Nuclear Proliferation TechnologyTrends Analysis - International ...

PNNL -14480
burn-up fuel only for the recovery of enriched uranium. ORNL also constructed the
demonstration facility for the Purex process development. From 1950 through 1953, 7 kg
of Plutonium & 7.5 MT of uranium were processed by the Purex process at the
demonstration facility at ORNL. ORNL also built the Thorex demonstration for the
reprocessing of thoria fuel for the recovery of U 233 . From 1954 through 1958,
approximately 500 kg of U 233 was recovered at the ORNL facility. 163
The Hanford/Redox was the first solvent-extraction process plant. The solvent employed
was hexone (methyl isobutyl ketone) used with packed column contactors. Hexone is
very volatile and flammable and has a poor decontamination factor. Construction
commenced in 1949, with plant closure in 1967.
The Idaho Chemical Plant made modifications to the Redox process. The updated process
was used for Materials Test Reactor and spent naval reactor fuel reprocessing and
involved the use of pulsed and packed columns. In 1992, reprocessing at the INEL
Chemical plant was discontinued.
The Purex process was used for separation of weapons grade Pu from 1956 until
reprocessing was suspended in the United States. The Hanford Purex plant began
construction in 1953 and was operational in 1956. It was inactivated in 1974, resumed
operation 1983, and again shutdown in 1988.
Savannah River had reprocessing plants using the Purex process, F Canyon (began
operation in 1954) and H Canyon (began operation in 1955). F Canyon could reprocess
9 metric tons of uranium fuel per day. Mixer-settlers and centrifugal contactors were
added in 1966. Operation was suspended in 1992 and resumed in 1995 for stabilization
runs, with shutdown projected in 2002.
Argonne National Laboratory West developed a pyrometallurgical process for
reprocessing the EBR-II fast reactor spent fuel. Argonne operated the process facility
from 1963 through 1994.
At West Valley, NY, a large Purex plant was constructed and operated from 1966
through 1972. West Valley was capable of processing 300 tons of fuel per year.
Escalating regulations required plant modifications and the plant was deemed
uneconomical and shut down.
A 300 ton per year plant was built at Morris, Illinois, incorporating new technology that
was proven on a pilot-scale, but failed to work in production scale. The foundation of
the process was solvent extraction with pulse column contactors.
The construction of a 1500 ton-per-year plant at Barnwell, South Carolina, was aborted
due to government policy change as one facet of the U.S. non-proliferation policy.
163 “Fuel Reprocessing at ORNL,” J.W. Roddy, ORNL, 2000
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