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Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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Argonne research aims to improve nuclear fuel recycling and metal recovery
Servis
Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are investigating a used nuclear fuel recycling technology that could lead to a scaled-down and more efficient approach to metal recovery, according to a recent news article from the lab. The research, led by Argonne radiochemist Anna Servis with funding from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E), could have an impact beyond the nuclear fuel cycle and improve other high-value metal processing, such as rare earth recovery, according to Argonne.
The research: Servis’s work is being carried out under ARPA-E’s CURIE (Converting UNF Radioisotopes Into Energy) program. The specific project—Radioisotope Capture Intensification Using Rotating Packed Bed Contactors—started in 2023 and is scheduled to end in January 2026.
Lucas M. Rolison, Michael L. Fensin, Y. C. Francis Thio, Scott C. Hsu, Edward J. Cruz
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 75 | Number 6 | August 2019 | Pages 438-451
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2019.1613140
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We present neutronics calculations for a hypothetical fusion reactor based on the repetitively pulsed concept of plasma-jet-driven magneto-inertial fusion (PJMIF). A PJMIF reactor is envisioned to have a replaceable, 3-m-radius spherical metal first wall exposed to 14.1-MeV neutrons; a fast-flowing FLiBe liquid blanket (with thickness 0.75 m) behind the first wall serving as the primary coolant and tritium-breeding medium; and finally an outer structural spherical wall shielded by the blanket. Cylindrical penetrations through both walls and the flowing blanket allow for hundreds of plasma gun drivers to inject hypersonic plasma jets that form both the deuterium-tritium plasma target and high-Z spherically imploding plasma liner to compress the target. This research is the first to conduct Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP6.2) and CINDER2008 neutronics calculations relevant to the PJMIF reactor configuration, with the primary objectives of determining (1) the neutron flux as a function of blanket thickness in the blanket and key reactor components and (2) the tritium production rate in the liquid blanket. These results will be used to estimate other quantities of interest, such as first-wall and gun-electrode lifetimes based on displacements per atom (dpa) accumulation, optimum blanket thickness, activation level of the outer wall and xenon liner, and achievable tritium-breeding ratios. Energy-dependent flux tallies were used to calculate neutron flux inside the FLiBe blanket and outer wall, as well as the cylindrical ports where plasma guns are located. Tally multipliers of the flux in MCNP6.2 estimated tritium breeding ratio, dpa, and nuclear heating, while the depletion code CINDER2008 was used to compare tritium breeding ratios with MCNP6.2 and calculate activation of the outer wall and xenon liner. These calculations provide a baseline for blanket requirements necessary for power production in a PJMIF reactor.