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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle:The MOX Project at Savannah River Site
Joan S. BozzoneSite Engineering and Project Integration Division
Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) Georgia Conference September 12-13, 2012
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle:The MOX Project at Savannah River Site
• Introduction to SRS
• NNSA nuclear nonproliferation
• MOX Project overview
• Sustainability features
• Department of Energy reservation
• Site of nuclear materials production from early 1950’s to 1989
• Home to Savannah River National Laboratory
• Federal and contractor workforce ~12,000
• Annual Budget ~ $2 Billion
Savannah River Site
Savannah River Site Missions
• 310 square-mile, multi-program Department of Energy reservation with national missions:
• Environmental Management (EM) • stabilize and dispose of legacy nuclear
materials• receive and manage spent nuclear
fuels • manage and dispose of 36 million
gallons of radioactive liquid wastes• remediate soil and groundwater
• National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• produce and recycle tritium for national defense
• convert 34 metric tons of weapon grade plutonium into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel
Weapons dismantlement
Plutonium components stored in
heavily guarded bunkers at Pantex
Plant (Amarillo, TX)
Berlin Wall comes down --
1989End of Cold War
Nonproliferation Background
• End of cold war brings arms reduction– Excess fissile materials accumulate in
U.S. and Russia– Potential for theft by terrorists and rogue
nations declared to be a “clear and present danger”
• U.S. and Russia commit to eliminate surplus fissile materials– Nearly 300 metric tons of fissile
materials declared excess to defense needs
– Material will never again be used in a nuclear weapon
5
6
Nuclear Nonproliferation Mission
• Conversion of at least 34 metric tons of U. S. weapon grade plutonium into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel :
– Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) • Produce mixed oxide fuel elements for irradiation in domestic
commercial nuclear power plants– Pit Disassembly and Conversion Capability
• Disassemble nuclear weapon pits, remove impurities, and convert the metal into oxide for use in MFFF
– Waste Solidification Building • Process high activity and low activity waste waters from MFFF to a
form suitable for onsite or off-site disposal
• Implements international agreement with Russia to also dispose of 34 metric tons of Russian surplus weapons-grade plutonium
Recycling Weapon Grade Plutonium into Nuclear Fuel
7
Weapons Dismantlement
atPantex
Interim Storageat Pantex
Pit Disassembly
and Conversion
at SRS MOX FuelFabrication
at SRS
New Facility
SurplusPlutonium
Pits
Pit & Non -Pit Plutonium*
Pu OxideFeed
Spent fuel is unsuitable
and unattractive
for use in nuclear
weapons
Enhanced/ RegularPurificationCapability
Commercial Nuclear Reactors
Waste Weapons
Dismantlementat
Pantex
Interim Storageat Pantex
Pit Disassembly
and ConversionCapability MOX Fuel
Fabrication at SRS
SurplusPlutonium
Pits
Non-PitPlutonium Storage
at SRS
Spent fuel is unsuitable
and unattractive
for use in nuclear
weapons
PurificationCapability
Metal
Pu OxideFeed
WasteSolidificationBuilding
SRS Waste ManagementInfrastructure
WIPPLiquidWaste
MOX Fuel
LLNL
LANL
Hanford
Rocky Flats
SRS
LLNL – Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
LANL – Los Alamos National Laboratory
SRS – Savannah River Site
WIPP – Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
After irradiation, plutonium will meet the spent fuel standard – making it as inaccessible and unattractive for use in weapons as plutonium in commercial spent fuel
LEED Gold Certified sustainable buildings
MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility at SRS
December, 2011 Designed, Constructed, Operated by Shaw AREVA MOX Services, LLC
French Reference Facilities
PuO2Conversion
Aqueous Polishing Process
Dissolution
PurificationCycle
Powder Master Blend & Final Blend Production
PelletProduction
RodProduction
Fuel RodAssembling
MOX Mechanical Assembly Process
La Hague
Melox
Paris
9
• French have been making and using MOX fuel for more than 25 years.
• More than 80% of French electrical needs are met by nuclear power
Cutaway 3-D View of Aqueous Polishing Process
3-D engineering model image shown without walls
11
Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility
Fuel Manufacturing Area Looking North East
12
MOX Fuel Assemblies• Identical appearance to uranium fuel
assemblies used in commercial nuclear power reactors in the United States.
• The fuel rods are inspected, decontaminated, and bundled together to form fuel assemblies.
• Each fuel assembly contains 264 fuel rods in a 17 X 17 array, 13 feet long
• Each rod contains about 360 pellets
• Average plutonium loading 4 – 5 weight percent
• Each assembly produces enough carbon emission-free electricity to power 30,000 homes for a year
MOX Fuel Assemblies
Program Level: Recycling Weapon Grade Plutonium to Nuclear Fuel
Project Level: Environmental Management System, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)Certification, Waste Management Systems
Process Level: Design recycling into systems with zero liquid effluence, Design for eventual building disposal, Optimize waste management features, Incorporate sustainable building features
Operational Level: Establish expectations, Monitor and trend energy and recycling savings, Develop and implement employee training programs, Minimize operational waste, Institute procedures
Sustainability by Design
What Does LEEDTM Mean?
A leading-edge system for certifying the DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, & OPERATIONS of the greenest performing buildings in the world
Rainwater Collection Tank for IrrigationEndangered Species Garden
Solar panels and High efficiency HVAC
15
Aqueous Polishing Process Reuse/Recycling
Dissolution PurificationDecanning Canning
Oxalic Mother Liquor
Recovery
Solvent Recovery
Process Off-Gas Treatment
Acid Recovery
Organic Waste
(Mixed Low Level Waste)
Mechanical Pre-treatment (AFS)
Conversion
Stripped Uranium
(Low Level Waste)
High Alpha (Transuranic
Waste)
Distillates (Low Level
Waste)
16
MOX Fuel Assembly Process
• Inspections throughout the process cull and recycle imperfect pellets
Operational Programs
employee awareness and training programs
Preferential ParkingCommitment Wall on Repurposed Building
Materials recycling has saved $130,368 in 2012
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: $ensible for the MOX Project
• Program Cost Savings
• Project Cost Savings
• Operational Cost Savings