Fig. 4-8 Advanced PUREX incorporated with partitioning function (PARC process) The PARC process is completely different from the current Purex process, which was developed for recovering only plutonium and uranium in very purified forms. The new partitioning function in PARC is designed to mitigate the environmental impacts of reprocessing wastes and to improve the economy of reprocessing.

Fig. 4-9 Process test bench for reprocessing study in NUCEF This test bench is installed in a small-scale alpha-gamma cell with a capacity of 3 kg of highly radioactive spent fuel. The testing started with uranium and simulated fussion products of radioisotopes.

An advanced process, PARC, is being developed to recover long-lived nuclides, such as neptunium and technetium, for recycling in an advanced fuel or for incineration. One of the key technologies in PARC is the minute valence control of those species in the reprocessing solutions. The very high recovery rate of neptunium, over 99.9%, has been successfully demonstrated by conducting selective reduction with a decomposable reagent as well as with photochemical and electrochemical methods. The new research facility, NUCEF, will be utilized for fundamental studyies to establish optimum process conditions and to demonstrate the feasibility of this advanced process with spent fuel.

Reference M. Maeda et al., A Process Conception of an Advanced Reprocessing Based on PUREX Process Incorporating the Partitioning Function, Proc. of Intern. Conf. on Evaluation of Emerging Nuclear Fuel Cycle Systems, GLOBAL 95, Sep. 11-14, 1995, France, 556 (1995).

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