The Fuel Conditioning Facility (FCF) supports nuclear energy research and development for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other customers. Its unique capabilities make FCF an ideal facility for its primary mission to support treatment of DOE-owned, sodium-bonded metal fuel.
In a secondary role, FCF also supports multi-program work related to integrated fuel cycle research and development with a focus on material recovery and waste form development.
FCF consists of two hot cells, one having an air atmosphere and the other having an inert argon gas atmosphere, which enables technicians to work safely with radioactive nuclear materials from behind 5-foot-thick shielding walls.
Technical Information
The Fuel Conditioning Facility's (FCF) primary mission is to support pyroprocessing treatment of DOE-owned sodium-bonded metal fuel.
Engineering-scale equipment for treatment of sodium-bonded metallic fuel to deactivate the reactive sodium metal, recover fissionable uranium, and separate fission and activation products for incorporation into solid waste forms suitable for geologic disposal
Systems to support handling of heavily shielded shipping casks for fuel receipt and waste disposal
Lab-scale process development in inert atmosphere gloveboxes
Two heavily shielded hot cells equipped with remotely operated manipulators to safely handle irradiated fuels and materials
Instruments used to prepare and size elements for treatment, such as element chopper, vacuum inspection, and the vertical assembler/dismantler
Engineering-scale equipment including molten salt electrorefiners and high temperature furnaces capable of sodium neutralization and uranium recovery
Pneumatic “rabbit" system for transfer of material samples to and from MFC's Analytical Laboratory (AL) or its Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF)
Mock-up area to allow thorough testing of new remotely operated systems prior to their installation into FCF, HFEF, or AL hot cells
Advanced Fuel Cycle R&D argon atmosphere glovebox