Abstract

The chemical reprocessing of discharged nuclear reactor fuel allows the large quantities of energy found in uranium and plutonium to be recycled back to the reactors while separating out the fission products as a waste stream. The PUREX process, used to recycle nuclear reactor fuel, was developed as part of the U.S. defense program. This process is described. The world's principal fuel reprocessing centers are located in the U.K., France, and Japan. Smaller units are operating in India. No chemical reprocessing takes place in the United States.

Chemical reprocessing involves fuel decladding, mechanically cutting or shearing the tubing in which the nuclear fuel is encapsulated, and fuel dissolution, prior to chemical separation of the nonradioactive materials, the fission products, and the unburned fuel. Several types of countercurrent solvent extraction equipment are used to separate the useful components. The uranium and plutonium products are converted to oxides from which recycle fuel is fabricated. The wastes are safely stored for future disposal.