Leipzig (dpa -AFX) – According to a study by experts from the Technical University of Munich and the TÜV, the radioactive waste from nuclear power plants can be converted into significantly less harmful elements. The implementation study for the construction of a so -called transmutation system was commissioned by the Federal Employment Agency for jump innovations. A scenario was played through in which the conversion system is being built in one of the disused nuclear power plants that now serve as an interim storage for nuclear waste in Germany. The Federal Office for the Security of Nuclear Disposal reacted to the study with skepticism.
Radioactivity and radiation duration reduced
The transmutation is a special treatment of radioactive waste. Above all, it should ensure that the radiation intensity of the garbage is reduced and the radiation duration is extremely shortened. In order to achieve these goals, the atomic nuclei of old fuel rods with neutrons are shot at with this method. The seeds are supposed to crumble and less dangerous elements are to be created.
In addition to the actual conversion of the radioactive waste, the study also enables the study to recover various valuable materials from burned fuel elements. These include uranium and the valuable precious metals rhodium and ruthenium, which are required in various industrial branches.
In addition, the noble gases of Xenon and Krypton are incurred in the conversion process. In addition, the elements of cesium and strontium can be obtained, which are used, among other things, as so -called radioisotopes in medicine or research. The process also creates a lot of heat that could be fed into district heating networks.
16 intermediate storage as potential locations
In the application scenario, the study assumes that a system of the Swiss Start-up Transmutex from Geneva would be used. As a possible location, one of the 16 interim stores for nuclear waste is also possible, also because it does not have to move any nuclear waste across Germany. In the Federal Republic there are two central interim stores in Gorleben and Ahaus and 14 decentralized intermediate storage, including twelve locations that are located on or near former nuclear power plants, as well as special camps such as Jülich and Lubmin, which take a special position.
The Federal Employment Agency in Leipzig said that the first demonstration plant would be highly reduced according to the study. The system would re -import the investment costs of around 1.5 billion euros and annual operating costs of a good 115 million euros. The costs would face revenue from the elements obtained, the disposal of nuclear waste and process heat. When operating at a former nuclear power plant, construction costs would decrease by around 30 percent.
The incomprehensible waste of the investigated nuclear power plant was expected to be converted within the minimum operating time of the system of 50 years. This reduces the radiation duration from one million years to around 800 years.
Reservations at the Federal Office for the Security of Nuclear Disposal
The Federal Office for the Security of Nuclear Disposal (BASE) reacted reserved against the study. The ideas in the study are fundamentally not new and sound tempting: “Convert highly radioactive waste in such a way that a deep geological repository would be superfluous. However, the base does not see a feasibility of this claim according to the findings available so far.” The system provides for three components – a particle accelerator, a nuclear reworking system and a new nuclear reactor – of which there are no today. The technological developments necessary for successful implementation are at the level of paper or maximum laboratory studies, it is hot in the statement ./chd/dp/jha