Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmutation

11th Information Exchange Meeting

San Francisco, United States
1-4 November 2010

 

Group Photo

Introduction

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) organised the eleventh information exchange meeting on actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation (P&T) in San Francisco, USA on 1-4 November 2010. The meeting was hosted by the Idaho National Laboratory, and co-sponsored by the European Commission (EC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Background

Partitioning and transmutation (P&T) is one of the key technologies for reducing the radiotoxicity and volume of radioactive waste produced. Recent developments indicate the need for embedding P&T strategies into advanced fuel cycles considering both waste management and economic issues.

In order to give experts a forum to present and discuss state-of-the-art developments in the P&T field, the OECD/NEA has been organising biennial information exchange meetings on actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation since 1990. The previous meetings were held in Mito (Japan) in 1990, at ANL (USA) in 1992, in Cadarache (France) in 1994, in Mito (Japan) in 1996, in Mol (Belgium) in 1998, in Madrid (Spain) in 2000, in Jeju (Korea) in 2002, in Las Vegas (United States) in 2004, in Nimes (France) in 2006 and in Mito (Japan) in 2008.

Scope

The 11th information exchange meeting covered scientific and strategic/policy developments in the field of P&T, including:

  • Fuel cycle strategies and transition scenarios
  • Radioactive waste forms
  • Impact of P&T on geological disposal
  • Radioactive waste management strategies (including secondary wastes)
  • Transmutation fuels and targets
  • Pyro and aqueous separation processes
  • Materials, spallation targets and coolants
  • Transmutation physics, experiments and nuclear data
  • Transmutation systems: design, performance and safety
  • Handling and transportation of transmutation fuels
  • Economics of P&T

These topics include multi-scale modelling, experiments and instrumentation, novel theories and benchmarks.

Programme

Opening and plenary session: National programme on P&T [Chairs: Th. Dujardin (NEA), K. McCarthy (INL, United States)]


Welcome address from INL, K. McCarthy (INL, United States)
Welcome address from NEA, Th. Dujardin (NEA)


Overview of NEA activities in actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation, Th. Dujardin (NEA)
The IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on “Analytical and experimental benchmark analyses of accelerator driven systems”, A. Stanculescu (IAEA)
EURATOM research and training programme for partitioning and transmutation, P. D’Hondt (SCK•CEN, Belgium)
United States program on partitioning and transmutation, C.“Buzz” Savage (DOE, United States)
Future nuclear systems: fuel cycle options and guidelines for research, D. Warin (CEA, France)
Minor actinide bearing fuel study activities in Japan for homogeneous TRU recycling fast reactor system, T. Mizuno (JAEA, Japan)
Perspectives of pyroprocesses for long-term spent fuel management in Korea, J-G Kim (KAERI, Korea)


Session I: Fuel cycle strategies and transition scenarios [Chairs: T. Mizuno (JAEA, Japan), B. Dixon (INL, United States)]


International comparison for transition scenario codes involving COSI, DESAE, EVOLCODE, FAMILY and VISION, L. Boucher (CEA, France)
Industrial research for transmutation scenarios in EDF, N. Camarcat, C. Garzenne (EDF, France)
Requirements-driven comprehensive approach to fuel cycle back-end optimization, B. Petrovic (Georgia Tech., United States)
World transition towards sustainable nuclear fuel cycle, V. Romanello (KIT, Germany)
Overview on homogeneous and heterogeneous transmutation in the French new SFR: reactor and fuel cycle impact, F. Varaine (CEA, France)
Current status and future plan of research and development on partitioning and transmutation technology in Japan, H. Oigawa (JAEA, Japan)


Session II: Waste forms and geological disposal [Chairs: M. Nutt (INL, United States), I-S Hwang (SNU, Korea)]


Fuel cycle potential waste for disposition, R. Jones (SRNL, United States)
Applying insights from repository safety assessments, P. Swift (SNL, United States)
Relationship between geologic disposal characteristics and advanced nuclear fuel cycles with partitioning and transmutation. R. Wigeland (INL, United States)
The environmental impacts of Korean advanced nuclear fuel cycle KIEP-21 and disposal concepts, J-H Yoon (UC. Berkeley, United States)

Session III: Transmutation fuels and targets [Chairs: K. Minato (JAEA, Japan), K. Pasamehmetoglu (INL, United States)]


Minor-actinides transmutation in an accelerator driven system prototype: results from fuel developments within the European program EUROTRANS, F. Delage (CEA, France)
Development of minor actinide transmutation by CRIEPI, H. Ohta (CRIEPI, Japan)
Development program on minor actinides bearing blanket at CEA, J-M Bonnerot (CEA, France)
Fuels for the US DOE deep burn program, G. Bell (ORNL, United States)
Progress for the cea alfa project: ATALANTE laboratory for actinide bearing fuels, V. Royet (CEA, France)
Behavior of zirconium on passivated U-Zr based fuel alloys, R. Mariani (U. Las Vegas, United States)

Session IV: Pyro and aqueous processes [Chairs: D. Warin, (CEA, France), J. Uhlír (NRI, Czech Republic)]


ACSEPT – Progresses in advanced partitioning and challenges for the future, S. Bourg (CEA, France)
Development of separation technology of transuranium elements and fission products by using new extractants and adsorbents performed at JAEA, Y. Morita (JAEA, Japan)
Recent progress in advanced actinide recycling processes, D. Warin (CEA, France)
One-cycle SANEX process development studies and lab-scale demonstrations, A. Wilden (FZJ, Germany)
Development of a novel GANEX process, E. Aneheim (U. Chalmers, Sweden)
Advanced head end for the treatment of used LWR fuel, G. D. DelCul (ORNL, United States)
Current progress in R&D on pyrochemical partitioning technology in the Czech republic, J. Uhlír (NRI, Czech Republic)
Pyropartitioning experiment to recover TRUs from high level liquid waste, K. Uozumi (CRIEPI, Japan)


Session V: Transmutation physics and materials [Chair: E. Gonzalez (CIEMAT, Spain), C. Fazio (KIT, Germany)]


Pb alloys coolant chemistry and structural materials performance: a review, C. Fazio (KIT, Germany)
Critical analysis of the effective delayed-neutron fraction calculation routes by deterministic and Monte Carlo codes, M. Carta (ENEA, Italy)
Experimental validation of reactivity monitoring techniques for power ADS systems to incinerate radioactive wastes, E. M. González-Romero (CIEMAT, Spain)
Reaction cross sections, fission yields and prompt-neutron emission from actinide targets, F.-J. Hambsch (JRC-IRMM, Belgium)
Investigation of nuclear data accuracy for the accelerator-driven system with minor actinide fuel, K. Nishihara (JAEA, Japan)


Session VI: Transmutation system: design, performance and safety [Chair: P. D’Hondt (SCK•CEN, Belgium), A. Stanculescu (IAEA)]


Progress review of accelerator-driven system in Kyoto university critical assembly, C-H Pyeon (U. Kyoto, Japan)
Technology readiness levels for partitioning and transmutation of minor actinides in Japan, K. Minato (JAEA, Japan)
Advanced fuel cycle scenario study in the European context by using different burner reactor concepts, V. Romanello (KIT, Germany)
MYRRHA, The multi-purpose hybrid research reactor for high-tech applications, H. A ït Abderrahim (SCK•CEN, Belgium)
The deep burn project: 2010 overview and progress, F. Venneri (LOGOS Tech., United States)
Systematic evaluation of uranium utilization in nuclear systems, T. K. Kim (ANL, United States)

Summary session [Chair: K. McCarthy (INL, United States)]

Summary of the meeting

List of poster presentations

Proceedings

Scientific advisory committee


Georges Van Goethem (EC)

Alexander Stanculescu (IAEA)

Pierre J. D'hondt (SCK•CEN, Belgium) Jan Uhlir (NRI, Czech Republic)
Massimo Salvatores (CEA/INL, France) Dominique Warin (CEA, France)
Concetta Fazio (FZK, Germany) Stefano Monti (ENEA, Italy)

Tadashi Inoue (CRIEPI, Japan)

Kazuo Minato (JAEA, Japan)

Il-Soon Hwang (SNU, Korea)

Han-Soo Lee (KAERI, Korea)

Enrique Miguel González (CIEMAT, Spain)

Janne Wallenius (KTH, Sweden)

Manuel A. Pouchon (PSI, Switzerland)

Robin J. Taylor (NNL, UK)

Daniel T. Ingresoll (ORNL, United States)

Kathryn A. McCarthy (INL, United States)

Mark Nutt (ANL, United States)

Marius Stan (LANL, United States)

Kemal O. Pasamehmetoglu (INL, United States)

 

All correspondence with regard to the meeting should be addressed to the workshop Secretariat:

Chair

Dr. Kathryn A. McCarthy
Deputy Associate Laboratory Director
Nuclear Science & Technology
Idaho National Laboratory
PO Box 1625
Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3860, United States
Email: Kathryn.Mccarthy@inl.gov

Secretary

Dr. Yong-Joon Choi
OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
Le Seine Saint-Germain
12 boulevard des Îles
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux,
France
E-mail: yongjoon.choi@oecd.org


Previous Information Exchange Meetings

Related links

Last reviewed: 8 October 2010