Russia Produced the First Full Batch of MOX Fuel for BN-800 Fast Reactor

The Mining and Chemical Combine in Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk region (East Siberia) has manufactured the first full reload batch of fresh uranium-plutonium MOX fuel for BN-800 fast reactor, operated at Beloyarsk NPP.

The 169 fuel assemblies have been accepted by Rosenergoatom, the operator of Russian NPPs, and its authorized representative VPO ZAES, which has confirmed the consignment is ready for shipment.

TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM will supply the fresh MOX fuel for the Beloyarsk NPP in Zarechny, Sverdlovsk region in the Urals, providing the shipments till the end of 2020.

The refueling at BN-800 is scheduled for January 2021.

MOX fuel contains more than one oxide of fissile material, usually plutonium oxide blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium or depleted uranium oxide.

MOX fuel can also use weapons-grade plutonium from military sources.

ROSATOM said the fuel pellets in the MOX assemblies were made of a mixture of depleted uranium oxides accumulated from enterprises connected to TVEL and plutonium oxides separated during the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.

Recycling fissile material in this way is known as closing the nuclear fuel cycle.

The overall toxicity, fissile content and volume of the waste produced is reduced while the fissionable residuals are recycled for energy production.