Can Spent Nuclear Fuel Decay Heat Prevent Radionuclide Release?

2004 ◽  
Vol 824 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Jerden ◽  
Margaret M. Goldberg ◽  
James C. Cunnane ◽  
Theodore H. Bauer ◽  
Roald A. Wigeland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Radioactive Decay ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Decay Heat ◽  
Important Barrier ◽  
Water Accumulation ◽  
Radionuclide Release

AbstractHeat generated by radioactive decay of spent fuel represents a potentially important barrier to water accumulation on commercial spent nuclear fuel in breached waste packages. In the absence of water, fuel degradation and radionuclide release will be negligible. Thermal models for the proposed Yucca Mountain Repository suggest that, after a period of approximately 1000-4000 years (depending on loadingand ventilation conditions), the repository drift walls may decline to sub-boiling temperatures, thus allowing humidity in the drift to increase. The question thus arises, is the thermal gradient between the fuel and the drift sufficient to prevent water accumulation in a humid drift environment throughout the regulatory period? The answer depends on the balance between processes that oppose water condensation ontothe fuel (decay heat) and those that promote condensation such as the deliquescence of hygroscopic phaseswithin the fuel.Our experimental results indicate that deliquescence could lead to the condensation of water onto spent fuel despite the thermal “self-drying”effect if the following criteria are met: (1) the fission product salt CsI is present in the fuel or in the fuel-cladding gap, (2) the relative humidity in the driftexceeds 80% while temperatures in the waste package are around 90oC. Previous work suggests that these criteria may be met for some fuel pins within the proposed Yucca Mountain Repository. However,experiments that account for the role of U(VI) alteration phases suggest that deliquescence may be a self-limiting process in the sense that deliquescent components (e.g. Cs, Ba, Sr) may be incorporatedinto nondeliquescent U(VI) phases that form from the corrosion of spent fuel.

Developing a Concept for a National Used Fuel Interim Storage Facility in the United States

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Wayne Lewis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
The United States ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Storage Facility ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Geological Repository ◽  
Interim Storage

In the United States (U.S.) the nuclear waste issue has plagued the nuclear industry for decades. Originally, spent fuel was to be reprocessed but with the threat of nuclear proliferation, spent fuel reprocessing has been eliminated, at least for now. In 1983, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 [1] was established, authorizing development of one or more spent fuel and high-level nuclear waste geological repositories and a consolidated national storage facility, called a “Monitored Retrievable Storage” facility, that could store the spent nuclear fuel until it could be placed into the geological repository. Plans were under way to build a geological repository, Yucca Mountain, but with the decision by President Obama to terminate the development of Yucca Mountain, a consolidated national storage facility that can store spent fuel for an interim period until a new repository is established has become very important. Since reactor sites have not been able to wait for the government to come up with a storage or disposal location, spent fuel remains in wet or dry storage at each nuclear plant. The purpose of this paper is to present a concept developed to address the DOE’s goals stated above. This concept was developed over the past few months by collaboration between the DOE and industry experts that have experience in designing spent nuclear fuel facilities. The paper examines the current spent fuel storage conditions at shutdown reactor sites, operating reactor sites, and the type of storage systems (transportable versus non-transportable, welded or bolted). The concept lays out the basis for a pilot storage facility to house spent fuel from shutdown reactor sites and then how the pilot facility can be enlarged to a larger full scale consolidated interim storage facility.

Review about the Effect of He on the Microstructure of Spent Nuclear Fuel in a Repository

MRS Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (62) ◽  
pp. 4147-4156 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Ferry ◽  
J. Radwan ◽  
H. Palancher
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Critical Concentration ◽  
Fuel Pellet ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Operational Model ◽  
Matrix Microstructure ◽  
Natural Analogues ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Radionuclide Release

ABSTRACTHelium is produced in spent nuclear fuel by α-decays of actinides. After 10,000 years, the concentration of He accumulated in UO2 spent fuel is about 0.23 at.%. For direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel, consequences of helium build-up on the fuel matrix microstructure must be evaluated since it can modify the radionuclide release when water comes into contact with the spent fuel surface, after breaching of the disposal canister. An operational model has been proposed in order to evaluate the effect of helium on the microstructure of spent fuel in a repository. Based on conservative assumptions and different scenarios of bubble population, the calculated helium critical concentration, that could lead to a partial loss of integrity of the spent fuel pellet, is 0.37 at.%. However, observations on He-implanted UO2, α-doped UO2 pellets and natural analogues evidence a macroscopic damage only for He concentrations, which are more than one order of magnitude higher.

Safety Aspects of Dry Spent Fuel Storage and Spent Fuel Management

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Botsch ◽  
Silva Smalian ◽  
Peter Hinterding ◽  
Holger Völzke ◽  
Dietmar Wolff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Storage Systems ◽  
Storage Period ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Fuel Management ◽  
Radioactive Materials ◽  
Safety Requirements ◽  
Decay Heat ◽  
Dry Storage

As with the storage of all radioactive materials, the storage of spent nuclear fuel (SF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) must conform to safety requirements. Safety aspects like safe enclosure of radioactive materials, safe removal of decay heat, nuclear criticality safety and avoidance of unnecessary radiation exposure must be achieved throughout the storage period. The implementation of these safety requirements can be achieved by dry storage of SF and HLW in casks as well as in other systems such as dry vault storage systems or spent fuel pools, where the latter is neither a dry nor a passive system. After the events of Fukushima, the advantages of passively and inherently safe dry storage systems have become more obvious. TÜV and BAM, who work as independent experts for the competent authorities, present the licensing process for sites and casks and inform about spent nuclear fuel management and issues concerning dry storage of spent nuclear fuel, based on their long experience in these fields. All safety relevant issues like safe enclosure, shielding, removal of the decay heat or behavior of cask and building under accident conditions are checked and validated with state-of-the-art methods and computer codes before the license approval. It is shown how dry storage systems can ensure the compliance with the mentioned safety criteria over a long storage period. Exemplarily, the process of licensing, erection and operation of selected German dry storage facilities is presented.

scholarly journals An Alternative Conceptual Model for the Spent Nuclear Fuel–Water Interaction in Deep Geologic Disposal Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 8566
Author(s):  
Barbara Pastina ◽  
Jay A. LaVerne
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Release Rate ◽  
Safety Assessment ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Water Radiolysis ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Radiation Chemical ◽  
Radionuclide Release

For the long-term safety assessment of direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel in deep geologic repositories, knowledge on the radionuclide release rate from the UO2 matrix is essential. This work provides a conceptual model to explain the results of leaching experiments involving used nuclear fuel or simulant materials in confirmed reducing conditions. Key elements of this model are: direct effect of radiation from radiolytic species (including defects and excited states) in the solid and in the first water layers in contact with its surface; and excess H2 may be produced due to processes occurring at the surface of the spent fuel and in confined water volumes, which may also play a role in keeping the spent fuel surface in a reduced state. The implication is that the fractional radionuclide release rate used in most long-term safety assessments (10−7 year−1) is over estimated because it assumes that there is net UO2 oxidation caused by radiolysis, in contrast with the alternative conceptual model presented here. Furthermore, conventional water radiolysis models and radiation chemical yields published in the literature are not directly applicable to a heterogeneous system such as the spent fuel–water interface. Suggestions are provided for future work to develop more reliable models for the long-term safety assessment of spent nuclear fuel disposal.

Scenarios for the Transmutation of Actinides in CANDU Reactors

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Hyland ◽  
Brian Gihm
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Candu Reactors ◽  
Used Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Decay Heat ◽  
Fuel Bundle ◽  
Loading Ratio ◽  
Heat Period ◽  
Actinide Transmutation

With world stockpiles of used nuclear fuel increasing, the need to address the long-term utilization of this resource is being studied. Many of the transuranic (TRU) actinides in nuclear spent fuel produce decay heat for long durations, resulting in significant nuclear waste management challenges. These actinides can be transmuted to shorter-lived isotopes to reduce the decay heat period or consumed as fuel in a CANDU® reactor. Many of the design features of the CANDU reactor make it uniquely adaptable to actinide transmutation. The small, simple fuel bundle simplifies the fabrication and handling of active fuels. Online refuelling allows precise management of core reactivity and separate insertion of the actinides and fuel bundles into the core. The high neutron economy of the CANDU reactor results in high TRU destruction to fissile-loading ratio. This paper provides a summary of actinide transmutation schemes that have been studied in CANDU reactors at AECL, including the works performed in the past [1–4]. The schemes studied include homogeneous scenarios in which actinides are uniformly distributed in all fuel bundles in the reactor, as well as heterogeneous scenarios in which dedicated channels in the reactor are loaded with actinide targets and the rest of the reactor is loaded with fuel. The transmutation schemes that are presented reflect several different partitioning schemes. Separation of americium, often with curium, from the other actinides enables targeted destruction of americium, which is a main contributor to the decay heat 100 to 1000 years after discharge from the reactor. Another scheme is group-extracted transuranic elements, in which all of the transuranic elements, plutonium (Pu), neptunium (Np), americium (Am), and curium (Cm) are extracted together and then transmuted. This paper also addresses ways of utilizing the recycled uranium, another stream from the separation of spent nuclear fuel, in order to drive the transmutation of other actinides.

scholarly journals Study on combustible gas generation and radionuclide release during underwater handling of the AM reactor spent fuel

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-229
Author(s):  
Artyom Z. Gayazov ◽  
Anton Yu. Leshchenko ◽  
Valery P. Smirnov ◽  
Pavel A. Ilyin ◽  
Vadim G. Teplov
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Chemical Interaction ◽  
Hydrogen Release ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Gas Generation ◽  
Uranium Carbide ◽  
Combustible Gas ◽  
Combustible Gases ◽  
Radionuclide Release

Introduction. The paper addresses studies on the accumulation of combustible gases during underwater handling simulations for the leaky spent nuclear fuel from the AM reactor. Two fuel compositions were studied- uranium-molybdenum dispersed in magnesium and uranium carbide dispersed in calcium. Methods. The 137Cs release rate was measured during underwater storage of the uranium-molybdenum fuel. The kinetics of hydrogen release for both fuels and methane release for the carbide SNF were obtained. The kinetics approximate most with exponential dependences that formally correspond to first-order chemical reactions. A contribution of radiolytic hydrogen to the gases generated during the experiments was estimated. It was demonstrated that the determining source of the gases is the chemical interaction between the spent fuel and the water. The experiment with the uranium-molybdenum fuel demonstrated a pronounced passivation effect of the chemical processes on the fuel surface due to insoluble corrosion products. For the carbide SNF, an incubation period of about 20 hours was observed followed by an intensive release of hydrogen and methane. Results. The obtained results were subject to a comparative analysis against publications on the behavior of the fuel components in water. Conclusion. The findings can be applied to justify fire and explosion safety of underwater handling techniques for the damaged spent nuclear fuel with the considered fuel compositions (the spent fuel from reactors AM, AMB, EGP-6, etc.), e.g., to justify underwater preparations of the AMB spent fuel for reprocessing.

scholarly journals ADVANCES IN STUDSVIK’S SYSTEM FOR SPENT FUEL ANALYSES

2021 ◽  
Vol 247 ◽  
pp. 02021
Author(s):  
Teodosi Simeonov ◽  
Charles Wemple
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Neutron Transport ◽  
Heat Power ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Decay Data ◽  
Decay Heat ◽  
Isotopic Compositions ◽  
Fuel Characteristics

Studsvik’s approach to spent nuclear fuel analyses combines isotopic concentrations, fluxes, and cross-sections, calculated by the CASMO5 neutron transport and depletion code, with irradiation history data from the SIMULATE5 reactor core simulator and tabulated isotopic decay data. These data sources are used and processed by the SNF code to compute the spent nuclear fuel characteristics. Recent advances in the system, including cross-sections and decay data from ENDF/B-VIII.R0, are presented in this paper, together with validation results against decay heat power and isotopic compositions measurements. Measurements conducted at the Swedish interim storage facility, CLAB, are used for validation of the decay heat power, while comparisons to the results of the international program ARIANE are used to demonstrate the capability of CMS5/SNF to accurately predict isotopic compositions. The paper shows the results calculated with ENDF/B-VIII.R0, and the effect on the spent fuel characteristics is evaluated by comparisons to the earlier ENDF/B-VII.R1 results.

Chemical Effects at the Reaction Front in Corroding Spent Nuclear Fuel

2006 ◽  
Vol 985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Fortner ◽  
A. Jeremy Kropf ◽  
James L. Jerden ◽  
James C. Cunnane
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Aqueous Environment ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Aqueous Corrosion ◽  
Reduction Potentials ◽  
Chemical Effects ◽  
Before And After ◽  
X Ray Absorption

AbstractPerformance assessment models of the U. S. repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada suggest that neptunium from spent nuclear fuel is a potentially important dose contributor. A scientific understanding of how the UO2 matrix of spent nuclear fuel impacts the oxidative dissolution and reductive precipitation of Np is needed to predict the behavior of Np at the fuel surface during aqueous corrosion. Neptunium would most likely be transported as aqueous Np(V) species, but for this to occur it must first be oxidized from the Np(IV) state found within the parent spent nuclear fuel. In this paper we present synchrotron x-ray absorption spectroscopy and microscopy findings that illuminate the resultant local chemistry of neptunium and plutonium within uranium oxide spent nuclear fuel before and after corrosive alteration in an air-saturated aqueous environment. We find the Pu and Np in unaltered spent fuel to have a +4 oxidation state and an environment consistent with solid-solution in the UO2 matrix. During corrosion in an air-saturated aqueous environment, the uranium matrix is converted to uranyl (UO22+) mineral assemblage that is depleted in Np and Pu relative to the parent fuel. The transition from U(IV) in the fuel to a fully U(VI) character across the corrosion front is not sharp, but occurs over a transition zone of ∼ 50 micrometers. We find evidence of a thin (∼ 20 micrometer) layer that is enriched in Pu and Np within a predominantly U(IV) environment on the fuel side of the transition zone. These experimental observations are consistent with available data for the standard reduction potentials for NpO2+/Np4+ and UO22+/U4+ couples, which indicate that Np(IV) may not be effectively oxidized to Np(V) at the corrosion potential of uranium dioxide spent nuclear fuel in air-saturated aqueous solutions.

scholarly journals The Need for Integrating the Back End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the United States of America

MRS Advances ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (19) ◽  
pp. 991-1003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evaristo J. Bonano ◽  
Elena A. Kalinina ◽  
Peter N. Swift
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Cycle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Dry Storage ◽  
The Us

ABSTRACTCurrent practice for commercial spent nuclear fuel management in the United States of America (US) includes storage of spent fuel in both pools and dry storage cask systems at nuclear power plants. Most storage pools are filled to their operational capacity, and management of the approximately 2,200 metric tons of spent fuel newly discharged each year requires transferring older and cooler fuel from pools into dry storage. In the absence of a repository that can accept spent fuel for permanent disposal, projections indicate that the US will have approximately 134,000 metric tons of spent fuel in dry storage by mid-century when the last plants in the current reactor fleet are decommissioned. Current designs for storage systems rely on large dual-purpose (storage and transportation) canisters that are not optimized for disposal. Various options exist in the US for improving integration of management practices across the entire back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.

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