Carbide Fuel Reprocessing
and Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle
Development
Baldev Raj
Distinguished Scientist and Director,
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic ResearchKalpakkam 603 102

THREE STAGE NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAM
9589

A v a ila b ility/C a p a c ity F a cto r (% ) ----->

9085
82

75

72

80

6975

70
65

90

7980
75

84

84

85

86

71
67

60
55

60
Stage– I PHWRs

50
1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03• 15- Operating• 5 - Under construction• Several others planned• Scaling to 700 MWe• Gestation period
being reduced• POWER POTENTIAL ≅10,000 MWeLWRs• 2 BWRs Operating• 2 VVERs underconstruction

Stage – II
Fast Breeder Reactors• 40 MWth FBTR Operating Technology
Objectives realised• 500 MWe PFBRconstruction commenced• POWER POTENTIAL ≅540,000 MWe

Stage – III
Thorium Based Reactors•30 kWth KAMINI- Operating• 300 MWe AHWR- UnderRegulatory Examination• POWER POTENTIAL ≅ Very
Large. Availability of ADS
can enable early
introduction of Thorium ona large scale

2Five Phase Programme of theIndian FBR Fuel reprocessing•Phase I: Development phase consisting ofProcessformulation,
validation,
design and development ofequipment•

Phase II: Construction and operation of a pilot plant called
CORAL (COmpact Reprocessing of Advanced fuels in Leadshielded cells, formerly known as the Lead Mini Cell, LMC).

•

Phase III: Construction and operation of DFRP (Demonstration
fast reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant) to gain experience in FBR
reprocessing with high availability factors and throughput•

Phase IV: Construction and operation of PFRP (PFBR Fuel
Reprocessing Plant) for commercial reprocessing.

•Phase V: Construction and operation of a Pyrochemical
Reprocessing Plant
3

Carbide Fuel Cycle of FBTR Fuel fabricated at BARC

 Comprehensive PIE of FBTR fuelat 25, 50 and 100 GWd/t in hotcells under inert atmosphere:
destructive as well as nondestructive techniques employed FBTR Mark I Fuel has now reached
154 GWd/t without fuel pin failurein the core
 Fuel discharged at 25, 50 and 100GWd/t reprocessed in CORALfacility
4100 GWd/t

FBR Fuel Reprocessing in CORAL facility•CORAL is a compact lead shielded facility withα-tight containment, designed on a no-direct
maintenance concept.
•Houses all the equipments like single-pin chopper,dissolver, centrifuge, Centrifugal Extractors (CEs),
sampling units etc.
Reprocessing GroupIGCAR• Gadgets like Radiation Shielding Windows(RSW)
in-cell crane and articulated arm type MSM (Master –Slave manipulators) enable remote operation andmaintenance.
•Annular or slab type process vessels for avoiding
criticality.

CORAL@RpGIGCAR(Earlier known as LMC)

• CORAL took up progressive reprocessing exercise
of low burn-up fuel pins, 25 GWd/T, 50 GWd/T and100 GWd/T fuel pinswith stage-wise safetyclearances.
5

16-stage CE bank duringassembling•The initial batch runs of the extraction andstripping for the first two batches of theconditioned dissolver solution were carried out inactive laboratory thereby establishing theextraction parameters in the plant.
• On the basis in-house studies, the strategy forthe destruction of dissolved carbon was finalized.
The Pu losses in the raffinate stream during thevarious CORAL campaigns were low.

16 Stage CE Bank

• In the successive CORAL campaigns with higher
burn-up spent fuels, Pu retention in the leanorganic was further minimized by the multiple
point introduction of uranous nitrate stream in thestrip section.
•All the models of CE (fixed weir, adjustable weirand belt driven) used in CORAL performed well.
•Based on the remote operation and maintenance,
suitable choice could be made for future plants.6

CEs inside CORAL Facility The Single Pin Chopper (SPC), developed at
RDL is modular in nature with remotely
maintainable parts using the Master Slave
Manipulators (MSM).
 A prototype SPC was installed in CORAL after
rigoroustestingunder
non-radioactive
conditions.
 CORAL experience imparted confidence totake up similar campaigns with still higher
burn-up fuels discharged from FBTR.
 The decontamination and recovery factors
achieved during these campaigns have formed
the inputs for finalising the process flowsheet
for the forthcoming plants DFRP and PFRP.
 DFRP intended to meet the total requirement ofFBTR irradiated fuel reprocessing.
 Provision exists for reprocessing PFBR fuels
subassemblies.
7•Facilities for solvent treatment and raffinate
evaporation (not part of CORAL) provided•DFRP scheduled for commissioning in 2009.
•The long felt need for online or quick processcontrol analysis of Pu in raffinate and loaded organic
stream will be addressed in DFRP to gain operating
experience with this system. The determination of Pu
in the hulls is difficult because of high Co60
background. An indirect method using Ce144 has
been successfully deployed to measure the Pu in thehull in CORAL facility.
Ti Dissolver•Heavy duty manipulators with extended arm type
and three piece type are used with special
containment to avoid α contamination during
maintenance.
•The DFRP, under erection, will aid in estimating thevarious performance factors of plant operation. Its
operation will further enable improvement inrecovery and reduction in number of cycles.

Acid Loop forCorrosion Studies8• Advanced process equipments likethemulti-pin
chopper,rotarydissolver, screw calciner, microware
oven for direct denitration and acompact layout design with poison
Perspex Model of Dissolver
tube cylindrical vessels etc. are being
developed.
• A small scale dissolver in Zircaloy
fabricated and undergoing testing.
• Alloys like Ti-5%Ta-1.8%Nb are being
Conceptual Rotary Dissolver
developed for corrosion resistantdissolver and evaporator.
• A compact LINAC based neutron
generator is being developed at
IGCAR for use in the active neutroninterrogation system
Prototype Rotary Dissolver

9Studies on Ionic Liquids•Extraction of uranium by TBP in ionicliquid•Effect of chain length of alkyl groups inIL
•Use of RTIL for replacing conventional
diluent•Non-aqueous reprocessing
Palladium deposit
obtained from ionic liquid
as electrolyte• Palladium electrodeposition fromionic liquid• Uranium oxide electrodeposition•Extraction-cum-electrodeposition• Palladium extraction followed by10Electro deposition

Maximum Pu Conc. g/L

Modeling for Reprocessing

Strip2 (4BaseNAcid),Flowid),
1 N Ac0.
0(1StriplowBase F

Variation of Max. Pu Concentration inthe HC contactor: Results from
SIMPSEX code developed at IGCAR

Plot of deviations for Model developedfor density of multi-solute solutions.
Point with arrow mark indicatesdeviationfor
theextreme
Pu
concentration of 730 g/L at 59° C:
Researchers at JNC, Tokai, found it as
the best equation among the ones11listedin the literature.

FBR Fuel Reprocessing – New Directions Improvements in process to handle fuel of high burn-up with
better solvents as well as better extractors
 Studies on the behaviour of important fission products e,g.,Zr, Ru, Tc and Np for achieving high DF
 Reduction in number of equipment by simple plant designand simpler technology implementations
 Use of Borated/poisoned Steels to realise compact plant size Reduction of plant construction time Increased availability of the plant Newer technologies like supercritical extraction, ionic liquids
12and advanced pyroprocessing

Redefining Reprocessing: Recovery of ALL valuable
elements from irradiated fuel
FBR/ADS
BasedP&T

MOX FuelFBRPark

MOX Fuel FF
NpSpent Fuel

Disassembly HAF& Dissolution

TcU+PuTBP Based Advanced PUREX
Extraction

U129I

HAW

Actinide Partitioning andGroup Separation

Hulls, SW andInsolubles

90Sr,137Cs, PGM

recoveryLn/ Other FPs

Actinides

Deep Underground
Geological Disposal &Monitoring

Applications: 137Cs - Irradiation, 90Sr 13
Heat Sources, PGM - catalyst etc

Integrated Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility (FRFCF)

14

Thorium Fuel Cycle Related Studies

KAMINI Reactor@IGCAR

 Some of the equipments developed
were also deployed in thereprocessing campaigns ofirradiated thorium fuel rods torecover U-233.
 A part of the recovered U-233 wasused in the fabrication of FBR MOX
fuel for the irradiation experiments
in FBTR.
 Recovered U-233 was also used formaking driver fuel for KAMINI
reactor.
 At present, 30 kWt KAMINI reactor inKalpakkam is the only reactor in theworld operating with U-233 as its
driver fuel.
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Computational Benchmarking of Transmutation in FBRIAEA has initiated a CRP on “Studies of Advanced ReactorTechnology Options for Effective Incineration of RadioactiveWaste”
Overall objectives•Perform R&D contributing towards the proof of practicality oftransmutation of MAs using ADS and reactors•IGCAR is participating with an option of fast reactor core similar toPFBR for MAs separated from PHWRs
FBR Benchmark characteristics•Power : 1150 MWth•3 rows of ThO2 radial blanket and depleted UO2 axial blanket•Two cores of (U,Pu)O2 MOX with 19.5 and 27.1% PuO2 enrichment•MAs uniformly distributed throughout the core16

Benchmark Results• Reductions in the MA for a cycle length 195 daysin core 1,• for 25 GWd/t (single cycle) is 12%• for 49 GWd/t (two cycles) is 22%• Thus the core is an effective incinerator• No significant MA is produced in ThO2 blanket• Overall reactor safety due to incineration of MA
is comparable to PFBR
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Studies on Partitioning
410

3102

•
Extensive batch and counter current
liquid-liquid extraction runs with actualand simulated HLWs typically generated
by different reprocessing operations withOΦCMPO, malonamide, and diglycolic
amides (TODGA and TEHDGA)TO DG ACM POC y a n e x -9 2 3
DM DBTDM AKd101011000123456[H N O 3], MAm(III) uptake
0.5LOC,[Nd], mol/L-Extraction chromatographic studies

1.2 M TAP+0.2M CMPO/n-DD
0.9 M TAP+0.2M CMPO/n-DD
1.2 M TBP+0.2M CMPO/n-DD
0.6 M TAP+0.2M CMPO/n-DD

0.4

0.3-Studies on third phase formation

0.2

0.1

0.00123[HNO 3 ], mol/L456-Studies on Actinide/Lanthanide

Third phase formation in TAP-CMPO
separation/n-DD-Nd(NO3)3 system

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PARTITIONING OF HLW - STATUS•

Removal of residual U & Pu from HLW– PUREX(Industrially Established)• TBP(Industrially available)•

Partitioning of Minor Actinides (Bulk Separation)– TRUEX(Inactive engineering scale trials)• CMPO(Indigenously synthesized)– TODGA Process (Inactive engineering scale trials)– TEHDGA(Indigenously synthesized)•

Actinide-lanthanide Group Separation– TALSPEAK• HDEHP(Industrially available)– N, S Based Solvents• N,S solvents (Diaza diamide based; triazines) (underdevelopment)19

Indigenously Synthesized Actinide Partitioning
Solvents – Performance on Plant Scale Trials(Inactive)
CMPOTEHDGA(0.25 M CMPO + 1.2 M TBP in n-dodecane)(0.2 M TEHDGA in n-dodecane with isodecyl alcohol)% Extracted% Stripped% Extracted% Stripped

Ln

97.58

99.60

97.27

99.71

Ce98.45

~100

99.72

~100

Mo 88.31

95.68

1694.56

Ru 20.0~100

15~100

SrNA

3.0

94.85

NAContactors: Ejector Mixer Settler & Combined Air Lift mixer settlers
Run Duration : 6-8 Hours20

Pyrochemical Reprocessing
Suitable for for High burn-up, shortcooled fuels
Molten Salt Electrorefining Process Ideally suited for Metallic fuels
Lab scale studies
Engineering scale facility in glove box
with provision for manipulators
Feasibility of electrorefining of UO2establishedNo bulk chlorination, saving energy
UO2 DepositDevelopment of MgCl2 salts as alternate
electrolyte to CsCl-NaCl
Electrorefining of UO2 in MgCl2 based
electrolyte established

UO2 Anode Pellet

Separation factor for Ce in thiselectrolyte determined to be in the range
60-100 (IAEA – CRP- Project)21

Oxide Electrowinning Process¾ Development of 50%MgCl2-30%NaCl-20%KCl salt as alternate
electrolyte to 2 CsCl-NaCl- Lower melting temperature, Less expensive than 2 CsCl-NaCl- Anhydrous MgCl2 available as by-product from Zr sponge plant ofNuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad

UO22+/UO2: 0.103 V
CeO+/CeO :‐0.299 V# Sufficient electrochemical
window for oxide fuel processing# Separation of U and22
Ce oxides feasible

Schematic of Indian concept of Fast-Thermal ADS
Ongoing Indian activities on ADS
development
Proton beamport
Fast Zone

Fast Zone primary heatexchanger

 Reactor physics codes and data.
 Studies and computations for target
nuclear reactions.

Thermal Zone
(Pressurised Channels)

 Experimental LBE loop for thermal
hydraulics and materials development.

Void fromfast to
thermal boundary

Fast zone loaded withhigher actinides-rich fuel.

 Experimental sub-critical reactor
physics with 14-MeV neutron generator.
 High intensity proton sources and lowenergy linear accelerator project.
 Superconducting RF cavity development
for high-energy section of proton LINAC.

Thermal zone with Th-U
fuel & D2O moderatorcoolant.
23Roadmap for ADS development••••••

Developing basic scientific know-how for accelerator, target andsub-critical core with new fuel species.
Developing human resources to conduct R & D programmes.
Construction and utilization of Experimental validation facilities.
Technology development in priority areas.
Design and safety analysis of ADS prototypes.
Spin-off applications of developmental projects.

Future plans on ADS
Initially a 5 MW fission power ADS is planned
This will be a sub-critical reactor operating at near ambient
temperature & driven with a few mA proton beam of 120-150MeV ADS would be used to verify and fine tune calculation codewith U-Th fuels to study burn-up reactivity kinetics without“nuclear safety” risks
In the long range a demonstration ADS with 10-20mA,
500-600MeV proton beam driving a sub-critical reactor of
100 MW fission power is planned with a coolant temperature 24of ~350oC

Conclusions• All phases of fast reactor fuel reprocessing have been
demonstrated.
• Emphasis is on processing of irradiated fuels with highPu content, High burnup and short-cooling.
• Indian R&D on fast reactor fuel cycle is mature.
• India is redefining reprocessing as a process withemphasis on recovery of all the valuable materials forsocietal use. Wealth from waste is also a piller ofstrength in the Indian strategy.
• Work on the processes for MA separation andpartitioning is under progress.
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