{"id":45398,"date":"2024-05-30T13:21:24","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T13:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saperemarketing.com\/clearpath\/?p=45398"},"modified":"2024-05-30T14:00:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T14:00:11","slug":"advanced-nuclear-fuel-201","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saperemarketing.com\/clearpath\/tech-101\/advanced-nuclear-fuel-201\/","title":{"rendered":"Advanced Nuclear Fuel 201"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Congratulations! If you have read our Nuclear Fuel 101<\/a>, you are already well on your way to understanding the importance of the nuclear fuel supply chain. This second installation goes a bit further, discussing what happens after fuel is used, innovations in nuclear fuel and why new types of fuel are important for new reactor designs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovative Reactors Demand Innovative Fuel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most new advanced reactor designs incorporate passive and inherent safety features (like heat transfer) that remove the need for active, engineered safety systems (like a pump or valve). This allows designs to shut down naturally and safely in case of an event, like a total loss of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advanced reactors are designed to be smaller, more affordable, safer, and more fuel efficient. Like other types of new reactors \u2013 fast reactors<\/a> \u2013 can harness the energy from used fuel. This could reduce proliferation risks and decrease the volume of high-level nuclear waste by around 85%<\/a>. Currently, the U.S. safely stores<\/a> used nuclear fuel at more than 80 sites across 35 states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Used Fuel Storage and Recycling: The Back End of The Nuclear Fuel Cycle<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After nuclear fuel is used in nuclear reactors, there are a few options for managing the fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storage. <\/strong>When removed from any type of reactor, nuclear fuel continues to emit both radiation and heat. Once the fuel has reached the end of its useful life, the assembly is loaded into a nearby storage pool to allow the heat and radiation levels to decrease. After several years, the fuel may be transferred to naturally-ventilated storage, typically in dry casks like the ones shown below at the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Comanche Peak Nuclear Plant<\/a> has provided jobs for 1,300 workers since 1990 and supplies Texans with 2,425 MWe, enough to power 500,000 homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recycling. <\/strong>One factor that makes nuclear energy so unique is the ability to reprocess and recycle used fuel. In a reactor, uranium splits into two new atoms (or elements). Over time, these new atoms build up like dirt on a windshield until the fuel is no longer usable. Used fuel reprocessing removes that \u201cdirt,\u201d giving the remaining uranium a second life. Even after several years in a reactor, the fuel retains more than 90% of its potential energy<\/a>. Globally, in 2019, recycled fuel replaced the need for more than 2,200 tons<\/a> of new natural uranium, despite reprocessing capacity being limited to<\/a> France, the U.K., Russia, Japan and India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle<\/span><\/p>\n\"\"<\/p>

Source: World Nuclear Association<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovations in Nuclear Fuel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a number of innovations in nuclear fuel that are currently in early stage use or research, development and demonstration (RD&D) phases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recycling Innovation: MOX fuel is recycled fuel for existing reactors.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Mixed oxide fuel<\/a> (MOX) is the second, third, fourth and even fifth life of the low-enriched uranium (LEU) from light water reactors (LWRs). Programs that leverage MOX fuel exist in Europe, Russia, and Japan. MOX fuel has been used commercially since the 1980s, and currently fuels about 10% of France\u2019s nuclear plants<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making MOX fuel requires mixing depleted uranium with plutonium. Depleted uranium is the less-valuable coproduct from uranium enrichment. Plutonium is produced naturally in the reactor\u2019s fuel during operation and can be extracted from used fuel during reprocessing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOX fuel can be used in qualified existing reactors alongside fresh fuel. They decrease the overall amount of waste produced per megawatt, reduce the consumption of natural uranium by about 20%<\/a> with each recycle and can be recycled up to five times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuel Form Innovation: TRISO pellets are the safest form of fuel for advanced reactors. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n