Alternative Applications of Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation Technology (1991) / Chapter Skim
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2 Findings and Recommendations
2 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 9-26
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From page 9... ...
The AVLIS program leaf the development of state-of-the-art, high-power, compact, efficient pulse power and switching power supplies; advanced copper vapor lasers; dye lasers; adaptive optics; and titanium: sapphire lasers. Many of these units were produced in-house at LLNL in many dozens of Wits to set up the AVLIS *
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From page 10... ...
lead In laser isotope separation technology, it could further improve the nation's competitive position in the international fuel cycle market, a market that is currently measured ~ billions of dollars per year. Gadolinium Isotopes for Nuclear Reactors R_3 Fo~g the mccessfid ~ alA~LlS~r~um In GUAM of 357~ - ~ ~ it, The naturally occurring mature of gadolininm omdes is now used as burnable poisons in essentially all boiling water reactors and many pressuring water reactors.
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From page 11... ...
Incorporation of more of the desired :57G~ isotope without disruption of the established fuel technology would have an added advantage with respect to fuel desk fabrication, and performance risks. A commercial process for the e~thment of gadolinium isotopes would have another considerable benefit.
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From page 12... ...
This would allow 238Pu production with other reactor types without necessarily altering their normal operations, in the event that future 238Pu cannot be met by the available heavy~water production reactors. An AVLIS facility could also be used for 242Pu and 244Pu applications, which seem to be receiving increased priority as congressional attention to safeguards and security increases.
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From page 13... ...
Thus, the costs of recovery of individual fission products and actinides and their subsequent transmutation are uncertain but likely to be very high Even aside from unfavorable economics, the nsk/benefit Of astride and fission product separation and transmutation would be vitiated unless the large quantities of alpha-particle-contam~nated waste streams generated in conventional PUREX reprocessing could be substantially reduced. The technical feasibility and costs associated with such reductions have not been demonstrated.
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From page 14... ...
Removal of long-lived fission products as well as the actinides has greater benefits, but the cost issue remains; so does the issue of the proliferation risk associated with reprocessing. With regard to the application of the AVLIS process to high-level waste management, several possibilities have been suggested such as the separation of all the actinide elements by ricing isotope separation, specifically the AVLIS process, Stead of chemical separation The rationale is that the high decontamination factors required to reduce the actinide inventory of the waste to the point where the maximum actinide risk Is proportional to the inventory may be more readily achievable by using isotope rather than elemental chemical separation techniques [32~.
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This process has already been successfully demonstrated with laboratory-type laser sources [413. At this time, it appears that there is no substantial cost advantage to isotonically pure carbon generated by laser isotope separation over that generated by alternative emsdog commercial sources.
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Miscellaneous Separations _ 1~ As port~aryDOE~ to dish orrn~e ding Chin or gas ~udge}~e soon of isotopes, sib; wifhAVLI~ should be investigated on a caste beds. Over 40 years of R&D have gone into the utilization of Calutrons and gas centrifuges for the separation of minor Isotopes.
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From page 17... ...
LLNL has proposed that the copper vapor lasers, copper-p~ped dye lasers, and harmonic-wavelength convertors be used for materials processing, particularly for welding and cutting. Copper vapor laser technologies developed for AVLIS have several potential advantages over the domm ant industrial laser ~es: CO2 and N&YAG.
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From page 18... ...
All of these spin-off technologies have achieved a new state-of-the-art performance capability and may be exploitable by venous industries or government agencies. These technologies include compact high-power switching power supplies and pulsed power systems that have been developed to drive the long-life, higbreliability copper vapor lasers; high-power copper vapor and titanium:sapphire lasers; and deformable optics.
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From page 19... ...
LLNL's proposal to use frequen~y-doubled copper vapor lasers as sources of light for DUV radiation is another example of the need for the dose Involvement of an optical stepper manufacturer. The rapid advance in reliability and average power of excimer lasers, along with the development of imaging systems that are more tolerant to the relatively broad line widths of these lasers, may weld reduce the technological edge claimed for the copper vapor laser by LLNL.
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From page 20... ...
in a less costly, more compact, and less detectable manner compared with the traditional methods of uranium enrichment, the gaseous diffusion and gas centrifuge processes. For example, given the fact that the AVLIS process developed In the United States should require only a single ennchment step or stage for the production of reactor-grade uranium (RGU; ~24% 235~, wee He "n~e =d lion proceed require on He order of 10 =d 14~ stages, respectively, it is reasonable to conclude that production of WGU by AVLIS may require only several
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From page 21... ...
as well as the actual production of enriched uranium on a laboratory scale, is within the capability of research scientists in many countries, there is a quantum leap, especially with regard to the laser system, between such efforts and the production of enriched uranium on the scale of a 100 kg/yr.t While the latter may be feasible, it has yet to be demonstrated and is far from commercially attractive. Production of significant quantities of WGU rather than RGU presents additional challenges, such as radical redesign of the RGU collector and a development and test program at high enrichment levels." The situation with regard to the traditional methods of uranium enrichment, particularly centrifugation, is in marked contrast to the above.
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From page 22... ...
Thus, such applications as the production of plutonium or gadolinium isotopes or other metallic elements would be more sensitive then applications of AVLIS components, such as the proposed uses of copper vapor lasers in materials process - . However, even such component applications may be sensitive because the scale and reliability of, for instance, copper vapor lasers, electron beam alms, and switching power supplies required In an industrial production facility compared tenth those required in a research laboratory are generally not available from commercial vendors.
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From page 23... ...
Wu, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, May 2, Summary of International Topical Meeting on LWR Fuel Performance, Avignon, France, April 22-26.
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From page 24... ...
, submitted to the Committee on Alternative Applications of Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation, p.
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From page 25... ...
1977. Isotope Separation of O'ygen-17, O'ygen-18, Carbon-13, and Deuterium by Ion Laser Induced Formaldehyde Photopredissociation.
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From page 26... ...
1979. Laser Isotope Separation: Proliferation Risks and Benefits, Vol.
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