Core technology to recover high-value isotopes from radioactive waste generated at heavy water reactors (CANDU), such as the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant, and recycle them as resources has been transferred to a private company. This marks the world's first commercialization of upcycling technology for nuclear power plant waste.
The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) announced Thursday that it signed a technology licensing agreement with Sunkwang T&S to transfer four patents and one know-how item related to "Carbon-14 desorption and recovery process technology from heavy water reactor spent resin."
Spent resin generated from processing heavy water contains various radioactive nuclides including C-14, and has been treated as intermediate-level radioactive waste. Currently, approximately 400 tons are stored at the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant, but disposal at the Gyeongju repository has been difficult, and long-term storage is also challenging due to chemical instability.
A research team led by Dr. Park Hwan-seo at KAERI's Advanced Nuclear Cycle Technology Development Division developed a proprietary technology that uses microwaves to desorb C-14 in a short time and recover it at high concentrations without adding acids or chemicals.
This technology can reduce the radioactivity of intermediate-level waste to approximately 1/100 or less, downgrading it to low-level waste, while recovering the valuable isotope C-14 at concentrations more than 100 times higher, potentially creating approximately 1 trillion won ($740 million) in added value.
The technology gained attention after successfully completing the world's first commercial-scale demonstration (100 kg/batch) over approximately three months at the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant in November last year. Four related patents have been registered in Korea, and patent applications and registrations have recently been completed in Canada and the United States, proving the technology's excellence.
Sunkwang T&S is a company specialized in radiation management and waste treatment for several decades, and has been jointly developing heavy water reactor spent resin treatment technology with KAERI since 2015.
Based on this technology, Sunkwang T&S secured a technical service contract from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power in May this year, establishing the foundation for commercialization.
"As a company specializing in radioactive waste treatment, we plan to successfully commercialize heavy water reactor spent resin treatment technology domestically and expand into global markets," Sunkwang T&S CEO Noh Kwang-jun said.
"This technology represents a new direction where radioactive waste can be transformed into an important resource rather than remaining as waste," said Baek Min-hoon, Director of KAERI's Back-end Fuel Cycle Research Institute. "We will work to ensure that proprietary technology developed through the nation's mid- to long-term investment is well utilized."
