eprintid: 10184834
rev_number: 7
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/18/48/34
datestamp: 2024-01-05 09:14:28
lastmod: 2024-01-05 09:14:28
status_changed: 2024-01-05 09:14:28
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Pucciarelli, Martina
creators_name: Palethorpe, Stephen J
creators_name: Spencer, Julian
creators_name: Banford, Anthony
creators_name: Lettieri, Paola
creators_name: Paulillo, Andrea
title: Using life cycle assessment to quantify the environmental benefits of circular economy strategies in the nuclear industry
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B04
divisions: C05
divisions: F43
keywords: Nuclear waste; Reprocessing; Deep geological repository; 
Radiological impacts; Consequential LCA
note: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
abstract: In the United Kingdom nuclear energy is expected to play a key role in decarbonising the power generation sector. The implementation of circular economy approaches in the nuclear industry can minimize the amount and the associated environmental impacts of nuclear wastes. In this article, we demonstrate how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be used to investigate the environmental benefits of two circular economy strategies that aim at reducing the amount of intermediate level waste (ILW) destined for disposal in a geological disposal facility. The first case study focuses on a novel technology for recycling zirconium alloy cladding waste, whilst the second case study investigates the environmental benefits of using depleted (instead of natural) uranium to produce uranyl nitrate, a chemical used in the PUREX process. Our results show that both circular approaches outperform conventional ones across all environmental categories and particularly in terms of resources depletion, with reductions up to 25% and 94% for respectively zirconium alloy recycling and depleted uranium reuse. The environmental benefits of both approaches are due not only to a reduction in the amount of ILW to be disposed of, but also because they are assumed to induce a reduction in the demand for mining of primary zirconium or uranium respectively. When both approaches are combined, the environmental benefits range from 4% in the category freshwater and up to 94% in the category resource use, energy carriers.
date: 2024-03
date_type: published
publisher: Elsevier BV
official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2023.105026
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 2135957
doi: 10.1016/j.pnucene.2023.105026
lyricists_name: Paulillo, Andrea
lyricists_id: APAUL46
actors_name: Flynn, Bernadette
actors_id: BFFLY94
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Progress in Nuclear Energy
volume: 168
article_number: 105026
issn: 0149-1970
citation:        Pucciarelli, Martina;    Palethorpe, Stephen J;    Spencer, Julian;    Banford, Anthony;    Lettieri, Paola;    Paulillo, Andrea;      (2024)    Using life cycle assessment to quantify the environmental benefits of circular economy strategies in the nuclear industry.                   Progress in Nuclear Energy , 168     , Article 105026.  10.1016/j.pnucene.2023.105026 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2023.105026>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10184834/1/1-s2.0-S0149197023004614-main.pdf