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A Possible New Method for Nuclear Power Waste to be Made Safer

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday May 05 2020, @05:17AM   
from the Not-in-my-back-yard dept.

Kitsune008 writes:

One of the issues involving nuclear power has been what to do with the waste materials. What if there was a way to not only convert the problematic materials into a safer storage form, but also enable that same storage form to be used as fuel in newer nuclear power generators? Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?
That may have changed:
https://phys.org/news/2020-05-reveals-single-step-strategy-recycling-nuclear.html

I would prefer more 'green' sources of energy production, but this is something that may be useful to help that along, making coal and petroleum energy production a part of history.

Journal Reference
Jeffrey D. Einkauf, Jonathan D. Burns. Recovery of Oxidized Actinides, Np(VI), Pu(VI), and Am(VI), from Cocrystallized Uranyl Nitrate Hexahydrate: A Single Technology Approach to Used Nuclear Fuel Recycling, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research (DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.0c00381)

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Original Submission

• Re:Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Re:Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? (Score: 3, Insightful) by Freeman on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:40PM (1 child)

  by Freeman (732) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:40PM (#990703) Journal

  How would you get it there? The catastrophic failure mode of a rocket has minimal impact on the environment. The catastrophic failure mode of a rocket filled with nuclear waste, would be much worse for the environment. I wouldn't vote for it.

  --
  Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"

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• Re:Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:26PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:26PM (#990738)

  OK then, well what if we put it in a big pile in the desert and nuke it? Like with hurricanes [theguardian.com]. Surely bleach would dissolve it? I've got all day what else do you need - hey can I get a loan?

  Parent