Saturday, June 11 2005 18:47 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kalpakkam: In a major milestone in India's development of nuclear technology, the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam, has successfully reprocessed the spent Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) plutonium-rich carbide fuel for nuclear power generation.

The plutonium-rich carbide fuel, after high burn-ups of one lakh Mega Watt days per tonne (MWd/t) has been reprocessed for the first time in the world, Dr Anil Kakkodkar, chairman, Atomic Energy Commission & Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy told a news conference at the IGCAR campus in Kalpakkam, about 70 kms south of Chennai.

The development is significant, as it would help India in conserving the scarce energy resources such as uranium and plutonium for the future generations, he said.

The reprocessing of 25,000, 50,000 and one lakh MWd/t burn up FBTR fuel have been successfully carried out at the FBTR facility with stage-wise clearances from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. "The results of all the campaigns, the recovery and product purity are very good," Kakkodkar said.