Fuel Recycling and MOX Production Atoms for the Future Challenges of reactors and Fuel Cycle Projects Philippe KNOCHE AREVA CEO
Used Nuclear Fuels Perspective and Challenges (1000 thm) LWR Used Fuel Inventories +70% thm/y LWR Used Fuel Annual Unloading +90% Global nuclear capacity is expected to increase significantly by 2030 Deep geological repository will remain a necessary but scarce resource 2025-2040 >2050 2013 2030 2013 2030 Optimizing the use of scarce resources is critical for the durability of the nuclear power 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p2
Nuclear utilities are facing major challenges Used Fuel Management Significant inventories Scarcity of (or major delay in developing) final disposal path Reactors life extension Main issues Saturation of reactors pools and constraints on operations Safety demonstration Public acceptance/lt storage Solutions Treatment with return of residues as a possible solution >2050 Reactors shut-down Pool unloading for phase out Public acceptance Industrial interim systems not always capable of bridging the gap New reactors Damaged fuels Recycling of damaged fuels More than 450 defective FA treated Uncertainty over used fuels LT behavior Difficulty to get new license Recycling is a way to mitigate main risks 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p3
Reprocessing and Recycling in a nutshell 96% is recyclable Reusable material Waste Plutonium 1 % Uranium 95 % Fission products 4 % Metallic structure Recycling MOX Fuel (1) ERU Fuel (2) Canisters Glass CSD-V Compacted Waste CSD-C (1) MOX : Mixed Oxide (2) Enriched Reprocessed Uranium 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p4
Two Main Options for Used Fuel Management Over Time Once-through Used Fuel = Waste Recycling Used Fuel= Valuable Material + 4% waste ~10 yrs Reprocessing- Recycling Industrial operations Constraints for time, space, and safeguards MOX LWR and FR ERU Universal canister Reconditioning for transport Encapsulation Under development Interim - Storage Absence of Constraints for time, space and «safeguards» Technical and economical uncertainties Final Disposal Optimized in footprint (by 4), volume (by 5) and toxicity (by 10) 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p5
Radioactivity (GBq/tiHM) Benefits of Closed Fuel Cycle - Waste Reduction and Best in Class Waste Conditioning 10 8 10 7 10 6 10 5 10 4 10 3 Natural Uranium 10 2 10 10 100 10 3 10 4 10 5 10 6 Time (years) Glass scientifically proven to be a very robust matrix against alteration by water Reduction (by a factor of 4) of the HLW final repository footprint No safeguards requirements 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p6
The main stages in recycling Treatment operations (shearing dissolution separation - purification) Recycled Fuel Fuel elements U Pu Unloading Interim storage Hulls and end-pieces Vitrified residues (CSD/V) Compacted redidues (CSD/C) Ultimate Waste At each stage, nuclear material accounting under EURATOM and IAEA safeguards 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p7
Current achievements Nuclear Fuel Cycle implemented in France Uranium mining and concentration ~ 8000 t/year Yellow Cake Conversion UF 6 Enrichment ~ 5.5 MUTS/year Enriched UF 6 Fuel fabrication Reprocessed Uranium(RU) Geological Disposal Plutonium Reprocessing UC-V UC-C 58 NPPs 22 with MOX 4 with REPU 430 TWhe /year Spent fuel 1200 t/y HLW Geological Disposal Facility footprint divided by 4 Depleted Uranium MOX ~120 t/y ERU Very low, low and intermediate level waste ENU ~1050 t/y Fuel Assemblies Near Surface Disposal 25 500 tons Natural Uranium Savings 18 940 tons of UNF Interim Storage savings 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p8
Going Forward Securing existing industrial capacity Maintaining aging facilities: corrosion, technology obsolescence (IT), regulatory evolutions AREVA is continuously improving its processes and technologies, reducing waste, environmental impact, and personnel exposure La Hague plant 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p9
Going Forward Expanding capabilities of existing plants Vitrification of a wider range of product (UMo ) New technology developed by AREVA and CEA: Cold Crucible Melter vitrification technology Vitrification cell constructed at the Beaumont-Hague Research Hall (HRB) Recycling additional types of fuels Research reactor fuels MOX fuels from LWR and FR TCP Project Vitrification cell, La Hague TCP project, in R1 facility, La Hague 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p10
Challenges to address Used MOX fuel management LT: independance from natural uranium Requires Plutonium multirecycling, for waste reduction and natural resources savings GEN(IV) - ASTRID project led by CEA Multirecycling in LWR? Step by step SFR deployment: Going Forward Preparing the future ASTRID Reactor 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p11
Step by step SFR deployment Impact on waste 420 TWh/y nuclear fleet Open cycle LWR (0) Twice Through Cycle (A) Closed cycle PWR/FBR (B) Multirecycling FR (D) FR share (Gwe %) 0% 0% 5% 100% Repository footprint HLW (m²/twh) Used fuel potential (m²/twh) Global potential (m²/twh) - 150 170 170 490 180 120 0 490 330 290 170 Source: http://www.cea.fr/multimedia/documents/publications/rapports/avancees-recherches-separation-transmutation-et-multirecyclage-pu-rnr.pdf Each successive step reduces further the final repository footprint, up to a fully closed cycle HLW produced by current fuel cycle is already at the optimum: no need to wait for future technology 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p12
Conclusion Sustainable nuclear energy requires providing a final repository for waste arising from electricity production A proven industrial answer to the challenge of used fuel management Waste reduction Best available technology for waste conditioning Used fuel inventory management Resource savings A flexible solution to prepare the future of nuclear power 27-06-2016 Atoms for the Future Fuel recycling and MOX fabrication - p13
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