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The busyness of the nuclear fuel supply chain
Ken Petersenpresident@ans.org
With all that is happening in the industry these days, the nuclear fuel supply chain is still a hot topic. The Russian assault in Ukraine continues to upend the “where” and “how” of attaining nuclear fuel—and it has also motivated U.S. legislators to act.
Two years into the Russian war with Ukraine, things are different. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, authorizing $700 million in funding to support production of high-assay low-enriched uranium in the United States. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy this January issued a $500 million request for proposals to stimulate new HALEU production. The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 includes $2.7 billion in funding for new uranium enrichment production. This funding was diverted from the Civil Nuclear Credits program and will only be released if there is a ban on importing Russian uranium into the United States—which could happen by the time this column is published, as legislation that bans Russian uranium has passed the House as of this writing and is headed for the Senate. Also being considered is legislation that would sanction Russian uranium. Alternatively, the Biden-Harris administration may choose to ban Russian uranium without legislation in order to obtain access to the $2.7 billion in funding.
B. R. Westphal, K. J. Bateman, C. D. Morgan, J. F. Berg, P. J. Crane, D. G. Cummings, J. J. Giglio, M. W. Huntley, R. P. Lind, D. A. Sell
Nuclear Technology | Volume 162 | Number 2 | May 2008 | Pages 153-157
Technical Paper | First International Pyroprocessing Research Conference | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A3942
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The development of a head-end processing step for spent oxide fuel that applies to both aqueous and pyrometallurgical technologies is being performed by the Idaho National Laboratory, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute through a joint International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative. The processing step employs high temperatures and oxidative gases to promote the oxidation of UO2 to U3O8. Potential benefits of the head-end step include the removal or reduction of fission products as well as separation of the fuel from cladding. The effects of temperature, pressure, oxidative gas, and cladding have been studied with irradiated spent oxide fuel to determine the optimum conditions for process control. Experiments with temperatures ranging from 500 to 1250°C have been performed on spent fuel using either air or oxygen gas for the oxidative reaction. Various flow rates and applications have been tested with the oxidative gases to discern the effects on the process. Tests have also been performed under vacuum conditions, following the oxidation cycle, at high temperatures to improve the removal of fission products. The effects of cladding on fission product removal have also been investigated with released fuel under vacuum and high-temperature conditions. Results from these experiments will be presented as well as operating conditions based on particle size and decladding characteristics.