Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited
Encyclopedia
Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. (JNFL) (日本原燃 Nihon Gennen) is a nuclear energy company based in Rokkasho
, Aomori Prefecture
, Japan
involved in the production of nuclear fuel
, as well as the reprocessing
, storage and disposal of nuclear waste. The mission of Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited is to establish a nuclear fuel cycle
infrastructure in Japan
.
In uranium enrichment JNFL plans to provide for an ultimate capacity of 1,500 ton-SWU/year, enough to meet one third of the nuclear fuel needs of all nuclear power plants in Japan. Currently, the Uranium Enrichment Plant in Rokkasho, Aomori
, is operating with a capacity of 1,050 ton-SWU/year, which is equivalent to the nuclear fuel used by 8 or 9 reactors at 1,000 MW-class nuclear plants.
Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant
, Japan's first commercial reprocessing plant, began reprocessing in 2007, however complications have delayed full commercial operation until 2012. The plant has a design reprocessing capacity of 800 tonnes-U/year, enough to reprocess the spent fuel produced by 30 reactors at 1,000 MW-class nuclear power stations, though full capacity has yet to be realized. Responding to a December 1998 request from The Federation of Electric Power Companies, JNFL has been conducting technological studies regarding MOX fuel
fabrication technology. According to the current plan, Japanese electric power companies will be implementing Plutonium-Thermal utilization (MOX) with 16 to 18 of the nuclear reactors operating in Japan. In late October 2010, work formally got under way on a 130 tonne/year J-MOX fuel fabrication plant, which is located on the same site as the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant.
JNFL also operates low and high level nuclear waste long-term storage facilities which will accommodate 2,880 canisters of vitrified high level waste and the ultimate capacity of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center now under construction will be 600,000 m3.
Rokkasho, Aomori
is a village located in the Kamikita District of northeastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the village had an estimated population of 10,890 and a density of 43 persons per km². Its total area was 253.01 km².-Geography:...
, Aomori Prefecture
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
involved in the production of nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available...
, as well as the reprocessing
Nuclear reprocessing
Nuclear reprocessing technology was developed to chemically separate and recover fissionable plutonium from irradiated nuclear fuel. Reprocessing serves multiple purposes, whose relative importance has changed over time. Originally reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing...
, storage and disposal of nuclear waste. The mission of Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited is to establish a nuclear fuel cycle
Nuclear fuel cycle
The nuclear fuel cycle, also called nuclear fuel chain, is the progression of nuclear fuel through a series of differing stages. It consists of steps in the front end, which are the preparation of the fuel, steps in the service period in which the fuel is used during reactor operation, and steps in...
infrastructure in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In uranium enrichment JNFL plans to provide for an ultimate capacity of 1,500 ton-SWU/year, enough to meet one third of the nuclear fuel needs of all nuclear power plants in Japan. Currently, the Uranium Enrichment Plant in Rokkasho, Aomori
Rokkasho, Aomori
is a village located in the Kamikita District of northeastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the village had an estimated population of 10,890 and a density of 43 persons per km². Its total area was 253.01 km².-Geography:...
, is operating with a capacity of 1,050 ton-SWU/year, which is equivalent to the nuclear fuel used by 8 or 9 reactors at 1,000 MW-class nuclear plants.
Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant
Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant
The is a nuclear reprocessing plant with an annual capacity of 800 tons of uranium or 8 tons of plutonium, owned by Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited located in the village of Rokkasho in northeast Aomori Prefecture, Japan approximately 17 miles north of the US Air Force's Misawa Air Base...
, Japan's first commercial reprocessing plant, began reprocessing in 2007, however complications have delayed full commercial operation until 2012. The plant has a design reprocessing capacity of 800 tonnes-U/year, enough to reprocess the spent fuel produced by 30 reactors at 1,000 MW-class nuclear power stations, though full capacity has yet to be realized. Responding to a December 1998 request from The Federation of Electric Power Companies, JNFL has been conducting technological studies regarding MOX fuel
MOX fuel
Mixed oxide fuel, commonly referred to as MOX fuel, is nuclear fuel that contains more than one oxide of fissile material. MOX fuel contains plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. MOX fuel is an alternative to the low-enriched uranium fuel used in the...
fabrication technology. According to the current plan, Japanese electric power companies will be implementing Plutonium-Thermal utilization (MOX) with 16 to 18 of the nuclear reactors operating in Japan. In late October 2010, work formally got under way on a 130 tonne/year J-MOX fuel fabrication plant, which is located on the same site as the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant.
JNFL also operates low and high level nuclear waste long-term storage facilities which will accommodate 2,880 canisters of vitrified high level waste and the ultimate capacity of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center now under construction will be 600,000 m3.