APPLICATIONS OF POWER FLUIDICS™ TECHNOLOGY IN NUCLEAR WASTE PROCESSING PLANTS

Power Fluidics Technology has been used for the transport, mixing and sampling of nuclear waste in liquid or slurry form in nuclear waste processing plants in the UK for more than 30 years. The key feature of the technology is the absence of mechanical moving parts in contact with the process fluid with the resulting benefits of inherent plant safety, reliability and reduced operator dose uptake due to reduced maintenance requirements. These benefits are accompanied by a reduction in secondary waste generation. This paper describes the principles on which fluidic pumping, sampling, mixing and ventilation systems are based and uses practical examples to demonstrate how the technology has been applied in the UK and how it is being applied in the US in nuclear waste processing plants.