Is It a Waste or a Resource?

Kenneth D. Kok

Resource utilization

Resource value

Potential going forward

Current uranium use – 70,000 MT/yr

Generation – 365 GW of electric power

Easily available uranium - 5,500,000 MT

Less than 100 years supply

Current utilization - < 0.5% of mined uranium

Uranium fission energy yield – 1 MWd/g

In 1962 the USAEC Stated to President Kennedy:

“This restudy made it apparent that, for the long-term benefit of the country, and indeed of the whole world, it was time we placed relatively more emphasis on the longer-range and more difficult problem of breeder reactors, which can make use of nearly all of our uranium and thorium reserves, instead of the less than one per cent of the uranium and very little of the thorium utilized in the present types of reactors. Only by the use of breeders would we really solve the problem of adequate energy supply for future generations.”

Recoverable natural uranium worldwide ◦ At $130/kg – 5,327,000 MT

◦ At $260/kg – 7,097,000 MT

Used reactor fuel ◦ US - 70,000 MT

◦ Worldwide – 240,000 MT

Depleted uranium – ◦ US – 775,000 MT

◦ Worldwide – 1,500,000 MT

Product Assay - %

Tails

Assay - %

Feed

kg

Product

kg

Tails

kg

2.00 0.25 3.72 1.00 2.72

3.00 0.25 5.85 1.00 4.85

4.00 0.25 7.98 1.00 6.98

5.00 0.25 10.11 1.00 9.11

20.00 0.25 42.02 1.00 41.02

93.00 0.25 197.34 1.00 196.34

The amount of natural uranium feed required to produce 1 kg of enriched uranium product. At a 4% enrichment over 85% of the original uranium becomes part of the DU inventory.

Calculation of the uranium burn-up where: • 1000 MW power reactor • 33% Conversion efficiency • 90% Availability • 3 yr Fuel residence time • 70 MT Fuel load

Given 4% enriched uranium implies: ◦ 12.5 % of the original uranium becomes usable

reactor fuel

◦ 87.5% is added to the DU stockpile

Given 70 MT of reactor fuel: ◦ 4.3% of the uranium is burned

◦ 95.7% remains in the used fuel

Therefore only about 0.5 % of the mined uranium is used to produce power,

Energy content of available uranium in the US

Material MT MWdt Quadt

*

Used Reactor Fuel 70,000 70E+09 5,730

Depleted Uranium 775,000 775E+09 63,500

Uranium Resources 207,000 207E+09 16,900

Total 1,052,000 1,053E+09 86,030

* 1 Quad = 1.0E+15 Btu , 1 MWd = 8.18E+8 Btu

The value of uranium calculated based on petroleum at $100/barrel

Used Fuel

Depleted

Uranium

Amount MT 70,000 775,000

Energy Content Btu 5.73E+18 6.35E+19

Petroleum

Equivalent Bbl 994 Billion 11,000 Billion

Value Base

Oil = $100/Bbl $99.4 Trillion $1,199 Trillion

The value of the uranium calculated based on coal and natural gas

Used Fuel Depleted

Uranium

Amount MT 70,000 775,000

Energy Content Btu 5.73E+18 6.35E+19

Coal Equivalent MT 5.10E+14 5.63E+15

Value Base Coal =

$2.65/106 Btu $14.3 Trillion $158 Trillion

Natural Gas Equivalent ft3 5.59E+15 6.20E+16

Value Base

Natural Gas

= $3.36/106 Btu

$14.1 Trillion $156 Trillion

Conversion efficiency – Coal 35%, Natural gas 45%, Uranium 33%

Used reactor fuel and DU are energy resources not wastes

Used reactor fuel and DU are assets and not liabilities

Need fuel reprocessing

Need fast reactors

Positives ◦ Performed since the

1940s

◦ Reduces the HLW

◦ Reduces environmental impact

Negatives ◦ Perceived safeguards

issue

◦ Generation of liquid waste

◦ Implies transport of spent fuel to a central facility

New technology developed by Argonne National Laboratory

Does not separate the uranium, plutonium and higher actinides

Does not generate liquid waste

Can directly produce fast reactor fuel

Greatly reduces the radio-toxicisity of the waste stream by reducing the average half life

Can be built to operate in conjunction with a single reactor site.

Fast reactors have been designed and operated since the 1940s

Will utilize the used fuel and DU to produce electricity

Have demonstrated advanced safety features that allow a passive response to accident environments

Will use the plutonium and higher actinides as fuel

Used reactor fuel and depleted uranium are both resources and assets

The technologies to use these materials for electricity production is known but needs commercialization

Adding reprocessing while eliminating enrichment and mining will not have a large economic impact on the cost of power generation.

Developing the IFR has a positive impact on the environment ◦ Materials that are now considered wastes are used to

produce usable electrical and thermal energy, minimizing the need for disposal

◦ The total volume of wastes would be reduced and the effective isolation period would be reduced from over 1,000,000 years to 500 years or less

◦ These materials do not have to be extracted from the earth in order to be used

◦ Transport of highly radioactive used fuels would be minimized because the reprocessing process is integral to the IFR concept.