Fuel Manufacturing
The Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) uses plutonium separated from used nuclear fuel during reprocessing and recycles it into new MOX fuel. MOX fuel is a valuable source of energy and one tonne of plutonium, when recycled as MOX, can generate the same energy as well over 2 million tonnes of coal.
Customers send their used nuclear fuel to Sellafield to be reprocessed. Reprocessing involves the chemical separation of the 1% plutonium and 96% uranium, from the 3% waste products. Reprocessing customers retain ownership of these materials and recycling the plutonium into MOX fuel allows customers to unlock the energy by making new fuel from old fuel.
MOX fuel contains uranium and plutonium oxide powders which are milled and mixed together in the correct proportions for the particular MOX fuel design required. The MOX powder is then pressed into MOX fuel pellets which range in size and contain approximately 5% plutonium.
These pellets are sintered in high temperature furnaces which turns the MOX into a hard ceramic material. Following grinding to the exact size and numerous inspections, MOX pellets are then loaded into MOX fuel rods. Finally, fuel rods are built into MOX fuel assemblies or bundles in the correct array to fit the particular customer’s reactor.
The whole process requires a huge amount of precision and quality control inspections to ensure a high quality product that performs optimally in the customers’ reactors. Typically reactor operators load up to one third a reactor core with MOX fuel in place of uranium fuel.
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Fuel Manufacturing Updates
Sellafield MOX plant statement
Sellafield Ltd is delighted that the NDA’s commercial arm International Nuclear Services (INS) has secured a commercial framework with the Japanese utilities in order to allow the continued operation of the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP). This means that SMP has the opportunity to continue to manufacture MOX fuel subject to improved performance and meeting customer requirements.
