india nuclear fuel reprocessing

India nuclear fuel reprocessing

India on Friday look a giant leap into nuclear  sector , rocketing  from 10 tonne fuel  reprocessing facility to massive high tech 100 tonne unit at Tarapur which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohn Singh.

Sri Kumar Banerji chair man of atomic commission described it as a land mark event. It was the first unit under a recently constituted Nuclear Recycle Board.

Known as the power reactor fuel processing plant, its role is to reprocess spent fuel from  Kakrapur Rajasthan and Narora atomic power plants. Once spent fuel reaches the plant Tarapur, it goes through a process known as chopping and dissolution , before under going chemical process and then it is stored. The first reprocessing facility was commissioned in 1975 at Tarapur Bhabha  Atomic Research Cent re officials said the process is carried out in four heavily shielded  special cells and involves the separation of Plutonium and uranium.

Present there are four reprocessing plants in country one at BARC in Trombay , another at Kalpak am near  Chennai and two at Trombay . Another unit will be commissioned at Kalpak am in 2013 an integrated facility has been planned at Tarapur, though no time frame has been laid down.

Banerji said the advantage of this integrated facility is that various activities relating to reprocessing can be carried out in a single area . It will also deal with critical issue of waste management. He said present spent fuel in vault at Tarapur, which is one -fourth size of foot ball field with a capacity to accommodate two 540 me reactors. “ we are looking for a geological repository where the waste can be permanently stored. “ he said. 

In a presentation to Prime Minister , BARC director R.K. Sin ha  said without reprocessing only 47,000 mw of nuclear energy may achieved by 2050. Official said  but with reprocessing capacity the target is nearly 60,000 MW .

“ Reprocessing  spent fuel is key to three stage indigenous nuclear power program .It is essential in the transition to the second stage of fast breeder reactors which we have begun and subsequent third stage using thorium in advanced reactors.”

Reprocessing spent fuel will also ensure that  we are better able to manage the waste which are by products of nuclear fuel cycle “ Prime Minister  said.

According to PM , atomic energy program of India represented important and significant step towards energy self reliance and energy security “

Singh said India has opted for closed fuel cycle taking account the modest resource of uranium in the country. Therefore the growth capacity nuclear power generation potentiality hinges on the growth of fast breeder reactor program  “ through the third stage of nuclear power program India will be capable of providing safe, sustainable and clean energy for several countries.”