Nuclear Reprocessing: Promise vs Reality

In this episode of Decouple, Chris Keefer is joined once again by Michael Seely of the Atomic Blender to explore nuclear fuel reprocessing and the promise of unlocking vastly more energy from existing nuclear waste. We deep dive how processes like PUREX attempt to separate and reuse valuable materials like uranium and plutonium. Using real-world examples such as France’s La Hague reprocessing plant and the EBR-2 sodium fast reactor experiment, the episode situates reprocessing within its historical roots in perceptions of uranium scarcity and energy security.

While reprocessing is technically impressive, it is complex, expensive, and delivers only modest gains when used with today’s reactor fleet. Keefer and Seely unpack why issues like fuel degradation, handling challenges, and economics limit its impact, and what would need to change, such as the deployment of economic fast reactors, for reprocessing to live up to is most seductive narratives.

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