Electrometallurgical Techniques for DOE Spent Fuel Treatment Final Report (2000) / Chapter Skim
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5 Post-Demonstration Activities
5 Post-Demonstration Activities
Pages 61-70
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From page 61... ...
Although not formally part of the demonstration, at the urging of the committee ANL developed test plans and began acquiring waste form performance data prior to the end of the demonstration.2 The status of waste form development and qualification was reviewed in this comm~ttee's ninth report.3 In addition to efforts to address these waste form issues, at least two other post-demonstration efforts are essential if the remaining sodium-bonded fuel is to be treated successfully. First, ANL-E must provide ongoing technical support to operations at ANL-W, and ANL-W must complete the required facility modifications and qualify the new, larger-scale equipment needed to handle the increased volume of fuel.
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From page 62... ...
WASTE FORM QUALIFICATION FROM A REPOSITORY PERSPECTIVE The specific data required for waste form qualification are determined by the need to ensure the long-term safety of a deep geologic repository containing such waste forms. DOE-RW is preparing, but has not yet finalized, acceptance criteria for DOE spent nuclear fuel and high level waste.
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From page 63... ...
of the EMT waste forms. In Chapter 4, the committee expresses reservations about whether the current WAPS, based on WAPS developed for monolithic borosilicate glass, are appropriate for multiphase EMT waste forms.
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From page 64... ...
Such different phases will likely experience different rates of dissolution under repository conditions. Hence, the present use of bulk leach rate tests has extremely limited value in assessing any meaningful measure of the performance of multiphase EMT waste forms in a geologic repository.
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From page 65... ...
The number of containers and the total DOE radionuclide inventory of EMT waste forms are extremely minor in comparison with the volume of commercial spent nuclear fuel and defense waste processing facility borosilicate glass intended for co-disposal at Yucca Mountain. It is conceivable that the uncertainties in radionuclide inventory and release-rate performance of these dominant waste forms may have a far greater impact on meeting a total-system safety standard than would conservative bounding assumptions made regarding EMT waste forms.
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From page 66... ...
The short-term leach characteristics of waste forms from HIP and pressureless sintering are also essentially identical, although the committee has previously noted that such short-term tests may not be fully indicative of long-term release-rate performance of waste forms under expected repository conditions. Furthermore, the heterogeneous nature of the multi-phase ceramic waste form mandates examination of the microstructure and phase composition of as-produced waste forms.
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From page 67... ...
The plan was to process spent fuel so as to raise the level of fission product contamination to a point that as a result of running the salt through the zeolite column, the loading of the salt would be about 3 wt %. Because of this revised plan, radioactive waste treatment operations could not be started until late in the process, and
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From page 68... ...
Recommendation: Continued development of the zeolite column should not be considered a high priority unless a compelling argument can be made that its development and implementation would significantly reduce waste disposal costs or associated costs of EMT treatment of the DOE sodium-bonded spent fuel inventory. Continued Development of the Lithium Reduction Front-end Process Step for Treating Oxide Fuels For EMT to be used to treat oxide fuels, a head-end step is required to convert the oxide to metal.
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From page 69... ...
Continued R&D is required, but the committee believes there are no "show stoppers." Finding: The state of development of the lithium reduction head-end treatment step is fairly mature, and if it were allowed to go to completion, the DOE would have an additional option for treating uranium oxide spent nuclear fuel. Recommendation: If the DOE wants an additional option besides PUREX for treating uranium oxide spent nuclear fuel, it should seriously consider continued development and implementation of the lithium reduction step as a head-end process to EMT.
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