Processing of FRG high-temperature gas-cooled reactor fuel elements at General Atomic under the US/FRG cooperative agreement for spent fuel elements

The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the United States (US) are cooperating on certain aspects of gas-cooled reactor technology under an umbrella agreement. Under the spent fuel treatment development section of the agreement, both FRG mixed uranium/ thorium and low-enriched uranium fuel spheres have been processed in the Department of Energy-sponsored cold pilot plant for high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel processing at General Atomic Company in San Diego, California. The FRG fuel spheres were crushed and burned to recover coated fuel particles suitable for further treatment for uranium recovery. Successful completion of the tests described in this paper demonstrated certain modifications to the US HTGR fuel burining process necessary for FRG fuel treatment. Results of the tests will be used in the design of a US/FRG joint prototype headend facility for HTGR fuel.