<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Recycling of actinides by their separation from spent nuclear fuel, followed by transmutation in fast neutron reactors of Generation IV, is considered the most promising strategy for nuclear waste management. Closing the fuel cycle and burning long-lived actinides allows optimizing the use of natural resources and minimizing the long-term hazard of high-level nuclear waste. Moreover, improving the safety and sustainability of nuclear power worldwide. This paper presents the activities striving to meet these challenges, carried out under the Euratom FP7 collaborative project SACSESS (Safety of Actinide Separation Processes). Emphasis is put on the safety issues of fuel reprocessing and waste storage. Two types of actinide separation processes, hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical, are considered, as well as related aspects of material studies, process modeling and the radiolytic stability of solvent extraction systems. Education and training of young researchers in nuclear chemistry is of particular importance for further development of this field.</p></abstract>

Recycling of actinides by their separation from spent nuclear fuel, followed by transmutation in fast neutron reactors of Generation IV, is considered the most promising strategy for nuclear waste management. Closing the fuel cycle and burning long-lived actinides allows optimizing the use of natural resources and minimizing the long-term hazard of high-level nuclear waste. Moreover, improving the safety and sustainability of nuclear power worldwide. This paper presents the activities striving to meet these challenges, carried out under the Euratom FP7 collaborative project SACSESS (Safety of Actinide Separation Processes). Emphasis is put on the safety issues of fuel reprocessing and waste storage. Two types of actinide separation processes, hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical, are considered, as well as related aspects of material studies, process modeling and the radiolytic stability of solvent extraction systems. Education and training of young researchers in nuclear chemistry is of particular importance for further development of this field.

SACSESS – the EURATOM FP7 project on actinide separation from spent nuclear fuels

Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA), Radiochemistry and Process Department, Marcoule, France

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Postfach 3640, D-76021, Karlsruhe, Germany

Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, 16 Dorodna Str., 03-195 Warsaw, Poland

Nukleonika

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Recycling of actinides by their separation from spent nuclear fuel, followed by transmutation in fast neutron reactors of Generation IV, is considered the most...

SACSESS – the EURATOM FP7 project on actinide separation from spent nuclear fuels

Published Online: Dec 30, 2015

Page range: 809 - 814

Received: Oct 09, 2015

Accepted: Oct 09, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nuka-2015-0152

Keywords
actinide separation, minor actinides, nuclear fuel reprocessing, partitioning, solvent extraction, pyrochemical separations

© by Stéphane Bourg

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

SACSESS – the EURATOM FP7 project on actinide separation from spent nuclear fuels

Published Online: Dec 30, 2015

Page range: 809 - 814

Received: Oct 09, 2015

Accepted: Oct 09, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nuka-2015-0152

Keywordsactinide separation, minor actinides, nuclear fuel reprocessing, partitioning, solvent extraction, pyrochemical separations

© by Stéphane Bourg

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
actinide separation, minor actinides, nuclear fuel reprocessing, partitioning, solvent extraction, pyrochemical separations