Reprocessing vs direct disposal of used nuclear fuels: The environmental impacts of future scenarios for the UK

Paulillo, Andrea; Dodds, Jonathan M.; Palethorpe, Stephen J.; Lettieri, Paola

doi:10.1016/j.susmat.2021.e00278

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Similar LCA studies have been reported recently by Paulillo and coworkers [61,62], see Table 6 for the comparison. An initial study of the UK closed cycle, with the reprocessing of spent AGR fuel in Thorp but with the storage of products rather than recycling, came to several conclusions [61].…”

Section: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Lcasupporting

confidence: 84%

“…To address this gap, Poinssot and coworkers have produced a series of papers using the French nuclear fuel cycle as an example of applying an LCA approach to this question [22,23,49,50]. These studies are complemented by recent reports from Paullilo and coworkers based on fuel cycle experience in the United Kingdom [61,62]. The fuel cycles and indicators used to assess the environmental footprints in both French and UK studies are similar-see Table 6.…”

Section: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Lcamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of greater relevance to this review is an LCA comparison between the OTC and different reprocessing scenarios, again for the UK case of Thorp-style reprocessing of AGR fuels [62], the scenarios being:  "Base line"-the nominal UK fuel cycle whereby SNF was reprocessed and products stored pending decisions on disposition [61].  Scenario one-the products from the baseline are disposed of in a repository.…”

Section: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Lcamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Lcamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

A Review of Environmental and Economic Implications of Closing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle—Part One: Wastes and Environmental Impacts

et al. 2022

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Globally, around half a million tonnes of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) will be in dry or wet storage by around 2050. Continued storage is not sustainable, and this SNF must eventually either be disposed (the open nuclear fuel cycle) or recycled (the closed fuel cycle). Many international studies have addressed the advantages and disadvantages of these options. To inform this debate, a detailed survey of the available literature related to environmental assessments of closed and open cycles has been undertaken. Environmental impacts are one of the three pillars that, alongside economic and societal impacts, must be considered for sustainable development. The aims are to provide a critical review of the open literature in order to determine what generic conclusions can be drawn from the broad base of international studies. This review covers the results of life cycle assessments and studies on waste arisings, showing how the management of spent fuels in the open and closed cycles impact the environment, including the use of natural resources, radioactive waste characteristics (heat loading, radiotoxicity and volume) and the size of the geological repository. In the framework of sustainable development, the next part of this review will consider economic impacts.

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Section: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Lcasupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Lcamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Lcamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Lcamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A Review of Environmental and Economic Implications of Closing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle—Part One: Wastes and Environmental Impacts

et al. 2022

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“…The considerable challenge of capturing iodine from the off-gas stream has been approached using many different chemical methods, including solution-based processes and solid sorbents. , In regard to sorbent substrates, several viable candidate materials have been identified, such as zeolites, − silica aerogels, − and carbon-based materials. − Silica aerogels offer promising properties as sorbent, such as easy functionalization, pore-tunability, , and the ability to be transformed into a chemically and mechanically durable waste form . Unfortunately, the friable nature of the nanostructured silica skeleton of these materials complicates their deployment as iodine off-gas adsorbents.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Physisorption and Chemisorption of Iodine on Bismuth-Functionalized Carbon Foams

Baskaran

Ali

Riley

et al. 2022

ACS Materials Lett.

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Bismuth-containing carbon materials have been shown to be highly promising sorbents for the capture of radioiodine. However, there is still a need to understand the effects of carbon and bismuth on the iodine sorption mechanism. In this study, we show the difference in the physical and chemical sorption of iodine under different bismuth loading conditions. Highly porous and nonfriable conductive carbon foams were prepared, and bismuth was electrodeposited to provide strong iodine binding sites. For pure carbon foams, equal ratios of physisorbed and chemisorbed iodine− carbon phases were detected before desorption. As the concentration of bismuth increased, the chemisorption between bismuth and iodine dominated the total capture mechanism, and physisorption was almost completely eliminated. Additionally, chemisorption of iodine depended upon the size and specific surface area of the bismuth clusters present within the framework of the foam.

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Study of irradiation decomposition products of PUREX solvents on zirconium metal retention behavior

Zhou

Jiao

et al. 2022

J Radioanal Nucl Chem

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The metal retention behaviors of several simulated radiolysis products on zirconium metal were investigated, and it was found that acid phosphate radiolysis product HDEHP has the greatest effect. The effects of extraction nitric acid concentration, simulated radiolysis product concentration, metal concentration, and temperature on the zirconium metal retention behavior were also investigated. The results showed that zirconium metal forms complexes with HDEHP resulting in retention in the organic phase. Nitric acid concentration and metal concentration change the morphology of the metal thus affecting the extraction and metal retention behavior. The temperature has almost no effect on metal retention.

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Reprocessing vs direct disposal of used nuclear fuels: The environmental impacts of future scenarios for the UK

Cited by 9 publications

References 7 publications

A Review of Environmental and Economic Implications of Closing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle—Part One: Wastes and Environmental Impacts

A Review of Environmental and Economic Implications of Closing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle—Part One: Wastes and Environmental Impacts

Evaluating the Physisorption and Chemisorption of Iodine on Bismuth-Functionalized Carbon Foams

Study of irradiation decomposition products of PUREX solvents on zirconium metal retention behavior

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