Sustainable Nuclear Fuel Recycling and Environmental Stewardship

𝐍𝐮𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 and 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 are gaining attention due to advancements in technology and policy shifts. However, whilst they offer resource efficiency, waste reduction, and energy security opportunities - they also face economic viability issues, proliferation risks, technical challenges, and public opposition.
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Advanced fuel cycles for SMRs aim to reduce high-level waste and enable spent fuel recycling. Scale-up, commercialisation and uranium recovery efforts are being led by leaders including Orano, Oklo Inc and Argonne National Laboratory.
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Diverse reactor designs now include fast spectrum, molten salt, and micro-reactors, with some even marine-based or mobile. SMRs use various fuels depending on the reactor design and application, including LEU and HALEU.
Regulatory progress and international collaborations, like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s CRP and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency's SMR Dashboard, support the development of sustainable fuel cycles and spent fuel management strategies by identifying and collating viable options plus their respective roadmaps. 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 and 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 are crucial to address operational issues in advance.
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4𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 are expected to be commercially available by 2030 or later, they include Non-Light Water Reactors (LWRs) such as 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝-𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 (𝐋𝐅𝐑) and 𝐌𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 (𝐌𝐒𝐑) which offer '𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥-𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬', enabling spent fuel reuse and thus potentially transforming the nuclear fuel landscape. Kudos to Tony Grayson on his recent article "Why PWR SMRs Are Today’s Quickest Nuclear Solution While Gen IV Reactors Shape the Future".
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Further Reading: The NEA Small Modular Reactor Dashboard
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