Abstract
Production of238Pu for use in radioisotope thermoelectric generators that provide power for instruments on deep space missions is being resumed in the United States. Plutonium-238 was previously produced at the Savannah River Site during the 1960s–1990s in large production reactors and facilities that are no longer available. Use of existing research reactors and radiochemical processing facilities is necessary to resume production of 1.5-2 kg/y of heat source dioxide (PuO2) with ≥ 82%238Pu in the total Pu. Scaling up and converting existing research facilities for production poses significant challenges, but progress is being made in early operations.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2018 |
Publisher | American Nuclear Society |
Pages | 110-113 |
Number of pages | 4 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781510859609 |
State | Published - 2016 |
Event | Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2018 - Las Vegas, United States Duration: Feb 26 2018 → Mar 1 2018 |
Publication series
Name | Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2018 |
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Conference
Conference | Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2018 |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Las Vegas |
Period | 02/26/18 → 03/1/18 |
Funding
This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). Funding for this program is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy.