Nuclear Waste Breakthrough: Jefferson Lab Aims to Turn Waste into Power, Reducing Lifespan to Centuries

A new initiative led by the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility aims to revolutionize nuclear waste management by not only reducing its radioactive lifespan but also harnessing it as a potential energy source. Supported by an $8.17 million grant from the Department of Energy’s NEWTON (Nuclear Energy Waste Transmutation Optimized Now) program, the project focuses on Accelerator-Driven Systems (ADS) to transform a long-term liability into a recyclable fuel source.

The Promise of Accelerator-Driven Systems

ADS technology utilizes a particle accelerator to fire high-energy protons at a target material, such as liquid mercury, initiating a process called “spallation.” This releases a large number of neutrons that interact with the long-lived isotopes present in nuclear waste, effectively “burning” the most hazardous components through transmutation. Currently, unprocessed nuclear fuel remains dangerous for approximately 100,000 years. However, through partitioning and recycling via ADS, researchers believe this timeframe can be drastically reduced to just 300 years. Interesting Engineering reports that the process also generates significant heat, which can be captured and converted into electricity for the grid.

Addressing Key Technical Challenges

To build ADS economically viable, Jefferson Lab is concentrating on two primary technical hurdles: improving accelerator efficiency and increasing power output. Traditional particle accelerators rely on large and expensive cryogenic cooling systems to achieve superconducting temperatures. Jefferson Lab is pioneering a more cost-effective approach by coating the interior of pure niobium cavities with tin. These niobium-tin cavities can operate at higher temperatures, allowing for the use of standard commercial cooling units instead of custom-built cryogenic plants.

The team is also developing spoke cavities, a complex design intended to maximize efficiency in neutron spallation. Simultaneously, researchers are working on adapting the magnetron – the component found in microwave ovens – to provide the 10 megawatts of power required for ADS. A significant challenge lies in precisely matching the energy frequency of the magnetron to the accelerator cavity at 805 Megahertz. In collaboration with Stellant Systems, researchers are prototyping advanced magnetrons that can be combined to achieve the necessary power levels with optimal efficiency.

A National Effort Towards Nuclear Waste Recycling

The NEWTON program’s overarching goal is to enable the recycling of the entire U.S. Commercial nuclear fuel stockpile within the next 30 years. Jefferson Lab, managed by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy, is at the forefront of this ambitious endeavor. “Instead of having a lifetime of 100,000 years in storage, for example, you can shorten the storage years down to 300,” said Rongli Geng, head of SRF Science & Technology at Jefferson Lab and principal investigator for both projects.