Novel treatment technology ‘could reduce UK nuclear waste burden’

Phys.org  October 12, 2021 Irradiated graphite waste management is one of the major challenges of nuclear power-plant decommissioning throughout the world and significantly in the UK, France, and Russia. Researchers in the UK developed an electrochemical decontamination approach in a high-temperature molten salt medium which was applied to irradiate UK Magnox grade graphite, fixed on the working electrode immersed in LiCl–KCl eutectic at 723 K. By selecting the appropriate value of the absolute magnitude of current and the number of transitions between positive and negative current, substantial removal of radionuclide contamination from the graphite was achieved. Up to 80% reduction […]