FUEL & FUEL CYCLE | ENRICHMENT
Above: When the first centrifuges were installed the expectation was for 10 years life. The oldest machines at the Capenhurst site started operations in 1982 and shut down in 2016 Source: ETC
centrifuges to allow re-use or to decontaminate so they
are released from nuclear regulation, and thereby decommissioned.” The R&D team is designing the dismantling line with the
key objective of re-use, MacLeod says. Separately there are other challenges. For example,
MacLeod explains, “We have a unique issue in Urenco in that we have a lot of aluminium and the treatment of aluminium globally isn’t optimised – most nuclear sites that need decontamination have steel. “We are designing a melting capability. We have gone through the concept design already, to put in place the ability to melt both steel and aluminium”. MacLeod says that Urenco have historic experience of running a melter on the Capenhurst site, although this was decommissioned in the early 2000s. Urenco wants to demonstrate that it takes waste
seriously. But it also has to meet licence conditions that require it not to accumulate any more waste than is absolutely necessary. MacLeod says, “we have waste routes for all of our waste streams to ensure we minimise that waste. We are going through re-use for as many recipients as possible.”
He also says the Capenhurst team gained a lot of
experience doing this when it decommissioned the old gaseous diffusion plant, during which “we managed to process a significant amount of metal in the last few years that has gone into conventional recycling markets.”
Closing in on decisions The R&D department currently has a single robot cell which will now be used to start doing trials on the dismantling process, using old centrifuges. These are “ongoing conversations”, MacLeod says, that do not depend just on whether the individual centrifuge types can be refurbished. There are geographical issues that determine whether it is currently possible to refurbish and recycle, such as security considerations, says MacLeod. He notes that “Urenco leadership is prioritising reuse of recipients over other options even if it is not as economically advantageous, just so we meet all our environmental responsibilities”. In the longer term, Capenhurst’s planned metallic
treatment capability, including the option to melt, could be made available to external customers. MacLeod intends that it will become a hub in the UK for metal treatment. ■
Future proofing Like other industries, Urenco has to assess likely risks in the future, including the risk of climate change affecting its sites. Capenhurst is situated in England’s traditionally wet and cool northwest, but the area is expected to experience “wetter winters and drier summers”, Mike Peers says. Urenco’s Almelo site in the Netherlands is already considering how to meet future water needs. Its
current water demand is met from potable water, but there is significant pressure on availability of such water and industrial consumers in the region, including Urenco, have been asked to reduce consumption. An option under investigation is to capture rainwater in a large pond and pipe it into the site, potentially meeting half of the site’s demand. Centrifuges do need cooling and the site generates waste heat, presenting its own disposal challenge. A management option under investigation is interfacing with the local heat network and using it as a heat sink, saving energy and water. Initiatives that can support ‘future proofing’ the site against these risks are also in tune with
Urenco’s determination to follow the spirit of the waste hierarchy and make its interaction with the local environment as sustainable as possible. ■
18 | July 2025 |
www.neimagazine.com
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