The Fuel Cycle: From Mine to Waste Management

This course covers the various aspects of the current fuel cycle and future nuclear cycles. The course will cover, in sequence, concepts related to the front end of the cycle (mineral resources, uranium extraction and purification, isotopic enrichment), the passage of fuel through nuclear reactors, and the back end of the cycle (reprocessing of spent fuel, recycling of recoverable materials and fuel remanufacturing, and management of final nuclear waste). This will be followed by a discussion of several aspects related to future nuclear fuel cycles, including the use of unconventional resources, advanced separation concepts, and the development of fourth-generation reactors.

Hourly volumes*:

            CM: 3:00 p.m.

            TD: 5 hours

The objective of this course is to present energy challenges, the role of nuclear power in the overall energy mix, and related scientific issues. It will cover all the knowledge necessary to understand the current nuclear fuel cycle in its entirety, from resource management and the recycling of recoverable nuclear materials to the final disposal of various categories of nuclear waste. It will also explore several future directions: the use of unconventional resources, advanced separation concepts, and the development of fourth-generation reactors.

Basics of Radioactivity

Solution Chemistry Applied to Actinides

Comprehensive Continuous Monitoring

• Reminders about radioactivity.
• Energy Challenges—The Role of Nuclear Power—Future Directions
• Demand and Outlook for Future Development, Supply, and Resources of Fissile and Fertile Materials
• The Role of Nuclear Power
• How Reactors Work: Reactor Types and Developments for Future Systems
• Description of Current and Future Nuclear Fuel Cycles
• Upstream of the fuel cycle:
• Natural Resources
• Uranium Extraction and Purification
• Uranium Enrichment
• Reactor pass:
• Definition of reactor channels and operating conditions
• Downstream of the fuel cycle:
• End-of-cycle options (reprocessing or direct storage)
• Recycling of Recoverable Materials: The Current PUREX Process
• Proposed advanced separation concepts
• Nuclear Waste Management:
• Inventory and Classification of Nuclear Waste
• Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Management Strategies for Final Waste
• Radiological Safety and Consequences
• Generation IV Reactors
• Description of the Various^{Fourth-Generation} Nuclear Reactor Concepts
• Future Energy Challenges and the Transition to Next-Generation Reactors