Role of separation science for value recovery from high level radioactive waste

India follows a 'Closed Fuel Cycle' considering spent fuel a material of resource. Indian nuclear power programme focuses on recovery of fuel elements from spent nuclear fuel and utilising them for extracting power emphasising on optimal utilisation of Uranium and Thorium resources in country. Reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel plays key role in recovery of these fuel elements and recycling them to next generation nuclear reactors. The High Level Waste (HLW) arising from reprocessing contains many radionuclide involving minor actinides, heat generating fission products like ¹³⁷Cs, ⁹⁰Sr, rare earths or Lanthanides and other fission products like ¹⁰⁶Ru. Many of these radionuclide have industrial as well as medical applications. For example, ¹³⁷Cs can be used as irradiation source in place of ⁶⁰Co in many applications. Similarly, ⁹⁰Y, daughter product of ⁹⁰Sr, as well as ¹⁰⁶Ru can be used in radio-pharmaceutical application. The HLW is major and sole source of these radionuclide. Conventionally, HLW is immobilised in vitreous matrix, stored in air cooled vault for interim period to remove the decay heat till it dispose to geological repository