Hitachi, Ltd.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated

Kuniyoshi Hoshino

Hiroaki Kobayashi

Fumio Kawamura

Akira Sasahira

Osamu Amano

Masakatsu Aoi

It is an object to increase a reprocessing speed of spent nuclear fuel and to obtain uranium having a high purity and a plutonium mixture reusable as it is at a low cost through a simple procedure. The spent nuclear fuelis subjected to fluorination using fluorinein a fluorination step, and as a result, uranium, a mixture of uranium and plutonium and a fission product are separated and recovered independently of one another. The plutonium fluoride volatilized in the fluorination is recovered along with a fixing agent and then passed through an oxidative conversion step, thereby recovering a mixture of uranium and plutonium oxides. Since the uranium can be recovered in a high purity, it is managed very easily when reused or saved. Further, since the uranium and plutonium are recovered as a mixture thereof, fuel reproduction cost is decreased and prevention of proliferation is strengthened.

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Mito, Japan

Kuniyoshi Hoshino