Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Over 95% of used nuclear fuel is uranium and plutonium, which can be recovered and reused. However, because used fuel is intensely radioactive, this requires very complex processes. These processes can also be adapted to the separation of high hazard materials from the residual radioactive wastes, to simplify radioactive waste management. However, industrial reprocessing of used fuel primarily relies on a 50 year old solvent extraction process (Purex), which was originally developed for much simpler fuels. As a result, modern fuels can prove difficult to reprocess. We will therefore explore two different approaches to nuclear fuel separation in parallel, one based on the established Purex technology and the other on a much more recent development, ion selective membranes (ISMs). ISMs are porous, chemically reactive membranes which can bind metals from solutions then release them again, depending on conditions, thus allowing highly selective separations.In the solvent extraction system, we will focus on a common problem in solvent extraction, third phase formation, and on separation of a group of long lived, high hazard waste isotopes (the fission product technetium and the minor actinides). With the ISMs, we will first prove their utility in uranium/plutonium separation, then extend these studies to the minor actinides. Throughout, we will work with the elements of interest, rather than analogues or low activity models and in realistic radiation environments. In both strands of the project, we will explore the underlying physical and chemical processes then, building on this understanding, we will develop a series of quantitative models, building from phase behaviour to unit operations and finally to process flowsheet models. We wil use the resulting models to explore different options for fuel reprocessing, based on scenarios defined with our industrial partners.

We intend to make the UK the world leaders in the understanding, performance and application of hexagonal material systems used by the aero, energy and defence sectors. We wish to develop step-change technology by bringing to bear the extraordinary range of experimental, characterization and modelling techniques in which the UK holds many leaders but which have yet to be brought together to take full advantage of the synergy and multiplication possible. This simply remains un-achievable without clear UK unification of research effort. Hexagonal structural materials that are of industrial significance are all of close packed crystal structure (largely titanium, zirconium and magnesium alloys) and are strategic and profoundly important to the UK economy and find wide application. The implications of research success are profound in developing significant improvement in materials, material structure and processing conditions in optimizing manufacture, in optimizing component design with superior property-behaviour relationships, in improving operational efficiencies and in reducing production and running costs, thereby contributing to fuel efficiencies and very importantly, the UK's competitive advantage. Our ambition is to bring together the UK's experts in academia, supply chain and end-users, coupled with techniques to be brought to bear in four key themes in hexagonal metals which are fundamental mechanisms, micromechanics, performance in aero applications and performance in nuclear applications.