Recent progress and future R&D plan on the pyrochemical treatment of spent nitride fuel for transmutation of minor actinides

Hayashi, Hirokazu ; Sato, Takumi  ; Shibata, Hiroki ; Kurata, Masaki 

Uranium-free nitride fuel was chosen as the first candidate for transmutation of long-lived minor actinides (MA) using accelerator-driven system (ADS) under the double strata fuel cycle concept by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The advantages of nitride fuel are good thermal properties and large mutual solubility among actinide elements. A pyrochemical process has been proposed as the first candidate for reprocessing of the spent MA nitride fuel, because this technique has some advantages over aqueous process, such as the resistance to radiation damage, compactness of the facility, margin of criticality, and recycling feasibility of N-15. This presentation overviews recent progress and future R&D plan on the pyrochemical treatment of spent nitride fuel in JAEA.