POWER December 2012 - 77

NUCLEAR FUEL
in step with market needs for MOX fuel.
The mixture of uranium oxides and plutonium
is obtained from recycling used fuel
at AREVA NC's La Hague plant, which
currently handles nearly half of the world's
light water reactor spent nuclear fuel reprocessing
capacity.
In the U.S., from June 2005 through
May 2008, four MOX fuel test assemblies
containing WG plutonium were tested at
the Catawba nuclear plant located in Rock
Hill, S.C. Nondestructive and destructive
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hot cell examinations of five fuel rods verified
that the MOX fuel behaved as predicted
on the basis of experience with uranium
dioxide fuel and MOX fuel with recycled
RG plutonium.
Trice noted that the MFFF is a general
reproduction of France's La Hague and
MELOX plants. In addition, the Catawba
experience has been translated into MFFF
design features. " The processing technology
is generally similar, but the scale of the
MOX plant is much different. We operate
AcidGasExperts.com
about half of the production capacity of the
plants in France. Also, we are using weapons
grade plutonium as opposed to reactor
grade plutonium. We use pieces of machinery
that are similar to La Hague, but not
exactly the same because we are not reprocessing
spent nuclear fuel. At La Hague,
they take reactor fuel, chop it up, dissolve
it, extract the plutonium, then reprocess it
into plutonium oxide, and then ship the oxide
to the MELOX plant. "
Trice emphasized that although the
two French facilities were designed and
constructed according to French building
codes, the MFFF design meets all U.S.
regulatory requirements. It will also be a
hardened facility, similar to a nuclear reactor.
Security will be equal to the security
measures currently in place at SRS.
THE BALANCE OF POWER
Operating a power generation
plant is a balancing act.
Compliance issues, managing
emissions, Balance-of-Plant
impacts from emissions
control... and the bottom line.
At Breen, we understand
this balancing act. We're the
leader in bringing new ideas and
technologies to bear on the issues
that give plant managers
sleepless nights.
An innovator in acid gas
management, Breen balances
the concerns of compliance,
environ- mental issues, efficiency
and profitability. Our technologyand
chemical-neutral solutions
are the result of our ability to
discover, develop and apply
products and processes that
get results.
No matter the issues, Breen
brings the knowledge, experience,
tools and processes to make an
impact and deliver results.
Some of Breen's solutions
include: DSI (Dry Sorbent
Injection) demonstrations and
operations, MATS (Mercury and
Air Toxics Standards) compliance
strategies, and Fuel Lean Gas
Reburn for NOx and SOx
compliance.
Finding Customers for MOX Fuel
The Master Services Agreement, a result
of the successful Catawba fuel-testing program,
is a " very promising contract that
would open up a third of the U.S. reactor
fleet as potential users of MOX fuel, " according
to Trice. " Several utilities have
expressed interest, and that will create
a substantial demand for the MOX fuel. "
In the future, reactor licensees approved
to use MOX fuel are still expected to run
test assemblies for at least two operating
cycles to gain operational experience and
confirm computer models to predict fuel
performance.
The NRC expects no significant interim
storage differences between used MOX fuel
and used uranium fuel. After the MOX fuel
has been in a reactor for two operating cycles,
it can be stored in fuel pools or dry-storage
casks located at each reactor site. In the U.S.,
the used fuel will remain in interim storage
until a permanent geological repository is
available. If a repository is licensed, the used
MOX fuel assemblies would be packaged
into special containers and shipped directly
to the repository by truck or rail using NRCapproved
shipping packages.
Trice concluded that operation of the
To learn how Breen can help with your
" balancing act " , call 412.431.4499 or visit
www.breenes.com today.
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72
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POWER | December 2012
MFFF and disposing of surplus U.S. weapons-grade
plutonium will demonstrate that
the U.S. is living up to its nonproliferation
commitments in a transparent and irreversible
manner. In addition to these critical
nonproliferation benefits, the U.S. MOX
strategy will support additional DOE missions
by consolidating materials, thereby
reducing security and storage costs of surplus
plutonium, estimated to be hundreds
of millions of dollars annually, while generating
clean energy. ■
-James M. Hylko (jhylko1@msn.com)
is a POWER contributing editor.
COMPLIANCE ISSUES, MANAGING EMISSIONS, BALANCE-OF-PLANT IMPACTS, EMISSIONS CONTROL, PROFITABILITY,EFF

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POWER December 2012

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