Advanced Nuclear Power - AREVA

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Cover Story As the world leader in reprocessing/recycling, AREVA is using its vitrification process at its La Hague facility to package high-level residue in internationally approved canisters. Spent Fuel Management Options: The Key to the Future of Nuclear Power All nuclear utilities have to manage used fuel after it has produced energy in the reactor core. From a technical standpoint, used nuclear fuel can be handled in one of two ways: reprocessing and recycling to close the fuel cycle, or direct disposal. “Today, 40 percent of all worldwide nuclear fuel irradiated in reactors by the industry in 40 years of commercial use of nuclear energy either has been reprocessed, or is stored awaiting reprocessing,” says Jacques Besnainou, COGEMA Inc.’s Executive Vice President. He adds, that “In the case of LWR spent nuclear fuel (representing over three quarters of the total unloaded worldwide) 40 percent has been stored pending final disposal. The bulk of that is stored on-site at US nuclear power plants pending transfer to a repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Of the remaining 60 percent, 35 percent either has already been reprocessed or is stored awaiting reprocessing while 25 percent is in interim storage awaiting a decision to either reprocess it or directly dispose of it.” By recovering the reusable fissile materials in used fuel (uranium and plutonium, e.g 97 percent of used fuel content), reprocessing contributes to the conservation of finite natural energy resources. In addition, reprocessing reduces the remaining waste to a safe, stable, compacted and internationally agreed-upon form for final disposal while lowering the initial toxicity of the used fuel by nine-tenths. AREVA is a world leader in reprocessing-recycling services, primarily at La Hague, France, the largest reprocessing facility in the world. Other companies also operate facilities dedicated to these services. New facilities are planned in China and Japan. In the latter case, AREVA is providing reprocessing-recycling expertise through a technology transfer contract. “Whichever way decisions go for the back-end of the fuel cycle, and whatever decisions and developments affect the reprocessing versus the disposal debate, AREVA will be an active participant in the closing of the nuclear fuel cycle, as it has been since the first days of the nuclear energy development,” says Phillipe Pradel, Executive Vice President of COGEMA’s Reprocessing-Recycling- Logistics Sector. Conclusion The primary focus of AREVA is its customers and their needs. The company believes that close working relationships or alliances with customers produces the best results. The company is committed to adapting quickly to changing market needs and to being responsive to its customers’ needs in a timely, open manner. But AREVA’s key emphasis is above all providing the highest quality products or services possible at each step of the fuel cycle on a competitive basis. 18 Advanced Nuclear Power N O 11 November 2004
Features Teamwork Drives Successful Project Equipment obsolescence and lack of vendor support is a problem facing many nuclear power plants. Framatome ANP assisted the DC Cook plant in the US in replacing an aging emergency diesel generator governor in a mere five months compared to the industry norm of approximately two years. Obsolescence of equipment at nuclear power plants and the ensuing reliability of components is not a new problem. Many plants have been operating for 20-30 years. Over that time period, the technology has changed drastically. American Electric Power’s (AEP) DC Cook plant was experiencing problems with their emergency diesel generator governors and vendor support was fading. DC Cook expected to address obsolescence and reliability issues with their emergency diesel generator governors by their fall 2003 outage. Little progress had been made however, by June 2003. In May 2003, Framatome ANP was asked to perform a feasibility study on the modification packages that would result in the replacement of the existing governor system with a new one. The schedule was tight. AEP wanted the first design change package completed by mid-September 2003, equipment qualified and delivered by early October, installed by early November, and tested and released to operations by mid-November 2003. The initial feasibility study revealed that there was just enough time to accomplish the task. By early July, a team had been formed with key AEP and Framatome ANP personnel and work got under way. To meet The new controller for the emergency diesel generator governor should provide years of worry-free service. the aggressive schedule, a number of activities took place simultaneously: design, transient analysis, equipment procurement and qualification. In addition, Framatome ANP personnel had to be qualified to AEP processes and necessary approvals (Design Review Board and Plant Operation Review Committee) had to be obtained. The new actuator was installed on the emergency diesel generator in a mere five months versus a normal installation time of two years. Based upon the success of this replacement, the team is preparing design change packages for the remaining three diesels. Installation for the two governors on Unit 2 is planned during the fall of 2004 refueling outage, with the remaining governor on Unit 1 to be installed during the spring 2005 refueling outage. Advanced Nuclear Power N O 11 November 2004 19
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Advanced Nuclear Power - AREVA

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