technicians.
Jessica Mitchell, Robert M. Counce, Jack S. Watson, B. B. Spencer, G. D. Del Cul
Nuclear Technology | Volume 170 | Number 3 | June 2010 | Pages 422-429
Technical Paper | Reprocessing | doi.org/10.13182/NT10-A10328
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Recycle of nitric acid in the UREX+ process requires removal of acetic acid. An analysis of the effects of acetic acid in each process step indicates no step will be significantly affected by the concentrations expected. Thus, acetic acid removal can be placed after the last salts are removed, just before the nitric acid is recycled. Two promising removal options have been considered, solvent extraction and distillation. Distillation requires removal of most of the water before large fractions of acetic acid are removed. The process would be energy intensive and would involve the handling of extremely concentrated nitric acid; therefore, solvent extraction appears to be more attractive.