Nuclear fuel cycle

The term fuel cycle (fuel cycle) in nuclear engineering summarize all the steps and processes referred to serving the supply and disposal of radioactive substances belonging to civilian use. Nuclear opponents criticize the term cycle because it falsely suggests a closed circuit (and thus a perpetual motion machine ). The truth is rather that even with the use of reprocessing the supply of fresh uranium is needed and that always generates radioactive waste. Therefore, one also uses the term as an alternative fuel chain.

The operation of nuclear power plants requires an infrastructure that includes in particular the supply of nuclear fuel (see fuel fabrication plant ), and the storage of radioactive waste. To ensure supply, care must be taken among other things for the mining of uranium ores, the extraction of uranium from the ores, the enrichment of uranium -235 and the fabrication of fuel. The waste treatment involves the removal of spent fuel from nuclear power plants, if necessary, the separation of recyclable fissile materials from the radioactive waste by reprocessing, the packaging of radioactive wastes and their disposal.

Altogether, the following processing steps for fuel cycle include:

• Ore mining, rock grinding, extraction of uranium and conversion into yellowcake (see uranium mining )
• Conversion of Yellow Cakes in uranium hexafluoride
• Enrichment of uranium -235 by gas diffusion, ultracentrifugation or other methods
• Conversion to uranium dioxide, production of uranium pellets and fuel rods
• Use of the fuel in the reactor
• Interim storage of spent fuel
• Reprocessing of spent fuel and disposal of vitrified high -level radioactive waste
• Disposal of spent fuel

According to the Atomic Energy Act are transports of spent fuel from German nuclear power plants to reprocessing plants since 1 July 2005 no longer allowed. Since that time, ie the direct disposal without reprocessing is only possible as a disposal route for spent fuel in Germany.