Value of Spent Fuel

Total value of unused fuel, fission products, and activation products, per tonne of spent fuel — 1000 kg, which produced about 52 Megawatt-electric years (MWe-yr): $2,385,309.88

Spent fuel processing ought to be a profit center, not a cost center.

Prices per gram taken from Wikipedia articles and suppliers' web pages.

A pyroelectric refiner separates spent fuel to five destinations: Anode, Electrolyte, Rare-Earth Cathode, Actinide Cathode, and Gas

Fission Products that remain in the Anode Basket


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Cadmium 198.0 g 0.316 62.57
Molybdenum 5.059 kg 0.027 136.59
Niobium 7.06 mg 0.165 0.00
Palladium 2.359 kg 47.22 112,576.20
Rhodium 611.3 g 141.542 86,524.62
Ruthenium 3.465 kg 6.500 22,522.50
Technetium 1.136 kg 60.00 68,160.00
Zirconium 5.449 kg 0.926 5,045.72
Total 18.277 kg 295,028.26
Fission Products that remain in the Rare-Earth Cathode


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Cerium(III) 3.607 kg 0.002 7.21
Dysprosium 2.568 g 0.147 0.38
Erbium 0.1055 g 0.450 0.05
Gadolinium 223.6 g 0.030 6.71
Holmium 0.2892 g 0.500 0.14
Lanthanum 1.849 kg 0.002 3.70
Neodymium(III) 6.143 kg 0.025 153.58
Praseodymium(III) 1.689 kg 0.022 37.16
Promethium 11.02 g 0.000 0.00
Terbium 4.337 g 0.570 2.47
Total 18.277 kg 211.39
Fission Products that remain in the Electrolyte


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Antimony 29.06 g 0.006 0.17
Arsenic 0.2982 g 0.001 0.00
Barium 2.776 kg 0.100 277.60
Beryllium 0.229 mg 7.480 0.00
Bromine 31.96 g 0.050 1.60
Caesium 3.680 kg 11.000 40,480.00
Carbon 40.2 μg 0.024 0.00
Europium 233.4 g 0.260 60.68
Gallium 7.93 μg 0.525 0.00
Germanium 0.9951 g 8.600 8.56
Indium 2.892 g 42.000 121.46
Iodine 357.6 g 0.083 29.68
Lithium 25.7 μg 0.270 0.00
Rubidium 524.5 g 12.000 6,294.00
Samarium 1.284 kg 0.004 5.14
Selenium(I) 84.68 g 0.180 15.24
Silver 115.4 g 1.000 115.40
Strontium 1.135 kg 1.000 1,135.00
Tellurium 749.1 g 0.240 179.78
Thulium 95.4 μg 70.000 0.01
Tin 139.9 g 0.021 2.94
Ytterbium(III) 43.0 μg 14.000 0.00
Yttrium 676.2 g 0.040 27.05
Zinc 9.72 mg 0.033 0.00
Total 25.351 kg 48,693.63
Fission Products that escape as Gases


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Krypton 533 g 0.330 175.89
Tritium 49.11 mg 30000.000 1,473.30
Xenon 8.024 kg 1.200 9,628.80
Total 8.557 kg 11,277.91
Total value of Fission Products per tonne of spent fuel
52.185 kg 355,271.96
Actinides' Daughters that remain in the anode basket


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Lead 30.0 μg 0.002 0.00
Bismuth 1.6 ng 0.023 0.00
Polonium 10.4 pg 28,629,729.730 0.00
Astatine 1.00 pg 0.00
Thalium 10.6 pg 0.480 0.00
Total 30.002 μg 0.00
Actinides' and Daughters that remain in the electrolyte


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Actinium 0.103 μg 0.00
Radium 0.450 μg 110,000.000 0.05
Total 0.553 μg 0.05
Actinides Deposited at the Actinide Cathode


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Plutonium 11.420 kg 10.00 114,200.00
Neptunium 654.6 g 333.000 217,981.80
Curium 64.87 g 0.00
Americium 936.2 g 1,500.000 1,404,300.00
Thorium 8.678 mg 3.000 0.03
Uranium 934.8 kg 0.078 72,914.20
Protactinium 0.587 mg 280.000 0.16
Californium 12.7 μg 27,000,000.000 343.17
Berkelium 3.36 ng 185,000,000.000 0.62
Francium 1.00 pg 0.00
Einsteinium 1.00 pg 0.00
Total 947.88 kg 1,809,740.18
Actinide Daughter that escapes as Gas


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Radon 11.9 pg
Total value of Unused Fuel
947.825 kg 1,809,740.18
Activation Products that remain in the Anode Basket


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Zirconium 237.9 kg 0.926 220,295,40
Niobium 0.857 mg 0.111 0.00
Technetium 1.15 mg 0.113 0.00
Rhodium 1.11 pg 84.000 0.00
Molybdenum 80.3 g 0.025 2.01
Ruthenium 0.1 mg 8.500 0.00
Palladium 1.00 pg 50.000 0.00
Total 237.9 kg 220,297.41
Activation Products that remain in the Electrolyte


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Strontium 329 mg 1.000 0.33
Yttrium 24.8 mg 0.040 0.00
Total 353.8 mg 0.33
Activation Products that escape as Gas


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Hydrogen 12.7 mg
Helium 16.3 mg
Total Value of Activation Products
per tonne of spent fuel


Element		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel
Value $
per gram		 Total Value
$ per tonne
of spent fuel
Total 237.9 kg 220,297.74
Total value of Unused Fuel
Fission Products
and Activation Products per tonne of spent fuel


Material		 Amount per
tonne of
spent fuel		 Total Value
$ per tonne of
spent fuel
Unused Fuel 947.815 kg 1,809,740.18
Fission Products 52.185 kg 355,271.96
Activation Products 237.9 kg 220,297.74
Total 1,237.9 kg 2,385,309.88

Activation products consist primarily of fuel-pin cladding.