Editorial pubs.acs.org/IECR
Alternative Energy Systems: Nuclear Energy Introduction to the Special Section on Nuclear Energy in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research awaiting long-term storage and then once in long-term storage (e.g., repository).2,3 A great deal of research into geologic repositories and used fuel disposition is ongoing in the United States and throughout the world. Repositories are being designed to contain and isolate hazardous and long-lived radioactive wastes. Generally, it is assumed that the repository would include the radioactive waste, the containers enclosing the waste, the engineered barriers or seals around the containers, the tunnels in which the containers are stored, and the geologic makeup of the surrounding area.4 Multidisciplinary research is needed to ensure viability of these components of the repository. This special section strives to cover much of these important topics as they relate to chemistry and the Alternative Energy Systems focus of the ACS ComSci, and the topics covered in the related special symposium. In the area of Separations Science for Fuel Cycles, one article from Nash and co-workers5 focuses on alternative organic solvents for the solvent extraction separation processes of lanthanide/minor actinides. In the area of Waste Form Development, Sava et al.6 present the material science of low-temperature glasses that successfully (and durably) incorporate radiological fission gases (e.g., I2) and the capture material (metal−organic frameworks, MOFs) in a one-step process. In the area of decay effects on the long-term storage and stability of waste forms, Jiang et al.7 use ion implantation studies to mimic radiological decay in a ceramic waste form (SrTiO3); they show how the ceramic compensates for oxidation state changes due to decay. Finally, Navrotsky’s research is of value to used fuel disposition and repository science, because it utilizes thermodynamics to aid in the understanding and prediction of uranium solubility, fate and transport in the environment.8 These topics are just a small sample of the rich and diverse research and engineering needs in the area of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Energy System. Further details on Nuclear Energy and the other AES areas being highlighted by ComSci can be found at the ACS web page (www.acs.org).
This special section on Nuclear Energy is the result of recent work of the American Chemical Society's Committee on Science (ACS ComSci). The committee is focusing much of its efforts on a new initiative, entitled Alternative Energy Systems (AES), to inform scientists on alternative energy research and technologies. A variety of informational sources has been developed in this initiative by the Science and Technology subcommittee of ComSci, including educational events, resource-filled web pages, and special symposia held at ACS national meetings. The subcommittee chose to focus on four alternative energy areas: nuclear, solar, biofuel, and hydrogen energy. This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, but it does cover areas that involve a great deal of chemistry-related research. This special section is the product of the special symposium on Nuclear Energy held at the Spring 2011 ACS national meeting in Anaheim, CA. The symposium was entitled “Nuclear Energy for Today and Tomorrow” and organized by Dr. Kenneth Nash (Washington State University, Pullman, WA). That well-attended session pulled technical experts in nuclear fuels, separations, and waste forms, plus members of the U.S. Department of Energy leadership and members from Europe. Because it was held shortly after the tsunami in Japan, there were discussions and perspectives offered from the speakers and the audience about its affect on nuclear energy in the future. Nuclear Energy is focused on the production of sustainable, clean energy at a competitive cost, with minimal release of harmful greenhouse gases (e.g., CO2). There are three main areas of focus that are constantly being addressed that help ensure that nuclear energy is viable. They include the diligence with radioactive waste being minimized and isolated from the biosphere, ensuring an adequate supply of fuel identified or created, and the prevention of proliferation of nuclear materials. Both the production of energy and the attention to these focus areas provide ongoing and future areas of science and engineering studies, research, and monitoring. For example, the nuclear fuel cycle has numerous areas of potential study. It is comprised of a series of processes that utilize uranium fissioning to produce electricity in nuclear power reactors. After the fuel has been burned for energy production, is removed from the reactor, and is at the end of its useful life, it can either be sent to a long-term storage facility or it can be reprocessed to produce new fuel.1 On-going and needed studies for this include the separations and removal of poisons and nonburnable components of the used fuel, fuel compositions, and life cycle analysis of reused fuel compositions. Another area of interest is in the study and production of stable and durable waste forms for separated, nonburnable products. The value of the waste forms is that they both ensure nonradiological interactions with the environment while © 2012 American Chemical Society
Tina M. Nenoff,*
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Sandia National Laboratories, PO Box 5800, MS 1415, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Special Issue: Alternative Energy Systems: Nuclear Energy Received: January 9, 2012 Accepted: January 12, 2012 Published: January 18, 2012 605
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie300076w | Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2012, 51, 605−606
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
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Editorial
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the USDOE’s NNSA (under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000).
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REFERENCES
(1) Settle, F. A. Uranium to electricity: the chemistry of the nuclear fuel cycle. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 3, 316−323. (2) Waste Forms: Technology and Performance; National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 2011. (3) Peters, M. T.; Ewing, R. C. A science-based approach to understanding waste form durability in open and closed nuclear fuel cycles. J. Nucl. Mater. 2007, 362, 395−401. (4) Inman, M. Down to Earth: Lingering Nuclear Waste. Science 2005, 309, 1179. (5) Braley, J. C.; Grimes, T. S.; Nash, K. L. Alternatives to HDEHP and DTPA for Simplified TALSPEAK Separations. Ind. Eng. Chem. Soc. 2012, DOI: 10.1021/ie200285r. (6) Sava, D. F.; Garino, T. J.; Nenoff, T. M. Iodine Confinement into Metal−Organic Frameworks (MOFs): Low-Temperature Sintering Glasses To Form Novel Glass Composite Material (GCM) Alternative Waste Forms. Ind. Eng. Chem. Soc. 2012, DOI: 10.1021/ie200248g. (7) Jiang, W.; Bowden, M. E.; Zhu, Z.; Jozwik, P.; Jagielski, J.; Stonert, A. Defects and Minor Phases in O+ and Zr+ Ion Co-implanted SrTiO3. Ind. Eng. Chem. Soc. 2012, DOI: 10.1021/ie200267n. (8) Shvareva, T. Y.; Fein, J. B.; Navrotsky, A. Thermodynamic Properties of Uranyl Minerals: Constraints from Calorimetry and Solubility Measurements. Ind. Eng. Chem. Soc. 2012, DOI: 10.1021/ ie2002582.
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