Abstract
The melt-dilute treatment technology is being developed to facilitate the ultimate disposition of highly enriched Al-Base DOE spent nuclear fuels in a geologic repository such as that proposed for Yucca Mountain. Currently, approximately 28 MTHM is expected to be returned to the Savannah River Site from domestic and foreign research reactors. The melt-dilute treatment technology will melt the fuel assemblies to reduce their volume and alloys them with depleted uranium to isotopically dilute the 235U concentration and reduce the potential for criticality and proliferation concerns. A critical technology element in the development of the melt-dilute process is the development of an offgas system. Experimental tests using both cesium surrogates and radioactive cesium have shown that zeolite 4A is an effective gaseous cesium trap and as a result a preliminary offgas system concept has been developed employing dry zeolite 4A absorber beds as the primary cesium trapping medium. Final, validation of this offgas concept will occur during pilot-scale irradiated testing.
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