Open AccessThe Future of Nuclear Energy: Electrochemical Reprocessing of Fuel Takes Center Stage
Author(s) -
Bethany Kersten,
Krista L. Hawthorne,
Mark A. Williamson,
Rohan Akolkar,
Christine E. Duval
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the electrochemical society interface
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.568
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1944-8783
pISSN - 1064-8208
DOI - 10.1149/2.f06213f
Subject(s) - nuclear power , spent nuclear fuel , nuclear fuel , electrochemistry , waste management , nuclear engineering , actinide , environmental science , materials science , chemistry , nuclear chemistry , engineering , electrode , nuclear physics , physics
Nuclear power plants use energy-dense fuel and provide dependable baseload energy without generating greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these advantages, the long-term management of used nuclear fuel (UNF) remains a key challenge due to its lifetime (hundreds of thousands of years) and radiotoxicity. The components of UNF that contribute the most to this challenge are the actinide elements. A potential solution to this issue is to separate these radioisotopes from the bulk of the UNF and recycle them as fuel in advanced nuclear reactors. These separations can be achieved using electrochemical reprocessing, which employs electrochemical conversion and electrodeposition in a high-temperature molten salt electrolyte medium to separate the actinides from UNF. In this short perspective, we review the current status, fundamental challenges, and future prospects of electrochemical reprocessing as they relate to UNF recycling.