What is the composition of spent nuclear fuel?
Composition, heat generation, and radioactivity For LWR spent fuel with a burnup of 50 GWd/tHM, the spent fuel consists of about 93.4% uranium (~0.8% U-235), 5.2% fission products, 1.2% plutonium (12 kg or 1.5 weapon equivalents per ton of fuel), and 0.2% minor transuranic elements (neptunium, americium, and curium).
Which of the following isotopes are present in spent nuclear reactor fuel?
About 95% of the spent fuel is still uranium-238, which can be used again. The other compounds that now exist in the fuel are heavy isotopes (plutonium, americium, neptunium and curium) and other products of fission. Because uranium exists in this waste, it can be used in fast reactors as a fuel.
What plutonium isotope is used in reactors?
Pu-239
The most common plutonium isotope formed in a typical nuclear reactor is the fissile Pu-239, formed by neutron capture from U-238 (followed by beta decay), and which when fissioned yields much the same energy as the fission of U-235.
Which of the following substance is used to remove plutonium from spent nuclear fuel?
PUREX (plutonium uranium reduction extraction) is a chemical method used to purify fuel for nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. PUREX is the de facto standard aqueous nuclear reprocessing method for the recovery of uranium and plutonium from used nuclear fuel (spent nuclear fuel, or irradiated nuclear fuel).
What is spent nuclear fuel called?
Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant).
How is spent nuclear fuel recycled?
The nuclear fuel recycling process involves converting spent plutonium, formed in nuclear power reactors as a by-product of burning uranium fuel, and uranium into a “mixed oxide” (MOX) that can be reused in nuclear power plants to produce more electricity.
Why is uranium and plutonium used in nuclear reactors?
Uranium is the fuel most widely used by nuclear plants for nuclear fission. Uranium is considered a nonrenewable energy source, even though it is a common metal found in rocks worldwide. Nuclear power plants use a certain kind of uranium, referred to as U-235, for fuel because its atoms are easily split apart.
Can plutonium be used as fuel?
Plutonium-239 contains the highest quantities of fissile material, and is notably one of the primary fuels used in nuclear weapons. Like uranium, plutonium can also be used to fuel nuclear power plants, as is done in a few countries. Currently, the U.S. does not use plutonium fuel in its power reactors.
Where is plutonium used?
What is it used for? Plutonium-238 generates significant heat through its radioactive decay process, which makes it useful as a heat source for sensitive electrical components in satellites, as a well as a power source (for example, battery power) for satellites. Plutonium-239 is used to make nuclear weapons.
How does a reactor make plutonium?
Plutonium is created in a reactor when uranium atoms absorb neutrons. Nearly all plutonium is man-made. Plutonium predominantly emits alpha particles – a type of radiation that is easily stopped and has a short range. Like any radioactive isotopes, plutonium isotopes transform when they decay.
What happens to spent reactor fuel?
Used nuclear fuel can be recycled to make new fuel and byproducts. More than 90% of its potential energy still remains in the fuel, even after five years of operation in a reactor. The United States does not currently recycle used nuclear fuel but foreign countries, such as France, do.
Where is spent nuclear fuel stored?
spent fuel pools
Spent nuclear fuel is stored either in spent fuel pools (SFPs) or in dry casks. In the United States, SFPs and casks containing spent fuel are located either directly on nuclear power plant sites or on Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSIs).