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RIC panel discusses pathway to fusion commercialization
Fusion leaders at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference discussed the path forward for regulating the burgeoning fusion industry. The speakers discussed government and private industry initiatives in the United States and United Kingdom, with a focus on efforts shaping the near-term deployment of commercial fusion machines.
A recurring theme was the need to explain the difference between fission and fusion. Representatives from the Department of Energy and Type One Energy highlighted this as an important distinction for regulators, as it will allow fusion to undergo its own independent maturation process for developing standards and regulations in the same way that fission has. Lea Perlas, Fusion Program director at the Virginia Department of Health, said that confusion between fission and fusion has been a common cause for misplaced concerns among community members surrounding Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ proposed fusion plant site near Richmond, Va.
Hiroshi Sugai, Kenzo Munakata, Shigehiko Miyachi, Shouzo Yasu
Nuclear Technology | Volume 98 | Number 2 | May 1992 | Pages 188-195
Technical Paper | Enrichment and Reprocessing System | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34674
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the Purex process, a solvent extraction method of nuclear fuel reprocessing, a stable emulsion called crud forms at the interface between the oil and water phases. Crud is an emulsion stabilized by finely dispersed solids. Insoluble residues and precipitates of zirconium and radiation-degraded products of tributyl phosphate (TBP) are key materials in crud formation. Cruds formed by precipitates of zirconium and TBP degradation products, such as di-n-butyl phosphate (HDBP), mono-n-butyl phosphate (H2MBP), and phosphoric acid (H3PO4) are studied. Experimental results show that the precipitate of zirconium and HDBP is not effective in stabilizing emulsions. However, the refractory complex of zirconium and H3PO4 is an important material for stabilizing an oil-in-water emulsion in a solution with or without uranium. Moreover, it is shown that the complex of zirconium and H2MBP has a significant role in stabilizing a water-in-oil emulsion, especially when uranium is also present.
