Solvent Extraction Process Development for Partitioning and Transmutation of Spent Fuel

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), along with other national laboratories, has been developing a solvent extraction process for partitioning of spent fuel constituents to lead to safer and cheaper disposal of high-level waste. The process, known as UREX+, separates key radionuclides from dissolved spent fuel into: (1) uranium for disposal as LLW, (2) technetium for disposal as HLW, (3) iodine for disposal as HLW, (4) Cs/Sr for decay storage followed by disposal as LLW, (5) Pu/Np for production of mixed-oxide fuel, (6) Am/Cm for fast-reactor fuel or transmutation, and (7) all remaining soluble fission products for disposal. This paper discusses the ANL development effort including (1) design of process flowsheets by data collection and flowsheet development using the Argonne Model for Universal Solvent Extraction (AMUSE) code, (2) design of an advanced ANL centrifugal contactor, and (3) demonstration of alternative solvent extraction flowsheet options for the UREX+ process using dissolved fuel.