September 28, 2021
The radiation from used nuclear fuel could be used to create a valuable fuel additive needed for renewable biodiesel, scientists in Slovenia and the UK have shown. The research underscores that there are “unexplored renewable processes that can be realized with ionizing radiation – especially considering used fuel pools as a source of catalytic energy,” says the paper published last week in Nature Communications Chemistry. It was written by scientists from the Slovenian Jožef Stefan Institute and the British Lancaster University and Aston University.
The research reactor TRIGA MkII at the Jožef Stefan Institute (Image: JSI)
The paper, Nuclear-Powered Production of Renewable Fuel Additives from Organic Waste, explains that glycerin is also a by-product in the production of biodiesel, but with the increasing use of biodiesel worldwide, low-quality glycerins are currently being disposed of at the expense of the renewable energy sector.
By placing glycerin samples in the Jožef Stefan Institute’s research reactor, the scientists showed that radiation from neutrons and gamma rays can catalyze glycerin to create a very valuable fuel additive called Solketal, which is actually used to make biodiesel and other liquids fuels.
After confirming the radiocatalytic effect, the paper looks at two possible ways the nuclear industry could produce Solketal alongside normal power plant operations.
One method was to place glycerine pipes in the space between the pressure vessel of a light water reactor and its biological concrete shield. This would result in some Solketal production, but could create potential complications for power plant operations, while neutron radiation could cause materials in the system to become radioactive.
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How Solketal production could be implemented in addition to the storage of used nuclear fuel
A more promising method would be to run tubes of glycerin through waste fuel pools, in which highly radioactive waste fuel is stored in power plants and intermediate locations. This method would provide greater glycerol surface area for irradiation while conditions restrict radiation to gamma rays, thereby avoiding the complication of neutron activation. A practical arrangement could be for chemical processing to take place in other buildings to minimize disruption to power plant operations.
The paper suggests that the fuel pool method has the potential to scale to around 57 tons of Solketal per year for a typical used fuel pool. A further expansion to potentially 180 locations for used fuels within the European Union resulted in a maximum production capacity of around 10,000 tons of Solketal per year, according to the paper. Solketal has a market price of around $ 3,000 per ton.
“This discovery has opened up completely new possibilities for the use of radiation from nuclear power plants and spent fuel storage sites to convert waste chemicals and is one of the important steps on the way to sustainable development,” said the Jožef Stefan Institute.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News
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