Spent Fuel Reprocessing: an Overview
نویسنده
چکیده
India has entered in the field of spent fuel reprocessing as early as sixties by way of R&D studies and finalising the process flow sheet. India's first spent fuel reprocessing plant was commissioned in the year 1965 at Trombay to reprocess spent fuel arising from research reactors. The recovered plutonium is being utilised to feed various programmes of the department. With the passage of time, the country has mastered the technology of spent fuel reprocessing in terms of percentage receovery, reduction in generation of waste volume and improvement in safety culture. In seventies, the country has entered in the field of reprocessing of spent fuel arising from power reactor by way of design, erection and commissioning of a reprocessing plant at Tarapur (PREFRE) and subsequently one more reprocessing plant has been commissioned at Kalpakkam (KARP). Presently, spent fuel from KAPS and MAPS are being reprocessed at PREFRE Tarapur and KARP Kalpakkam respectively and fuel from Dhruva & CIRUS is being reprocessed at Plutonium Plant, Trombay. Recently, the country has also developed the process flow sheet for separation of uranium from thorium rod irradiated in a research reactor and this has been demonstrated by successful commissioning of a plant at BARC, Trombay (UTSF) and recovered uranium is being used for various programmes of the department. Design work is also in progress for separation of uranium from thorium rod irradiated in power reactor. R&D activities are also going on for development of process flow sheet for reprocessing of spent fuel which will be arising from AHWR in near future.
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