The new technology has made it possible to withdraw from using neptunium concentrates.
The innovative method of purification of the spent nuclear fuel has been introduced at the Mayak production association (a part of Rosatom) in the Chelyabinsk Region.
"The basic technology of refining plutonium, which was  used at the Mayak radiochemical plant for many years had two processing cycles. Today a new SNF processing technology has been introduced at the enterprise. It took more than five years to develop and deploy the new technology", - the press service reports.
According to Yuli Tadevosyan, the head of the radiochemical plant's analytical laboratory, the new technology has made it possible to withdraw from work with neptunium concentrates. "As a result the personnel's radiation burden has decreased. Our staff is mostly women, and thus it is an important achievement for us", - he noted.
Uniqueness of the Technology
As the enterprise managment emphasize, the new technology has no comparable counterparts in the world. "As a result of introducing it and using one cycle for plutonium refining we have managed to exclude one of extraction stages from the scheme, cut down consumption of certain reagents, and provide considerable decrease in the volume of medium-active waste and thus upgrade technological and ecological indicators of the nuclear fuel processing plant RT-1", - the deputy chief engineer of the Mayak radiochemical plant, Candidate of Technical Sciences Konstantin Korchenkin explained.
Mayak is a leading enterprise in the nuclear weapon complex of Russia. Unique scientific and technical projects, including regeneration of spent nuclear fuel, production of ionizing radiation sources for medicine and industry, and development of new parameter monitoring systems.