Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
2004 International RERTR Meeting

A MOBILE MELT-DILUTE MODULE FOR THE TREATMENT OF ALUMINUM RESEARCH REACTOR SPENT FUEL

Harold Peacock, Donald Fisher, Thad Adams, Robert Sindelar, and Natraj Iyer
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
Savannah River National Laboratory Aiken, South Carolina, USA

David Sell, Ken Allen, Eric Howden, and Brian Westphal
Argonne National Laboratory
West Engineering Technology Division and Nuclear Technology Division
Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA

ABSTRACT
 

A mobile melt-dilute (MMD) module for the treatment of aluminum research reactor spent fuel is being developed jointly by the Savannah River National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. The process utilizes a closed system approach to retain fission products/gases inside a sealed canister after treatment. The MMD process melts and dilutes spent fuel with depleted uranium to obtain an isotopic content of less than 20%. The final ingot is solidified inside the sealed canister and can be stored safely either wet or dry until final disposition or reprocessing. The MMD module can be staged at or near the research reactor fuel storage sites to facilitate the melt-dilute treatment of the spent fuel into a stable non-proliferable form.

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