Continuous and long-term energy provided by nuclear power plants comes with a significant challenge: radioactive waste. However, Transmutex has developed a revolutionary approach to reduce radioactivity.
Addressing the Nuclear Waste Challenge
While operational safety of nuclear power plants using nuclear fission is often in the spotlight, the biggest challenge lies in the storage of used fuel. Nuclear fission fuel can remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years after it has been used to generate energy. However, this problem may not be unsolvable. Transmutex, a nuclear fission company based in Switzerland, has developed an approach that reduces the radioactivity by up to 80%.
Innovative Solution by Transmutex
The solution lies within Transmutex itself. The company aims to reduce radioactivity by transmuting elements, transforming them into isotopes or entirely different elements. This can be likened to alchemists’ attempts to turn metals into gold. However, where alchemists failed, Carlo Rubbia, former director-general of CERN, succeeded.
Transmutation Process
Researchers propose using a particle accelerator to transmute a lightweight radioactive element like thorium into an isotope of uranium. The accelerator is connected to a nuclear fission facility where the newly produced uranium can be immediately processed. Unlike the uranium equivalent used in today’s nuclear power plants, this uranium does not produce plutonium or other highly radioactive wastes. It is worth noting that this technology has been examined by Nagra, Switzerland’s national organization for managing nuclear waste, for several months, concluding that radioactivity is significantly reduced.
Promising Results and Challenges
According to the Swiss national organization, Transmutex’s technology can reduce the volume of generated nuclear waste by 80% and shorten the radioactive decay time to less than 500 years. Additionally, this technology can be applied to 99% of existing nuclear wastes.
Overcoming Obstacles
While this method significantly reduces radioactivity, it involves the use of a particle accelerator. Installing a particle accelerator next to each plant implies very high costs. While 20 countries have decided to triple their nuclear energy capacities, countries like Germany and Switzerland are hesitant to embrace new facilities due to public opposition to nuclear technology. Switzerland is considering phasing out its existing four nuclear power plants. If Transmutex can convince the government, its technology could save these facilities. The evaluation conducted by Nagra is also crucial. It is stated that a nuclear facility using Transmutex’s technology can be shut down in two milliseconds.
