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India setting up Integrated Nuclear Recycle Plant: Banerjee

CONNAN

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India setting up Integrated Nuclear Recycle Plant: Banerjee

Posted: Wed Sep 22 2010, 22:29 hrs

India today announced that it had commenced engineering activities for setting up facilities for reprocessing spent fuel and management of waste generated by its atomic power plants.

"Recently, India has commenced engineering activities for setting up of an Integrated Nuclear Recycle Plant with facilities for both reprocessing of spent fuel and waste management," Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, said.

He was addressing the 54th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

Setting up adequate reprocessing capability has been an important element of India's closed fuel cycle based programme, he said.

Banerjee also noted that Parliament had recently passed the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill which will go a long way in creating a predictable environment in which leading vendors can participate in India's nuclear programme.

He also told the gathering that the 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor was at an advanced stage of construction.

"The spent mixed carbide fuel from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) with a burn-up of 155 GWd/t was reprocessed in the Compact Reprocessing facility for Advanced fuels in Lead cells (CORAL). Thereafter, the fissile material was re-fabricated as fuel and loaded back into the reactor, thus 'closing' the fast reactor fuel cycle," he said.

He told the international nuclear community that India was also setting up the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) which will provide a forum for joint work with our international partners in areas of topical interest.

Banerjee said that based on the already established indigenous technology, India is expanding its uranium enrichment capacity which will meet a part of the requirements of light water reactors.

After elaborating about the progress in the indigenous programme, Banerjee said, "In-principle approval has been accorded for energy parks at five coastal sites. Each park will be populated with a number of water cooled reactors to be constructed through international cooperation."

Thus India is poised to expand its installed nuclear power capacity to about 60 GWe by 2032, he said adding international cooperation will not only provide an additionality to India's own programme in meeting immediate requirements but also fill up the energy deficit in the coming decades through the operation of the closed fuel cycle.

Banerjee said Indian Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) offer a basket of options for countries that are looking for cost competitive and proven technologies in the small and medium size reactors.

"Indian industry is not only poised to play a bigger contribution to India's own nuclear programme but also is on the way to becoming a competitive supplier in the global market with regard to special steels, large size forgings, control instruments, software, other nuclear components and services," he said.
 
22 SEP, 2010, 11.03PM IST,PTI
India setting up Integrated Nuclear Recycle Plant: Banerjee


India setting up Integrated Nuclear Recycle Plant: Banerjee - The Economic Times

MUMBAI: India on Wednesday announced that it had commenced engineering activities for setting up facilities for reprocessing spent fuel and management of waste generated by its atomic power plants.

"Recently, India has commenced engineering activities for setting up of an Integrated Nuclear Recycle Plant with facilities for both reprocessing of spent fuel and waste management," Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, said.

He was addressing the 54th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. Setting up adequate reprocessing capability has been an important element of India's closed fuel cycle based programme, he said. Banerjee also noted that Parliament had recently passed the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill which will go a long way in creating a predictable environment in which leading vendors can participate in India's nuclear programme.

He also told the gathering that the 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor was at an advanced stage of construction.

"The spent mixed carbide fuel from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) with a burn-up of 155 GWd/t was reprocessed in the Compact Reprocessing facility for Advanced fuels in Lead cells (CORAL). Thereafter, the fissile material was re-fabricated as fuel and loaded back into the reactor, thus 'closing' the fast reactor fuel cycle," he said.

He told the international nuclear community that India was also setting up the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) which will provide a forum for joint work with our international partners in areas of topical interest.

Banerjee said that based on the already established indigenous technology, India is expanding its uranium enrichment capacity which will meet a part of the requirements of light water reactors.

After elaborating about the progress in the indigenous programme, Banerjee said, "In-principle approval has been accorded for energy parks at five coastal sites. Each park will be populated with a number of water cooled reactors to be constructed through international cooperation."

Thus India is poised to expand its installed nuclear power capacity to about 60 GWe by 2032, he said adding international cooperation will not only provide an additionality to India's own programme in meeting immediate requirements but also fill up the energy deficit in the coming decades through the operation of the closed fuel cycle.

Banerjee said Indian Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) offer a basket of options for countries that are looking for cost competitive and proven technologies in the small and medium size reactors.

"Indian industry is not only poised to play a bigger contribution to India's own nuclear programme but also is on the way to becoming a competitive supplier in the global market with regard to special steels, large size forgings, control instruments, software, other nuclear components and services," he said.
 
Under an integrated management approach, used nuclear fuel will remain stored at nuclear power plants in the near term. Eventually, the government will recycle it and place the unusable end product in a deep geologic repository.
 
The nuclear energy industry supports a three-pronged, integrated used fuel management strategy:

1. interim storage of used fuel at centralized, volunteer locations
2. research, development and demonstration of advanced technology to recycle nuclear fuel
3. development of a permanent disposal facility.

Used fuel storage at nuclear plant sites is safe and secure. However, interim storage sites at centralized volunteer locations will enable the movement of used fuel from both decommissioned and operating plants before recycling facilities or a repository begin
operating.

A research and development program, including a commercial demonstration plant, should be implemented to recycle used nuclear fuel. The objectives of reprocessing and recycling uranium fuel are to reclaim a significant amount of energy that remains in the fuel and to reduce the volume, heat and toxicity of byproducts placed in the repository.
 
Goals of an Integrated Strategy

An integrated used fuel management program includes key elements phased in during the short, medium and long terms.

Short-term goals include:


Continuing NRC endorsement of waste confidence and the signing of standard contracts between DOE and energy companies for managing used fuel at new nuclear plants. These goals were accomplished in 2008.
Adequately funding the repository licensing process, including the NRC’s review of DOE’s Yucca Mountain repository construction application. The Obama administration has announced its intent to terminate this project and withdraw DOE’s license application. The industry believes the licensing process should continue. Ultimately, a geologic repository will be needed somewhere. Even if a facility is not built at Yucca Mountain, completion of the licensing process will yield vital lessons that will facilitate completion of a facility when a new site is selected. However, if the administration halts the Yucca Mountain licensing process, the industry believes it should be done in a manner that would facilitate resuming the process at a later date should that be warranted.
Developing a research and development program for advanced fuel recycling technologies, including government partnerships with industry.
Identifying and developing volunteer sites for interim storage and advanced fuel-cycle facilities.

Medium-term goals include:

Moving used fuel to interim storage sites, ideally at advanced fuel-cycle development sites
Continuing research, development and demonstration of advanced fuel recycling and fuel fabrication technologies to make them more cost effective and efficient and to maximize uranium recycling
Repository licensing.

Long-term goals include:

Commercial advanced fuel recycling
Operating the repository.
 
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An advanced nuclear fuel recycling center contains facilities where usable uranium and transuranics are separated from spent light water reactor fuel for use in producing new fuel that can be reused in a power reactor.
 
^^^^Good posts con.

"The spent mixed carbide fuel from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) with a burn-up of 155 GWd/t was reprocessed in the Compact Reprocessing facility for Advanced fuels in Lead cells (CORAL). Thereafter, the fissile material was re-fabricated as fuel and loaded back into the reactor, thus 'closing' the fast reactor fuel cycle," he said.

Interesting. This is a step further for the closed recycled power plant in the future. I think they are setting up it in Mysore.
 

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