Pioneering a Cermet Waste Form for Disposal of Waste Streams from Advanced Reactors (PACE-FORWARD)

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Program:
ONWARDS
Award:
$3,999,595
Location:
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
05/23/2022 - 10/14/2025
Website:

Technology Description:

Rutgers University aims to develop and demonstrate PACE-FORWARD, a high-density, durable cermet waste form (WF) suitable to immobilize all forms of AR wastes, significantly reducing processing complexity. The proposed WF will exhibit high waste loading (≥70% by volume) and immobilize multiple waste streams, including metal, salt (halide), and oxides from molten salt fueled or metallic fueled reactors; or metal and carbon-14/carbide waste from reprocessing of tri-structural isotropic fuel particles. Rutgers’s technology will reduce the repository footprint by greater than an order of magnitude compared with light water reactors and reduce production and operation and maintenance costs by approximately 50% compared with incumbent technologies.

Potential Impact:

By identifying and addressing challenges at the back end of the fuel cycle before the deployment of future AR technologies, ONWARDS will:

Security:

Support the growth of advanced nuclear energy with safe and sustainable domestic fuel stocks.

Environment:

Play a vital role in significantly reducing GHG emissions, proactively mitigate the disposal impact of AR UNF with integrated non-proliferation safeguards, and provide transformative solutions to improve the management and disposal of radioactive waste and UNF.

Economy:

Complement ARPA-E’s existing nuclear energy research portfolio, such as the MEITNER and GEMINA programs in AR R&D, further ensuring the commercial viability of innovative new ARs.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Robert Ledoux
Project Contact:
Prof. Ashutosh Goel
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
ag1179@soe.rutgers.edu

Partners

Savannah River National Laboratory
Washington State University
Missouri University of Science and Technology
University of South Carolina
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Alfred University

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• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) - Metal-Halide Perovskites as Innovative and Cost-Effective Fluoride Salt Waste Forms
• Rutgers University - Pioneering a Cermet Waste Form for Disposal of Waste Streams from Advanced Reactors (PACE-FORWARD)
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• TerraPower - Chloride-Based Volatility for Waste Reduction and/or Reuse of Metallic-, Oxide- and Salt-Based Reactor Fuels

Release Date:
05/19/2021