Authored by Georgina Jedikovska via Interesting Engineering,
A US startup has joined forces with the nation's first national laboratory to recycle spent nuclear fuel into energy for fast reactors by using advanced pyroprocessing technology.
New York-based nuclear technology company BLSK Energy announced on May 18 that it had signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in Illinois to commercialize the method.
Pyroprocessing (or pyrochemical processing) is a high-temperature metallurgical process that could enable the reuse of nuclear fuel. When used with fast reactors, it could extract up to 100 times more energy from uranium.
The company plans to launch a pilot recycling facility by 2034 that would convert nuclear waste into material suitable for advanced fast reactors. "The path ahead is ambitious but achievable," Bruce Landrey, BLSK Energy's managing director and co-founder, said.
The US has accumulated about 95,000 tonnes (104,000 US tons) of used nuclear fuel. They are currently stored at over 75 locations across the country. However,spent nuclear fuelis radioactive and thermally hot when removed from a reactor.
Moreover,even though up to 96 percent of it is made up ofleftover uranium, the main fuel used in nuclear reactors, it also contains radioactive waste products and elements heavier than uranium, like plutonium, which is incredibly hazardous.
While long-delayed plans for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel remain unresolved, the nuclear industry faces another challenge in securing enough fuel for future reactors. Limited fuel supplies and rising costs are both major hurdles for advanced reactor development.
To tackle the challenge, BLSK Energy's pilot recycling facility will use pyrochemical processing to convert nuclear waste into usable reactor fuel. The company gained exclusive access to the technology through its agreement with ANL, which in turn, first developed the process.
The deal further gives the firm access to ANL's experienced nuclear reprocessing scientists, engineers, as well as research facilities. "BLSK has the rare opportunity to address the two critical issues facing nuclear power; answering the question, 'what about the waste?' while delivering a reliable cost-effective supply of fuel for advanced reactors," Landrey continued.
Source: ZeroHedge News
