U.S.-based Deep Isolation, in partnership with Tulsa-based Occlusion Nuclear Solutions, has launched a multi-year, full-scale, at-depth, deep borehole nuclear waste storage and disposal demonstration program.
The project is being performed in collaboration with the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center (DBDC), Halliburton, Amentum, and NAC International, to test its deep borehole technology for disposing of nuclear waste safely and permanently Deep Isolation’s waste disposal technology is being designed to leverage directional drilling to isolate used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in deep boreholes located underground in suitable rock formations.
More than 90,000 metric tons of nuclear waste are stored across the U.S., Occlusion Solutions CEO Wink Kopczynski testified before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. “One of the problems with nuclear waste, and why it is stored onsite, is transportation,” he said.
Today, the only place that spent fuel or used fuel can be stored long-term in the U.S. is in Nevada. Finland is preparing to open the world’s first deep geological repository.
Deep Isolation Nuclear, based in Richland, Washington, believes directional borehole disposal could provide robust and deep isolation for many types of radioactive waste, provide flexibility in repository siting, as well as allow for modular implementation adaptable to specific waste management programs and inventories in the U.S.
Occlusion Nuclear Solutions proposes drilling vertically to a depth of one mile, with a horizontal lateral of one mile, in which to store waste canisters. Nuclear waste engineers calculate it would take 1.5 million years for that waste to reach the surface, “at which point it would have radioactivity equivalent to that of a banana,” Kopczynski said.
Deep Isolation started a planned three-year initiative to complete a full-scale, atdepth demonstration of its Universal Canister System and deep borehole solution.
The system leverages standard drilling technology using off-the-shelf tools and equipment employed in the oil and gas drilling industry. It envisions emplacing nuclear waste in corrosion-resistant canisters - 22 centimeters (8.66 inches) to 33 centimeters (12.99 inches) in diameter and 4.2 meters (13.8 feet) long - into drillholes in rock.
The drillhole, lined with a steel casing, begins with a vertical access section which then gradually curves until it is nearly horizontal, with a slight upward tilt.
Occlusion Solutions proposes drilling disposal wells at the site of the nuclear reactor, which would enable the canisters to be retrieved if/when required. Nuclear waste is “actually 90% to 95% unused fuel, which means it’s highly recyclable,” according to the DOE.
Reportedly, enough energy content remains in current stockpiled nuclear waste to power U.S. electric energy needs for 850 years.
“An evaluation of the disposal site’s geological formations would be required first,” and then the wells would be cased and cemented for permanent installation, Kopczynski said.
That approach would combine “expertise from both the oil and gas industry and the nuclear energy sector,” he said.
The Universal Canister System that will be utilized in the demonstration program has been tested extensively, and is engineered to contain various types of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste from legacy and advanced reactors for long-term storage, transportation, and disposal.
Deep Isolation hosted a groundbreaking event in February to officially launch the demonstration program at the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center facility22 located at the Halliburton Drilling Technology Facility near Cameron, Texas.
It assembled project partners and key stakeholders from across the nuclear industry, the U.S.
Department of Energy, and officials from the State of Texas, Milam County and City of Cameron.
The event marked the beginning of a critical demonstration project, aimed at building stakeholder and regulatory confidence in the deep borehole disposal technology.
The demonstration program, which does not utilize radioactive material, will provide crucial data and operational experience to further the commercialization strategy for deep borehole disposal technology.
“We ... have brought together this extensive collaboration of leading organizations in nuclear technology, drilling services, and waste management to address one of the nuclear industry’s most pressing challenges: developing a safe and permanent solution for nuclear waste disposal,” said Rod Baltzer, Deep Isolation’s president and chief executive officer. “We believe our technology, when commercialized, has the potential to revolutionize the nuclear industry with a long-term solution for disposing of spent nuclear fuel.”
Duane Sherritt, vice president of Low Carbon Solutions for Halliburton, said, “We value our collaboration with Deep Isolation on this important initiative.
Together with Deep Isolation and other collaborators, we will show how directional drilling plays a critical role in delivering subsurface storage locations.”