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NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Laurence Rault, Murielle Heusch, Michel Allibert, Florent Lemort, Xavier Deschanel, Roger Boen
Nuclear Technology | Volume 139 | Number 2 | August 2002 | Pages 167-174
Technical Paper | Reprocessing | doi.org/10.13182/NT02-A3311
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The investigation of the actinide and lanthanide distribution between a liquid metal and a molten fluoride salt shows a significant increase of the separation coefficient by using an aluminum-based pyrochemical system instead of a zinc-based system. The obtained values partly depend on the LiF/AlF3 ratio and can reach more than 30 000 when AlF3 is in excess with regard to the formation of the cryolite (Li3 AlF6). Furthermore, in the metal phase, the aluminum interacts with the lanthanides to a lesser extent than in other usual metallic solvents. This opens a new way to explore the feasibility of the separation of actinides and lanthanides in the field of nuclear fuel reprocessing.