On the Sustainability and Progress of Energy Neutral Mineral Processing

Frederik Reitsma, Peter Woods, Martin Fairclough, Yongjin Kim, Harikrishnan Tulsidas, Luis Lopez, Yanhua Zheng, Ahmed Hussein, Gerd Brinkmann, Nils Haneklaus, Anand Rao Kacham, Tumuluri Sreenivas, Agus Sumaryanto, Kurnia Trinopiawan, Nahhar Al Khaledi, Ahmad Zahari, Adil El Yahyaoui, Jamil Ahmad, Rolando Reyes, Katarzyna Kiegiel, Noureddine Abbes, Dennis Mwalongo and Eduardo D. Greaves
Additional contact information
Frederik Reitsma: International Atomic Energy Agency, VIC, P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria
Peter Woods: International Atomic Energy Agency, VIC, P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria
Martin Fairclough: International Atomic Energy Agency, VIC, P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria
Yongjin Kim: International Atomic Energy Agency, VIC, P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria
Harikrishnan Tulsidas: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Geneva 1200, Switzerland
Luis Lopez: National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), Av. del Libertador 8250, C1429BNP CABA, Argentina
Yanhua Zheng: Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology (INET), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Ahmed Hussein: Nuclear Materials Authority, El-Maadi-Kattamiya Road, P.O. Box 530, Cairo 11311, Egypt
Gerd Brinkmann: BriVa Tech Consulting, Andreas Sapper Str. 15, 91334 Hemhofen, Germany
Nils Haneklaus: Institute for Reactor Safety and Reactor Technology, RWTH Aachen University, Kackertstr. 9, 52072 Aachen, Germany
Anand Rao Kacham: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, AMD Complex, Begumpet, Hyderabad 500016, India
Tumuluri Sreenivas: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, AMD Complex, Begumpet, Hyderabad 500016, India
Agus Sumaryanto: National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN), Jalan Lebak Bulus Raya No. 9, Jakarta 12440, Indonesia
Kurnia Trinopiawan: National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN), Jalan Lebak Bulus Raya No. 9, Jakarta 12440, Indonesia
Nahhar Al Khaledi: Radiation Protection Department, P.O. Box, Sharq Al-Qadeseyah 16087, Kuwait
Ahmad Zahari: Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Bangi, Kajang 43000, Malaysia
Adil El Yahyaoui: Centre National de l’Énergie, des Sciences et des Technique Nucléaires, B.P. 1382, Route Principale, 10001 Rabat, Morocco
Jamil Ahmad: Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box 734, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan
Rolando Reyes: Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, P.O. Box 213, 1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Katarzyna Kiegiel: Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Dorodna 16, Warsaw 00-019, Poland
Noureddine Abbes: Groupe Chimique Tunisien, Direction de Recherches, Gabes 6000, Tunisia
Dennis Mwalongo: Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box 743, Arusha 0206, Tanzania
Eduardo D. Greaves: Universidad Simon Bolivar, P.O. Box 89000, 1080A Caracas, Venezuela

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: A number of primary ores such as phosphate rock, gold-, copper- and rare earth ores contain considerable amounts of accompanying uranium and other critical materials. Energy neutral mineral processing is the extraction of unconventional uranium during primary ore processing to use it, after enrichment and fuel production, to generate greenhouse gas lean energy in a nuclear reactor. Energy neutrality is reached if the energy produced from the extracted uranium is equal to or larger than the energy required for primary ore processing, uranium extraction, -conversion, -enrichment and -fuel production. This work discusses the sustainability of energy neutral mineral processing and provides an overview of the current progress of a multinational research project on that topic conducted under the umbrella of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Keywords: energy neutral mineral processing; unconventional uranium extraction; comprehensive extraction; high temperature reactors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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