| Project Detail |
Brigham Young University (BYU) will apply two-step chloride volatility (TSCV) to co-extract uranium (U) and transuranics (TRU) in a solventless, gas-solid separation scheme to reduce waste volumes and repository footprint by 10x. The BYU team will reduce risks and uncertainty of the TSCV process by quantifying the volatility of U/TRU chlorides in simulated UNF mixtures, optimizing process parameters for U/TRU extraction, and demonstrating TSCV up to a one-kilogram batch size. TSCV eliminates high-level liquid waste from reprocessing UNF in solvents, and recycles hydrogen chloride gas and chlorine gas within the process. BYU’s process is proliferation resistant because no pure fissile material streams are produced. Initial performance calculations indicate that waste streams will contain <0.1% by total weight of actinides.
Potential Impact:
By identifying and addressing challenges at the back end of the fuel cycle before the deployment of future AR technologies, ONWARDS will: |
