Thursday, January 21, 2016

NuScale Looks To Convert Old Nuclear Weapons Into Electricity

Portland, Oregon-based nuclear reactor technology developer NuScale said Wednesday that it is applying its technology to help reduce the stockpiles of plutonium by governments, in a move that would also expand the range of fuels that might be used in its nuclear reactors. According to NuScale, it has completed a study commissioned from the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), which looked at using NuScale's Small Modulur Reactor technology to dispose of plutonium, particularly mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel. Plutonium dioxide--which is extracted from retired, nuclear weapons--is mixed with depleted uranium dioxide to create MOX, which is less desirable for use in nuclear weapons and helps to reduce the chance of nuclear proliferation. NuScale said by using MOX in a 12-module plant, it could consume 100 metric tons of discharged plutonium in roughly 40 years, generating 200 million megawatts of electricity in the process.