New tech cuts 80% of highly radioactive waste in nuclear power plants
interestingengineering.com
Swiss company Transmutex will use particle-accelerator technology to make uranium that produces less nuclear waste when used in fission reactions.

Radioactivity of nuclear waste could be reduced from thousands of years to less than 500 years.

  • jimmydoreisalefty@lemmy.worldOP
    121·
    6 months ago

    As countries look for ways to move away from fossil fuels, nuclear fission technology is poised for a comeback. At COP28 last year, 20 nations decided to triple their nuclear energy capacity in the next 25 years but plans for long-term storage of spent fuel have yet to be drawn up.

    Where the alchemists failed, former scientists from CERN have been able to succeed. Using a particle accelerator, the researchers propose using a slightly radioactive element such as thorium and transmuting it into an isotope of uranium.

    The technology is the brainchild of Carlo Rubbia, the former director-general of the physics laboratory at CERN.

    While Rubbia might have had access to a particle accelerator at his old workplace, nuclear energy plants do not have the same luxuries. Building a particle accelerator near each plant can be quite expensive, considering that CERN spent nearly US$5 billion to deliver the Large Hadron Collider.

    The other challenge is the opposition to nuclear technology itself. Interesting Engineering has previously reported how Germany phased off its nuclear power plants. Switzerland, too, has similar plans for its four existing nuclear power production facilities.

    According to the Swiss national body, Transmutex’s technology could help reduce the volume of nuclear waste generated by 80 percent and reduce the time it remains radioactive to less than 500 years. More importantly, the technology could also be applied to 99 percent of existing nuclear waste.

    Edit: added info below

    Links in article:

    1. Finland builds a facility to store nuclear waste for 100,000 years [Ameya Paleja | Jun 01 22 | Interesting Engineering]

    2. Goodbye nuclear! Germany shuts down its last three remaining nuclear plants [Loukia Papadopoulos | Apr 15 23 | Interesting Engineering] https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/germany-shuts-down-last-nuclear-plants

    3. Transmutex receives CHF 20 million for its breakthrough nuclear energy technology [05 Feb 2024 | Greater Geneva Bern area (GGBa)] https://ggba.swiss/en/transmutex-receives-chf-20-million-for-its-breakthrough-nuclear-energy-technology/