Development of technologies for production of fuel with minor actinides

Zirconolite Polytypes and Murataite Polysomes in Matrices for the REE—Actinide Fraction of HLW

“…The application of this approach requires the creation of sophisticated technologies for processing SNF and extracting transplutonium elements (TPE) from HLW. Methods for partitioning REE, americium, and curium with similar properties, the separation of Am and Cm, fabrication of fuel with Np and Am, and its processing after irradiation in a fast reactor are still far from being implemented [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. The timing of closing the nuclear fuel cycle, involving the partitioning of minor actinides (Np, Am, Cm), fuel fabrication, its irradiation in fast reactors, and subsequent reprocessing, has been shifted to 2050 [ 15 ], which is more than 30 years longer than previous estimates.…”

Crystal Chemistry of Titanates and Zirconates of Rare Earths—Possible Matrices for Actinide Isolation

“…This approach is based on the use of very complex technologies for the separation of transplutonium elements (TPEs), including minor actinides of liquid HLW from spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, Am and Cm separation, and fuel fabrication. Methods for recovery of americium and curium from rare-earth elements close to them in properties, separating Am and Cm, and preparing fuel with Am are at the early stages of development [3,[6][7][8], far from implementation. The closing of the fuel cycle with fractionation of MA (Am, Cm) by fabrication and irradiation of the fuel and its subsequent processing is expected by 2050 [9], which is 30 years more than previously estimated.…”

“…In all phases under study, the polyhedra of the Zr 4+ and Ti 4+ cations are represented by octahedra (CN 6), except for Nd 2 TiO 5 , in which the Ti 4+ CN is 5 and the polyhedron is a shape of a square pyramid. The Nd 3+ ions in them, as a rule, are characterized by odd CN values (7,9). This, apparently, explains the low content of impurity elements (Ca, Zr, U) in them and weak variations in the composition, which are close to ideal formulas.…”