State of the Art and Outlook for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the Russian Federation

Abstract

Nuclear reactors which act to generate power from fission are only one element in the sophisticated complex of operations that compose the nuclear “fuel cycle”. The efficient production of nuclear power from uranium fuel involves a series of steps including mining and milling, conversion and enrichment, fabrication and radiochemical reprocessing. The majority of these processes use advanced technologies, and their exploitation is the prerogative of individual countries in the world. Currently, there are 447 commercial nuclear reactors operating worldwide in 31 different countries. However, the full range of commercial fuel cycle processes have been fully developed primarily in only three countries, the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Federation.