CARBOWASTE
Treatment and disposal of irradiated graphite and other carbonaceous waste
Informazioni Generali
- Coordinatore:
- RESEARCH LTD JULICH GMBH (Germania)
- Responsabile:
- DODARO ALESSANDRO - NUC (FRASCATI)
- Ruolo ENEA:
- PARTNER
- Sito WEB:
- Sito WEB non disponibile
Programmi Europei
- Programma:
- Settimo Programma Quadro Euratom (2007-2013) -> Euratom fissione (CP - Progetto di collaborazione)
Descrizione e Attività
Descrizione Generale
Gas-Cooled Reactors (GCR), RBMK and some Material Test Reactors (MTR) make use of graphite as moderator of the fuel, structures of the core and/or thermal columns. During operation, the graphite and other carbonaceous materials like carbon brick, pyrocarbon and silicon carbide coatings are contaminated by fission products and neutron activation. These irradiated carbonaceous wastes are problematic due to their content of long-lived radioisotopes (e.g. Carbon14, Chlorine 36) and due to their large volumes. About 250000 t of i-carbon are existing, worldwide.
Acceptable solutions have not yet been established to handle this kind of waste. This fact also represents a significant drawback for the market introduction of graphite-moderated reactors like Very/High-Temperature Reactors (V/HTR) as a promising Generation IV system candidate. Graphite moderated reactors represent the very first generation of nuclear reactors and therefore need to be decommissioned ahead of other reactor types which evolved later. Presently, accelerated decommissioning of GCR and RBMK and subsequent disposal of i-graphite is the preferred option for not leaving this waste as a legacy for future generations.
Attività svolta da ENEA
N/D