Reprocessing
The Sellafield site is home to two nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. The Magnox reprocessing plant deals with metal fuel from British and overseas early nuclear reactors (such as the Calder Hall power station at Sellafield). The Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant or Thorp deals with oxide fuels from British Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors (AGR) and Light Water Reactors (LWR) from around the world.
Having spent approximately five years in a reactor, the 'spent' (used) fuel is removed and placed in fuel storage ponds at the power station to allow it to cool and for the radiation levels to decrease. After this cooling period, the fuel is loaded into specially constructed secure containers called 'flasks'. These flasks are then transported to Sellafield either by road, rail or from overseas customers by sea in purpose built ships for reprocessing at Sellafield.
Upon arrival at Sellafield, the fuel is received into a storage area, where it is again stored in ponds to further allow radiation levels to decrease. Having undergone its additional storage period (depending on its type) the oxide fuels are sheared (chopped up) and both the oxide and metal fuels are dissolved in nitric acid. The 'dissolver liquor' which is produced is then chemically separated to produce three separate elements – uranium, plutonium and fission products.
The uranium and plutonium can then be reused to make new fuel while the fission products are transferred to the downstream Vitrification plant where it is mixed with glass and stored as high level waste.
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Reprocessing Updates
Reprocessed uranium is successfully shipped to Russia
In the last few weeks Sellafield Ltd has exported a shipment of reprocessed uranium to Russia for processing to allow its manufacture into new fuel. The uranium is owned by a German reprocessing customer and this is the ninth such shipment of material from Thorp.
