Practicality of a Plasma Mass Filter for Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing: Separating Lanthanides from Actinides
Authors: R. Gueroult and N.J. Fisch
Abstract:
There is a growing recognition [1,2] of the need for
used nuclear fuel recycling technologies that are more
proliferation-resistant alternatives to the
Plutonium/Uranium refining by extraction (PUREX).
However, the implementation of a closed fuel cycle, and
more precisely of the minor actinides transmutation step,
requires removing a priori the lanthanides. The chemical
separation options remain limited because of the
chemical similarity of americium with the lanthanides
fission products. Separating lanthanides from actinides
has therefore been labeled as one of the most difficult
challenge in separation science [3].
Plasma filters offer an advantage over chemical solutions
in that elements are dissociated. Each element can
consequently be filtered without regard to chemical
form. Thus, plasma mass filters have been recently
proposed with the objective of nuclear waste remediation
[4,5]. In particular, the capability of a new mass called
the magnetic centrifugal mass filter has been studied in
this context [6], highlighting the potential of plasma
mass filters for nuclear waste remediation.
Here we analyze how such plasma filters could be
helpful in separating lanthanides from actinides. More
specifically, the influence of the elements mass shift as
compared to the ones considered for nuclear waste
remediation is investigated, with special care given to the
modifications induced on the achievable plasma
parameters. Estimations of achievable separation factor
are obtained by means of numerical modeling.
__________________________________________________
Submitted to: IEEE Pulsed Power and Plasma Science (PPPS2013) June 16-21, 2013 San Francisco, CA
__________________________________________________
Download PPPL-4905 (pdf 563 KB 5pp)
__________________________________________________