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Launching into tomorrow: NRIC guides new era of research and deployment
In June 2025, the Department of Energy announced the Reactor Pilot Program, an authorization pathway that allowed reactor developers to partner with the DOE to get first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactors built and tested. Soon after, the DOE rolled out a complementary Fuel Line Pilot Program, which aimed to fast-track fuel projects. In all, 20 projects were accepted into the new programs.
D. C. Witt, R. F. Bradley
Nuclear Technology | Volume 43 | Number 2 | April 1979 | Pages 244-258
Technical Paper | The Back End of the Light Water Reactor Fuel Cycle / Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A16315
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
One alternative for closing the nuclear fuel cycle is efficient, high decontamination separation of uranium and plutonium and fabrication of a Pu-U mixed-oxide fuel Detailed flowsheets were prepared by Savannah River Laboratory for a conceptual 10 MT/day reprocessing facility. The generation of liquid waste and the associated liquid waste handling facilities for the reprocessing plant were defined. Over 40 individual waste streams were identified. The reference facility generates 6.4 m3 (1700 gal) of high-level liquid waste (HLLW) per day, which is converted to 0.5 m3 (130 gal) of glass contained in three packages, each 0.3 m (12 in.) in diameter × 3 m (10 ft) high. Each operating day, the process converts 2.9 m3 (775 gal) of concentrated intermediate-level liquid waste (ILLW) to 4 m3 (1050 gal) of cemented solid in 21 carbon steel drums. Large-scale underground tank storage of liquid waste is eliminated by prompt solidification of the HLLW and ILLW. Each container of glass contains 30 kW nuclear decay heat and must be stored in water for an interim period prior to shipment to a federal repository.