nuclear waste

There was a thread about japan having a reactor that used nuclear waste as a fuel, but I can't find it with a search and I didn't favorite the link. Anyone know where it is?

Thanks

damn japs

you're kinda tough on the little guys.

they were speeding up natural decay of waste and recovering the energy. instead of burying high level waste they were converting it to low level waste, which was easier to dispose of.

Originally posted by bigx01
There was a thread about japan having a reactor that used nuclear waste as a fuel, but I can't find it with a search and I didn't favorite the link. Anyone know where it is?

Thanks

For more information about the Japanese facility, try this. I already posted a thread myself on Accelerator Driven Systems.

They are using that energy to fuel their Mech Suits, and also their cloaking suits for the Mechs.
They will come over here, then uncloak and take over...MWHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Originally posted by Simon666

For more information about the Japanese facility, try this. I already posted a thread myself on Accelerator Driven Systems.

Thanks for your help

Don't Plotonium reactors run on Nuklear waste?? (I mean only the waste from other Nuklier reactors not just some radioactive garbage)

Thanks

Originally posted by bigx01
There was a thread about japan having a reactor that used nuclear waste as a fuel, but I can't find it with a search and I didn't favorite the link. Anyone know where it is?

Thanks

Scientific American wrote something about this in the past year. It was something about using the energy from radiation to power the refining process for nuclear fuel. The actual waste is not physically used, but its remaining energy is harnessed. I'll try to find the article to make sure I'm right.

we need to change the law to allow the us to reproccess our spent nuclear fuel instead of letting it pile up in holding ponds. right now there are tons of fuel just sitting in those ponds

Originally posted by bigx01
we need to change the law to allow the us to reproccess our spent nuclear fuel instead of letting it pile up in holding ponds. right now there are tons of fuel just sitting in those ponds

There is no such law prohibitng US companies from researching or attempting to use nuclear waste for energy purposes, to my knowledge. Westinghouse was one of the biggest US financers in this field. But over the last 30 years its become expensive and has yielded poor in results to run these operations. In fact, Westinghouse is being bought for $5 billion by a Japanese company, though I do not know the name.

Originally posted by Frosty

There is no such law prohibitng US companies from researching or attempting to use nuclear waste for energy purposes, to my knowledge. Westinghouse was one of the biggest US financers in this field. But over the last 30 years its become expensive and has yielded poor in results to run these operations. In fact, Westinghouse is being bought for $5 billion by a Japanese company, though I do not know the name.

the government, under President Carter, made it against the law to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear powerplants. look it up

Originally posted by bigx01
the government, under President Carter, made it against the law to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear powerplants. look it up

True, that's why they let it be done in countries like mostly France.

I have an idea for Nuclear Waste.

Grind it up into a powder and put it back into the ground in similar proportions from which it came.

you guys are way off.

Japan, like many other countries use pressurized water reactors (PWR's). This consists of a large pressure vessel filled with water and a fuel assembly consisting of long fuel rods. The fuel rods are removed every ~ 18 months and replaced with fresh fuel.

This WASTE can be reprocessed to extract the usable U235 still present in the waste (or Pu239, etc..). This reprocessed fissionable waste can then be used to created a MOX, mixed oxide fuel, which can be then reused in the reactor.

So.... it's simple. Why waste the used fuel, when there is still so much energy left in the used fuel.


reply to last post:

unfortunately, 'grinding' up used fuel and putting it back into the ground is not feasible. Used fuel has a matrix of nasty fission product waste (i.e., transmutated elements), which are highly radioactive. The current method of storage is fine, but a long-term solution is required.



[edit on 062828p://212115 by porky1981]

can't u put nuclear waste into fusion reactor and fuse it with another partical which makes radiations go away.

Originally posted by MarkLuitzen
can't u put nuclear waste into fusion reactor and fuse it with another partical which makes radiations go away.

No.

Originally posted by porky1981
Why waste the used fuel, when there is still so much energy left in the used fuel.

I think but I'm not sure:

1. Money reasons: new fuel is probably cheaper than reprocessing it.
2. Political reasons: reprocessing increases the volume of nuclear waste, but decreases it's level of radioactivity. Plus it opens the risk for accidents, has inherent radioactive emissions into nature, target for terrorists, etcetera.

Originally posted by porky1981
you guys are way off.

Japan, like many other countries use pressurized water reactors (PWR's). This consists of a large pressure vessel filled with water and a fuel assembly consisting of long fuel rods. The fuel rods are removed every ~ 18 months and replaced with fresh fuel.

This WASTE can be reprocessed to extract the usable U235 still present in the waste (or Pu239, etc..). This reprocessed fissionable waste can then be used to created a MOX, mixed oxide fuel, which can be then reused in the reactor.

So.... it's simple. Why waste the used fuel, when there is still so much energy left in the used fuel.


reply to last post:

unfortunately, 'grinding' up used fuel and putting it back into the ground is not feasible. Used fuel has a matrix of nasty fission product waste (i.e., transmutated elements), which are highly radioactive. The current method of storage is fine, but a long-term solution is required.



[edit on 062828p://212115 by porky1981]

actually i made a mistake. Carter made it against the law to reprocess comercial spent fuel. Reagon lifted the law in 1981 but by then no one here in the USA wanted to get into reprocessing.

porky1981 is you read the link posted by Simon666
earlier in the thread you would see that Accelerator Driven Systems - Subcritical Reactors would reduce the high level waste dow to waste with short half lifes, plus generate electricity while consuming the waste.

which would you want to store. waste that has thousands of years long half life or waste that has 30 year half lifes