An analysis of development and research on spent nuclear fuel reprocessing

Nuclear energy comes back to the discussions on the world stage as an energy source that does not contribute to global warming during production process. It can be chosen as the main source of power generation in some countries or complement the energy matrix in others. In this context, there is the need to develop new technologies for the management of radioactive waste generated by the production process. Final repositories for spent fuel are not yet in commercial operation, and techniques for fuel reprocessing have been developed, because after use, the fuel still has materials that produce energy. Some countries already use reprocessing, and develop research to make it more secure and more competitive, while others prefer to adopt policies to prevent developments in this area due to the problem of nuclear proliferation. In another line of research, new reactors are being developed in order to reduce the amount of waste in energy production and some will be designed to work in closed loop, recycling the materials generated.     

The problem of used nuclear fuel: lessons for interim solutions from a comparative cost analysis

An acceptable long-term solution for used (spent) fuel from nuclear power reactors has evaded all countries engaged in the civilian nuclear fuel cycle. Furthermore, many countries are trying to develop interim storage solutions that address the shortage of storage in the spent fuel cooling pools at reactors. The United States has a particularly acute problem due to its adherence to an open fuel cycle and its large number of reactors. Two main options are available to address the spent fuel problem: dry storage on-site at reactors and centralized storage at a facility away from reactors. Key to deciding which option makes better policy sense is the comparative economics of the two options. This paper provides one of the few comprehensive comparisons of costs for the two alternatives and discusses implications for other schemes and possible alternative solutions to the spent fuel problem for the United States.     

China's spent nuclear fuel management: Current practices and future strategies

Although China's nuclear power industry is relatively young and the management of its spent nuclear fuel is not yet a concern, China's commitment to nuclear energy and its rapid pace of development require detailed analyses of its future spent fuel management policies. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of China's fuel cycle program and its reprocessing policy, and to suggest strategies for managing its future fuel cycle program. The study is broken into four sections. The first reviews China's current nuclear fuel cycle program and facilities. The second discusses China's current spent fuel management methods and the storage capability of China's 13 operational nuclear power plants. The third estimates China's total accumulated spent fuel, its required spent fuel storage from present day until 2035, when China expects its first commercialized fast neutron reactors to be operational, and its likely demand for uranium resources. The fourth examines several spent fuel management scenarios for the present period up until 2035; the financial cost and proliferation risk of each scenario is evaluated. The study concludes that China can and should maintain a reprocessing operation to meet its R&D activities before its fast reactor program is further developed.     

Implications of the new National Energy Basic Plan for nuclear waste management in Korea

The Korean National Energy Committee has recently adopted a new National Energy Basic Plan according to which the electricity generated by nuclear power plants is to increase from the current 35.5% of total electricity production to 59% by 2030. This large increase in nuclear power will inevitably accelerate the accumulation of spent fuel; if the direct disposal option is pursued, spent fuel arisings in Korea are expected to exceed 100,000 tHM in 2100. It is estimated that the country will require between 10–22 disposal sites, each with an area equal to the Gyeongju low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) disposal site, to accommodate this amount of spent fuel. However, considering Korea's geographic profile, securing this number of sites will be almost impossible, and will ultimately create a serious problem for the sustainability of nuclear energy in the country. In view of this dilemma, this paper recommends that the volume of Korean nuclear waste for disposal be significantly reduced, and offers sodium fast reactor (SFR)-based recycling as a potentially viable solution.     

Future regional nuclear fuel cycle cooperation in East Asia: Energy security costs and benefits

Economic growth in East Asia has rapidly increased regional energy, and especially, electricity needs. Many of the countries of East Asia have sought or are seeking to diversify their energy sources and bolster their energy supply and/or environmental security by developing nuclear power. Rapid development of nuclear power in East Asia brings with it concerns regarding nuclear weapons proliferation associated with uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel management. This article summarizes the development and analysis of four different scenarios of nuclear fuel cycle management in East Asia, including a scenario where each major nuclear power user develops uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel individually, scenarios featuring cooperation in the full fuel cycle, and a scenario where reprocessing is avoided in favor of dry cask storage of spent fuel. The material inputs and outputs and costs of key fuel cycle elements under each scenario are summarized.     

A study of the probabilistic risk assessment to the dry storage system of spent nuclear fuel

Due to the large power supply in the energy market since 1960s, the nuclear power planets have been consistently constructed throughout the world in order to maintain and supply sufficient fundamental power generation. Up to now, most of the planets have been operated to a point where the spent fuel pool has reached its design capacity volume. To prevent the plant from shutdown due to the spent fuel pool exceeding the design capacity, the dry cask storage can provides a solution for both the spent fuel pool capacity and the mid-term storage method for the spent fuel bundles at nuclear power planet.     

An international comparison of regulatory organizations and licensing procedures for new nuclear power plants

This paper considers measures needed to license new nuclear power plants efficiently. We base our analysis on international standards and a comparison of the national regulatory and licensing framework in seven countries (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the USA). We split the review into the organization of regulatory responsibilities and the licensing process. We propose a set of considerations that should be incorporated into national solutions. While conscious of the different cultural fundamentals of each region, we hope this paper will help fuel an emerging debate on this highly topical issue.     

Licensing of nuclear power plants: The case of Sweden in an international comparison

Efficient power plant licensing procedures are essential for the functioning of deregulated electricity markets. The purpose of this paper is to review and analyse the licensing process for nuclear power plants in Sweden, and in part contrast the Swedish case with the corresponding approaches in a selection of other countries. This approach permits a discussion of how licensing processes can be altered and what the benefits and drawbacks of such changes are. The paper highlights and discusses a number of important legal issues and implications, including, for instance: (a) the role of political versus impartial decision-making bodies; (b) the tension between national policy goals and implementation at the local level; (c) public participation and access to justice; (d) consistency and clarity of the legal system; and (e) the introduction of license time limits.     

China needing a cautious approach to nuclear power strategy

China is leading the recent revival of nuclear energy programs. The Chinese government plans to increase nuclear generating capacity to 40 GWe by 2020, while the installed capacity is 8.6 GWe in 2007. In view of the enthusiasm shown for nuclear electricity throughout the country, the actual scale of Chinese nuclear power development is expected to reach 70 GWe by 2020. However, the low cost proven uranium reverses (cost category to <130 US $/kg) in China only meet half demand of 40 GWe capacity in 2020. And overlying China's increased demand is continued political sensitivity about the uranium trade. Meanwhile, the capacity of China's spent fuel reprocessing cannot keep up with the increasing spent fuel. And the legal administrative system of radioactive waste and spent fuel management is outdated. Hence it is proposed in this paper that the accelerated development of nuclear power industry is not good, and the over-accelerated development may be harmful, without appropriately considering the uranium resources and spent fuel management.     

Thermal analysis of a spent fuel cask in different transport conditions

Like all industries, the generation of electricity from Nuclear Power Plant produces wastes to be managed. Spent fuel element casks used for transport of nuclear materials must be designed according to rigorous acceptance criteria and standards requirements, e.g. International Atomic Energy Agency ones, in order to provide protection to people and environment against radiation exposure.The aim of this work was the evaluation of the integrity of spent fuel cask under both normal and accident transport conditions, such as impact (9 m drop impact event onto a flat, essentially unyielding, horizontal surface, in the most damaging orientation) and rigorous fire events (full exposure to an engulfing fire for 30 min (fire test) or to an environment at 800 °C temperature for a numerical simulation or for a furnace test).Using the finite element code ANSYS both steady-state and transient thermal analyses were carried out to determine the maximum fuel temperature and the temperatures behaviour into the cask, considering all the heat transfer modes between the cask and the external environment as well as inside the cask itself. Moreover, both wet and dry fuel storage inside the cavity of the body were analyzed. The obtained results, used for the new licensing approval by the Italian competent Authority of the cask for PWR spent fuel transport, are discussed.     

Heat removable limit for nuclear fuel

The imminent revival of nuclear power has progressed in recent years and many countries, including the U.S., are planning construction of new NPPs (nuclear power plants). This movement is called “Nuclear Renaissance.” In the fuel assembly design of a nuclear reactor, the heat‐removal limit (critical power, critical heat flux), below which generated heat can be removed without a sudden rise of fuel temperature, is one of the design limits. From the perspective of ensuring reliability and safety of nuclear reactors, it is very important to predict this limit with sufficient precision. The purpose of this paper is to review the following items:

• (1) State‐of‐the‐art simulation techniques to predict the heat‐removal limit
• (2) Cutting‐edge design concepts to enhance the heat‐removal limit
• (3) A challenge beyond the heat‐removal limit by introducing the post‐BT (boiling transition) criteria

In this paper, aiming for more efficient processes and a higher level of optimization in the nuclear fuel design, the importance of some key physical models and relevant experimental data is focused in order to improve prediction accuracy of the heat transfer including the post BT region. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; 39(7): 482–491, 2010; Published online 2 June 2010 in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20308     

A comparison of the nuclear options for greenhouse gas mitigation in China and in the United States

China is quickly building up its nuclear power capacity while the hailed nuclear renaissance in the United States has been largely stagnant. The political and industrial structures explain the divergent paths. This paper draws lessons from the French experiences in deploying nuclear power and uses the lessons in comparing Chinese and U.S. policies. An authoritative political system and state-owned utility industry allow China to emulate the French approaches such as government-backed financing and broad-scale deployment with standardized design. The democratic political system and fragmented utility industry, and the laissez-faire ideology in the United States, on the other hand, are unfavorable to a nuclear renaissance. The prospect of a nuclear revival in the United States remains highly uncertain.     

核能发电的优点及世界核电发展动向

首先介绍了核电在资源、环境和经济性方面的情况,指出核电用的核燃料在地壳和海洋中的储藏量在相当长的时间内不会因为一定规模的核动力应用而出现资源紧张的状况;核电是各种能源中温室气体排放量最小的发电方式,核电与其他发电方式在经济方面具有可比性。然后介绍了世界各国和我国核电的发展趋势,最后提出面对发展核电的大好局面应注意的问题。     

Conditioned minimization of fuel feed rate for a CANDU-600 MWe reactor

A nonlinear programming optimization problem is considered for the case in which the decision vector is the vector of zonal irradiation while the objective function is the equilibrium fuel feed rate with a CANDU-600 reactor subject to certain restrictions regarding the reactivity excess and the maximum powers per channel and bundle. The objective and restriction functions of the system are estimated within a time average approximation of a three-dimensional two-group diffusion type, with the control systems uniformly immersed within the reactor, and also considering the newest increments of the parasitic absorbents using FMDP program. The optimization problem is solved by means of the SUMT method, modified so as to become a technique of sequential solving for certain subproblems of linear optimization through the application of LPROG program. The results are presented as optimal vectors of zonal irradiation and as optimal values of fuel feed rate, with some two-zone cases, which establish the best zonal configuration. This configuration is then extended to a four-zone case which is analysed in a similar manner, evidencing a saving potential which gives the possibiliy of increasing the reactor performance.     

Multilateral approach to the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle in Asia-Pacific?

In spite of the nearly unprecedented scale of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident which caused countries around the world to review their nuclear power systems and to rethink their nuclear power expansion plans, nuclear power capacity continues to grow, spearheaded by the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific has become a major emerging market for nuclear energy industry, which indicates that the management of spent nuclear fuel is likely to be a nuisance for the countries in this region in the coming decades. By reviewing the history of discussions on multilateral approaches to the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and examining relevant empirical cases, this article aims to explore the feasibility of a multilateral approach to the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle in this region and provide some policy suggestions to enhance nuclear governance in the Asia-Pacific.     

Choosing a standard reactor: International competition and domestic politics in Chinese nuclear policy

China has ambitious plans to expand its nuclear power capacity. One of the policy goals that high-level policymakers have desired is to base the nuclear program on a standardized reactor design. However, this has not materialized so far. By examining its nuclear reactor choices for individual projects, we argue that China’s policymaking process has been greatly influenced by international competition and domestic politics. Multiple international nuclear vendors are intent upon maintaining their respective niches in the expanding Chinese reactor market, and they have used various forms of economic and political pressure to achieve their objectives. On the other hand, China’s policymaking process is fragmented and the shifting power balances among powerful domestic actors do not allow a fixed path to be followed. Further, because of the high costs and potential profits involved, nuclear reactor choices in China have been driven not just by technical considerations but also by foreign and trade policy objectives. All of these make it unlikely that China will standardize the reactor type it constructs in the near future.     

火电与核电的厂址选择及差异性分析

针对建设节约型企业的要求,对火电与核电的厂址选择的差异性进行了分析,以达到节约建设用地的目的,对建成节约型企业具有指导意义。     

On the reconstruction of the fisson products distribution in nuclear fuel rods

The maximum likelihood tomographic method is used to reconstruct the radioactive fission products distribution in irradiated fuel pins from a very small number of projections. The method can be used to analyse the behaviour of the nuclear fuel during irradiation and also to obtain an improvement in burn-up estimation. An experimental result, for a CANDU type fuel pin, is reported. A criterion for optimally stopping the iterative algorithm is suggested.     

Fostering a renewable energy technology industry: An international comparison of wind industry policy support mechanisms

This article examines the importance of national and sub-national policies in supporting the development of successful global wind turbine manufacturing companies. We explore the motivations behind establishing a local wind power industry, and the paths that different countries have taken to develop indigenous large wind turbine manufacturing industries within their borders. This is done through a cross-country comparison of the policy support mechanisms that have been employed to directly and indirectly promote wind technology manufacturing in 12 countries. We find that in many instances there is a clear relationship between a manufacturer's success in its home country market and its eventual success in the global wind power market. Whether new wind turbine manufacturing entrants are able to succeed will likely depend in part on the utilization of their turbines in their own domestic market, which in turn will be influenced by the annual size and stability of that market. Consequently, policies that support a sizable, stable market for wind power, in conjunction with policies that specifically provide incentives for wind power technology to be manufactured locally, are most likely to result in the establishment of an internationally competitive wind industry.     

Comparative study of different nuclear fuel cycle options: Quantitative analysis on material flow

As a nation develops its nuclear strategies, it must consider various aspects of nuclear energy such as sustainability, environmental-friendliness, proliferation-resistance, economics, technologies, and so on. A nuclear fuel cycle study could give convincing answers to many questions in regard to technical aspects. However, one nuclear fuel cycle option cannot be superior in all aspects. Therefore a nation must identify its top priority and accordingly evaluate all the possible nuclear fuel cycle options. For such a purpose, this paper examined four different fuel cycle options that are likely to be plausible under situation of Republic of Korea: once-through cycle, DUPIC recycling, thermal recycling using MOX fuel in PWR (pressurized water reactor), and SFR (sodium cooled fast reactor) employing fuel recycling by a pyroprocess. The options have been quantitatively compared in terms of resource utilization and waste generation based on 1 TWh electricity production at a “steady-state” condition as a basic analysis. This investigation covered from the front-end of the fuel cycles to the final disposal and showed that the Pyro-SFR recycling appears to be the most competitive from these material quantitative aspects due to the reduction of the required uranium resources and the least amount of waste generation.