Patent ID: 7279139

Claim:
An apparatus for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, comprising: a dissolving tank having a first inlet and a second inlet in a lower part thereof; a powder supply system, in communication with said first inlet, for continuously supplying powder of spent nuclear fuel through said first inlet and into a lower portion of said dissolving tank; an agitating member rotatably disposed in said dissolving tank; a nitric acid supply system, including a supply of nitric acid in communication with said second inlet, for supplying nitric acid through said second inlet and into said lower portion of said dissolving tank; and rise inhibiting structure, disposed in said dissolving tank above said agitating member, for inhibiting non-dissolved powder of the spent nuclear fuel from rising while allowing a solution, including powder of the spent nuclear fuel that has been dissolved by the nitric acid supplied into said lower portion of said dissolving tank, to flow upwardly past said rise inhibiting structure, wherein said first inlet and said second inlet are each at a level beneath a level at which said agitating member is located.