USU to assist with nuclear research
USU was chosen as one of four universities to complete nuclear research at the Idaho National Laboratory, said Heng Ban, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
It all started with a simple proposal sent to the largest and most productive nuclear power research facility in the country, Ban said.
The end goal would be to reduce nuclear waste from nuclear power plants to a fraction of what it is now, Ban said.
“All this nuclear waste is not true waste,” said Ban. “They can use it as fuel.”
The basic idea is that when uranium rods are used in power plants to heat water and cause steam, which is used to generate power, the uranium will break down into plutonium and other materials seen as nuclear waste, he said.
“That’s what you hear about in the news with Iran and North Korea,” Ban said. “You hear about the plutonium that comes from nuclear power plants.”
The problem is there are no facilities to test with plutonium-generated power or anything similar in the United States, and that’s where Utah State’s research comes in, he said. Ban is developing and researching different neutron absorbers, specifically hafnium and aluminum, he said.
Essentially, what is now viewed as waste in the United States is used for energy production in other parts of the world, he said. France and Japan are some of the leaders in this type of research production, he said.
The grant is an opportunity to work with the INL and use their facilities, not a monetary grant, said John Walsh, spokesman for the INL. Basically, the USU research team will be able to use a test reactor that simulates the conditions of a nuclear power plant, only on a much larger scale, he said.
“We can duplicate 10 years of nuclear exposure in a matter of a few weeks,” Walsh said.
Ban said the cost of running the lab totals in the millions, and the real privilege and grant is the opportunity to have access to the lab to experiment.
“Just being in the category with them is a major victory,” he said.
The experiment Ban is planning has never been done before and will benefit many different research and governmental organizations, Walsh said. Ban has been developing this research question and also relations with the INL for years, Walsh said. Ban will also have the opportunity to work with the staff of the INL, Walsh said.
Walsh said the development of these materials Ban is testing could lead to faster and more effective developments in the production of advanced nuclear reactors.
This is the second year the INL is granting access to universities for testing and the only stipulation is that the universities publish their findings so that everyone can benefit from their research, Walsh said