Creating Value from Waste: Recycling Valuable Isotopes & Surplus Energy

Presented by ANS's Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division, this international panel explored separating specific radionuclides from waste using recycling technology that enables pure materials to be used for other purposes.

The current global focus is on the need to recycle and reuse the finite resources that exist on the earth. The waste products from nuclear systems are no different. Instead of wastes and a liability, they could actually be a valuable asset! This is especially the case when specific radionuclides can be separated from the waste using recycling technology that enables pure materials to be used for other purposes. Examples include radioisotopes for space applications, medical treatment & interventions and enhancing agricultural methods. This panel explored the need for these materials, the market sectors interested in the technology being proposed and the technology being developed in support of this. The need to consider requirements and uses outside of the conventional nuclear industry, along with the potential for future fuel cycles to incorporate these needs into their development also were discussed.

To contact the participants with any follow-up questions, click on the names below.

Panelists

• Steve Palethorpe, National Nuclear Laboratory
• Michael Rushton, Bangor University (UK)
• Praveen Thallapally, Pacific Northwest Nuclear Laboratory
• Katherin Goluoglu, Isotek llc.
• Harsh Desai, ZenoPower
• Robert Alford, Nuclear Innovation and Research Office (NIRO)

Moderators

• Tim Tinsley, National Nuclear Laboratory
• Steve Biegalski, Georgia Institute of Technology