Implementation of americium recycling demonstration from spent nuclear fuel in the highlevel shielded process line CBP in the ATALANTE facility

Overview & Synopsis

As part of the radioactive waste management act of 2006, the minor actinides recovery from spent nuclear fuel is investigated for heterogeneous recycling in future fast neutron reactors. Within minor actinides, americium is, after plutonium, the main contributor to residual heat of long term radioactive wastes and Am recycling is a way to decrease their radiotoxicity. That is why, for nuclear fuel manufacturing and geological repository, it would be better to separate americium from curium. The experimental demonstration of americium recycling from spent nuclear fuel to (U,Am)O$_2$ pellets production is currently performed in the ATALANTE research facility of CEA Marcoule. The following steps were carried out in the high-level shielded process line (CBP) 1-Reception and dissolution of spent nuclear fuel in order to obtain the feed solution, 2-Clarification of this feed solution by cross-flow filtration in a way to remove the insoluble dissolution residues, 3-Implementation of a liquid-liquid extraction process to separate the main actinides uranium and plutonium, from the fission products and the minor actinides (americium and curium), 4-Purification and concentration of the raffinate solution containing all the fission products and the minor actinides thanks to a steam distillation step, 5-Americium selective extraction thanks to the EXAm process adapted to the concentrated raffinate in order to separate this minor actinide from curium and other fission products.The description of the successive steps will be detailed on the basis of the experimental processes and analytical results measured at each step.