Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Technology: Successes and Challenges

A structured development strategy, for realsing a robust Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing technology, is being pursued at the Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam. After two decades of R&D in many interdisciplinary activities on the process, equipment and safety, the pilot plant, CORAL, was commissioned in 2003. By reprocessing the unique spent mixed carbide fuel of FBTR (Fast Breeder Test Reactor) containing 70% Pu with burnups as high as 155 GWd/t and cooling period as low as two years, the facility has set a bench mark. Several campaigns with different burnups and cooling periods have been carried out in this facility. From the results of these campaigns, it was possible to establish the technical feasibility of adopting the modified PUREX process for short cooled high burnup of Pu rich spent fuels. The successful operation not only enabled the formulation of the process flowsheet but also made possible the optimization of the plant layout of the spent fuel reprocessing plant of PFBR. As the commercial success of the PFBR depends on the reliable operation of this facility, many features are incorporated in the plant design to ensure high availability and capacity factors, based on the operational experience of CORAL. Based on the CORAL operational feedbacks, many R&D activities have been initiated to address reduction in the number of solvent extraction cycles, the waste volumes, the radiation exposures and for carrying out in -service inspection as well as to resolve material related issues for increasing the life of the plant. In this paper, a comprehensive review of the operational experiences in the last six years is presented. A brief account of the R&D activities currently being pursued will also be made. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Indra Gandhi Centre of Atomic Research