fuelreprocessing

Fuel reprocessing, or spent fuel reprocessing, is the chemical separation of usable fissile materials from spent nuclear fuel following irradiation in a reactor. The goal is to recover materials such as uranium and plutonium for reuse as fuel, while concentrating fission products and other waste into separate high-level waste streams. Reprocessing can reduce the volume and long-term radiotoxicity of waste and, in some fuel cycles, enable more efficient use of uranium resources.

Most commercial reprocessing facilities use aqueous chemical methods in which spent fuel is dissolved and isotopes are separated by solvent extraction and other separations. The principal objective is to separate uranium and plutonium from highly radioactive fission products. A less common alternative is pyroprocessing, which uses high-temperature electrochemical methods to separate materials from metallic fuels, and is studied for fast-neutron reactor systems.

Recovered uranium can be recycled into fresh fuel; plutonium can be fabricated into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. The practice is established in several countries (France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, India) and is used in some contexts in others; the United States maintains limited civilian reprocessing and relies mostly on direct disposal of spent fuel.

Challenges include high capital costs, complex safety controls, environmental risks, and proliferation concerns due to separation of plutonium. Waste management includes vitrifying high-level liquid waste and disposing of low-activity residues; regulatory frameworks govern safeguards and nonproliferation. The field continues to evolve with new technologies and debates over closed fuel cycles.