Prospects of nuclear fuel cycle in China and challenges to radiochemists

Nuclear power plant (NPP) will be developed actively in China. The total capacity of NPP will increase from 8.7 GWe at 2005 to 40 GWe at 2020. After that, NPP will increase even more rapidly. The main nuclear fuel cycle parameters of China at 2020 are given. For the year 2021-2035, three nuclear fuel cycle scenarios are suggested by assuming the total capacity of NPP will be 90 GWe at 2035 and most reactor type will be PWR: (A), a Purex type pilot reprocessing plant will operate after 2010; (B), a Purex type commercial reprocessing plant with a capacity of 800 tHM/a will begin its operation at 2021 and plutonium will recycle in PWR once; and (C) a full actinides separation commercial reprocessing plant with a capacity of 800 tHM/a will operate after 2021, plutonium and minor actinides (MAs) will recycle in fast reactors after 2035. Calculation shows that scenario (C) might be the best choice for the long-term sustainable development of nuclear power in China. The challenges to radiochemists are: 1) mastering and improvement of the Purex process; 2) development of minor actinides separation process and its integration to the Purex process; 3) development of trivalent actinides and lanthanides separation process; 4) development of high-heat emitting and long-lived fission products separation processes; and 5) launching out into the study of fast reactor fuel cycle- the pyrochemical reprocessing and separation processes. The TRPO process for the separation of actinides from acidic high level liquid waste and the Cyanex 301 extraction process for the separation of trivalent actinides from lanthanides developed in China are reviewed and discussed.