Reprocessing

Chemically separating usable material, chiefly unused uranium and plutonium, out of spent nuclear fuel so it can be made into new fuel rather than stored or disposed of as waste. Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is the main commercial product of reprocessing: it combines plutonium recovered this way with depleted uranium. Reprocessing reduces how much fresh enrichment a fuel cycle needs but raises separate proliferation and cost concerns, which is why only a small number of countries operate reprocessing at commercial scale.

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concept:reprocessing

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