Belgonucleaire Sa

Alain Vandergheynst

Eduard Pelckmans

Louis Aerts

Marc De Vleeschauwer

Jean Van Vliet

Jean Heylen

Jean P Van Vliet

The invention concerns a vessel for processing, transfer, accumulation and/or transfer of material containing civilian or military origin plutonium, in the form of plutonium oxide, carbide and/or nitride. The plutonium is preferably present in a concentration not higher than a guaranteed maximum between 20 and 50% wt. in said material, possibly with other actinides such as americium, neptunium, or curium. Said material is preferably in form of powder, granulate and/or tablets. The vessel comprises a volume of 20 to 70 liters for containing said material, demarcated at least by two substantially parallel walls, these two walls being separated by a distance e between 8 and 15 cm. The invention concerns also an enclosure comprising analogous geometrically safe criticality-preventing means (bottom-catcher), a fuel production plant comprising a set of such vessels, preferably installed in a set of said enclosures, as well as a nuclear fuel production process carried out in a set of such vessels, preferably installed in a set of said enclosures.

Criticality prevention devices and methods in nuclear fuel production

The invention relates to a method and device for production of non-contaminated rods from MOX tablets in columns, within a confinement chamber divided into compartments, by means of a centering and aligning element for the tablets and a long pushrod with a sensitive drive.

Method and device for manufacturing non-contaminated MOX fuel rods

Process for fabrication MOX fuel from weapon originating plutonium oxide (W&#x2014;PuO), including a process for fabricating MOX fuel pellets, a dry processing of W&#x2014;PuOpowder, and a dry processing of MOX fabrication scrap.

MOX fuel fabrication process from weapon plutonium feed

A method for dry process recycling of mixed (U,Pu)O oxide nuclear fuel waste, including a process for making fuel pellets of mixed (U,Pu)O oxide, including a dosage and a first mixture ( ) of waste in powder form and, if required, of PuO and/or UO powders, a micronization ( ) and a forced sieving ( ) of said first mixture, another dosage and a second mixture ( ) of the first sieved mixture, of UO powders and, if necessary, of the waste powder, pelletizing ( ) the second mixture, and sintering ( ) the resulting pellets; and a process for pre-treating the waste including pelletizing ( ) and sintering ( ) the powder waste to form waste pellets, and micronizing ( ) the waste pellets to form the desired waste powder designed to be incorporated as waste powder, in the first ( ) and/or second mixtures.

Method for dry process recycling of mixed (U,Pu)O2 oxide nuclear fuel waste

A process for manufacturing (U,Pu)O mixed oxide nuclear fuel pellets. In a first blending operation, PuO is mixed with a UO powder and/or fuel manufacturing scrap, forming a first blend. The first blend is micronized and sieved to form a conditioned first blend. Non-free-flowing UO is selected as a second portion of UO . The second portion of UO is mechanically granulated to form granulated free-flowing UO . In a second blending operation, the conditioned first blend is further mixed with the granulated free-flowing UO and possibly scrap. Lubricants and/or poreformers are added. The blend is pelletized and sintered. During granulation, the non free-flowing UO is compressed to form tablets. The tablets are then crushed until a free-flowing crushed material has been formed. At least one portion of this free flowing crushed material is used in the second blending operation.

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Dour, Belgium

Alain Vandergheynst