Technique to cut nuclear waste "by 95%"
11 Nov 2013
Engineers from the University of Sheffield have developed a technique to reduce the volume of higher activity nuclear wastes.
The process, which involves mixing plutonium contaminated waste with blast furnace slag and turning it into glass, could reduce the volume of waste by up to 95%, according to the researchers.
As well as the potential waste reduction, researchers have said the vitrification technique also creates a stable product as radioactive plutonium is effectively “locked in” to the glass.
Our process can stabilise the plutonium in a more corrosion-resistant material
Prof Neil Hyatt
Lead researcher Professor Neil Hyatt said: “The overall volume of plutonium contaminated wastes from operations and decommissioning in the UK could be upwards of 31,000 m3, enough to fill the clock tower of Big Ben seven times.”
Currently, the estimated minimum UK plutonium contaminated material (PCM) inventory is 31,140 m3. If his team’s process were to be incorporated across UK nuclear plants, Hyatt claimed the remaining waste would only consume the same volume as one Big Ben clock tower.
Hyatt also said that the current method for treating non-compactible plutonium-contaminated wastes involved cement encapsulation, but this can typically lead to more overall waste being generated.
“Our process can stabilise the plutonium in a more corrosion resistant material, so this should improve the safety case and public acceptability of geological disposal,” Hyatt added.
A key element of the research was to show that a single process and additive could be used to treat the expected variation of wastes produced, ensuring the technique would be cost effective.
The research was partly funded by Sellafield, which operates a nuclear re-processing site in west Cumbria, and accounts for around 75% of all stored nuclear waste within the UK.
The next stage of the team’s research will involve optimising the vitrification process to support full scale demonstration.
