Towards new migration mechanisms of radioisotopes in metal melting to reduce nuclear waste
When it comes to dismantling nuclear power plants, metals fall into 3 main parts:
- A great deal of the metal is free of any residual radioactivity. It will therefore go through a conventional recycling process.
- Another portion is too contaminated or activated to be processed or recycled. It will be categorized as radioactive waste and sent to a radioactive waste disposal facility
- The third and final part – which represents significant volumes – has a limited level of remaining radioactivity from activation and fission products, allowing it to be recycled by remelting the steel. This process can reduce or remove radionuclides allowing the steel to be reused or recycled and therefore reduce the quantity of radioactive waste and its associated cost. Within this context, SCK CEN has launched, together with CRM, a new project, called SMELD for “State of the art Metal Melting Limiting waste during D&D”. Using a laboratory melting furnace, one of the objective of SMELD is to get a better understanding of the movements of certain radioisotopes during the melting process that will help determining parameters/methods during melting to optimize the process, i.e. to reduce the radioactive waste quantity and improve the circular economy.
Within this context, applicants are invited for a full-time Postdoctoral Research Position to work on the new dynamic SMELD project. In this Post Doc project, the evaluation of the behavior of various metal materials during remelting and their impact on recycling will be studied using analytical and experimental approaches. The role is expected to explore “on-the-spotlight” field in nuclear waste management by working with top experts in various fields in nuclear world. The objective of the Post Doc is to develop methods to optimize the melting process and the related infrastructure for D&D activities. In order to reach this objective, an in-depth R&D program will be put in place, aiming in directing particular radionuclides towards preferred phases in metal melting. By combining theoretical and experimental approaches with thermodynamical modelling, the findings will pave the road for the future decades with significant impact on minimization of nuclear waste.
The role requires interdisciplinary interaction as for instance liaising with thermodynamic modelling support team for pre-simulations and or validation of the theoretical and experimental approaches.
Do you want to join our team and be on the spotlight? We are welcoming you!
Het vereiste minimumdiploma van de kandidaat
- PhD
De vereiste achtergrondkennis van de kandidaat
- Chemistry
- <p>Metallurgy</p>