If the UK goes ahead with building a PRISM reactor, it won't have an Advanced Recycling Center attached , so the PRISM reactor will burn all of the used nuclear fuel in one hit, it wont separate out the Uranium from the Plutonium, and yes that will give them 100 years supply of fuel to supply the whole of the UK with electricity, but if they added an ARC, they then might be looking at a similar figure to what the US congress was told by GE, a figure of around 900 years supply of fuel for the US.
But for the figure of 900 years fuel for it,s reactors, it has to separate out that 94% of unused Uranium from the Plutonium, it could use the RepU (recovered Uranium) in a CANDU reactor? but that would be a one thru prospect, or they could re-enrich the RepU to a higher degree to overcome the actinides effects? but if they do that, then they will have to handle that fuel very very carefully at every stage in handling before it is used back in a BWR reactor, because it would be harmful to any workers at any stage of using that fuel.
But consider this, we know that when they enrich the uranium using the silex process, they are basically separating the Uranium Isotope from other materials, if they can do that then would it not be possible to do exactly the same thing and separate out the Uranium from the RepU leaving the actinides as waste for burning in the PRISM reactor, or for burial, Just leaving the enriched Uranium as product?
If that is at all possible? then this RepU fuel becomes much easier to handle because it does not containing the harmful actinides, it would for all intense purposes be exactly the same as low enriched Uranium, LEU which is what goes into the BWR reactor in the first place.
GE have stated that they will either use the recovered Uranium in a CANDU reactor OR reprocess the Uranium further, I firmly believe they will do the latter, and whether they re enrich it to a higher degree or separate out the Uranium, I believe that it may be possible that the Silex system will be used, but they sure as hell won't be telling us, but logic says they might!
I just know scienceboy will say no on this? but I very much doubt that he would have had anything to do with what I am saying? and I highly suspect, that that in itself may be part of the reason he no longer works in that area, or any other Silex person for that matter, I reckon the technology has moved on to a higher place even though it may be the enabling technology.
I still believe that Paducah will go ahead, simply because of environmental reasons, but Wilmington may not? if what I am saying has any legs at all, they won't need to build it, simply because they will have enriched Uranium coming out of their ears.
But I would be keeping a very close eye on what GE come up with on this latest look at PRISM as an alternative.
I just know I am sticking my neck out here with this, but I will stick with my convictions here because I believe this is what is driving change of tack by GLE.
The technology works, Paducah is proof of that.
Consider this, if Centrus Energy Corp didn't think there would not be any money to be made from LEU production using ACP then why are they still following it up, I reckon they would build a plant asap if they had finished ACP testing and had the money to build a plant why would cost a lot more than twice what a GLE plant would cost?
I believe GLE would build Wilmington tomorrow, if they didn't think there was a prospect of an even cheaper method of getting enriched Uranium somehow?
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