R&D in pyroprocessing is expected to resume

PRIDE test facility of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute for pyroprocess simulation

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on December 24th that a non-governmental committee of experts had submitted a report to the government to allow the pyroprocessing R&D project to resume in three years. The project for the purpose of efficient processing of spent nuclear fuel was stopped in 2018 after a 20-year investment from the state budget of 800 billion won.

“We examined a total of 17 indices, including the recovery of transuranium elements, and concluded that a pyroprocessing system with a sodium-cooled fast reactor can be a spent nuclear fuel management technology that is satisfactory for both safety and non-proliferation said the committee. The Ministry’s decision is scheduled for December 27th.

Pyroprocessing allows 95 percent of the spent nuclear fuel to be reused or completely removed by incineration and the rest to be stored more safely and efficiently. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute conducted pyroprocess research in collaboration with Argonne, Idaho, and Los Alamos National Laboratories.

In a sodium-cooled fast reactor, sodium is used instead of water for cooling during nuclear power generation. With it, a higher combustion of spent nuclear fuel is possible. For this reason, it is developed in connection with pyro processing.

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