France’s Orano (formerly New Areva) and the Ukrainian nuclear utility Energoatom in May, signed a contract to assess the feasibility of reprocessing used fuel assemblies from Ukraine’s 13 operating VVER-1000 nuclear reactors at Orano’s La Hague facility.
The process used at la Hague involves separating and recovering materials, which can be reused to produce energy. Residual final waste then undergoes safe and stable conditioning and packaging. The first step of this process, conducted remotely and in fully automated mode, is referred to as shearing-dissolution. Here, the metal cladding containing the materials is sheared into 35mm sections to release the materials for conditioning. The metal sections are rinsed and compacted using a 2500t press, which reduces the volume of waste by a factor of five.
Pascal Aubret, senior executive vice president of Orano's recycling business unit, said the contract "will pave the way for treatment of Ukrainian used fuel by the French recycling sector".
