Engineering the Future of Nuclear and Nuclear Waste

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) is developing state-of-the-art technologies for nuclear reactor fuels, core components, and safe nuclear waste treatment and storage. Waste mitigation technologies reduce the cost and complexity of nuclear waste treatment by streamlining treatment methods and simplifying end-products.

Fission Reactor Design

GA-EMS is an innovator in nuclear reactor design, incorporating new materials and technologies to design reactors for the purpose, be it power, propulsion, process heat, desalination, and more.

Nuclear Mechanical Engineering

GA-EMS designs and develops advanced systems and technologies for next-generation nuclear reactors and other applications, including control rod drive mechanisms, reflectors, and heat exchangers.

Radiochemical Engineering

Cesium (¹³⁷Cs) Separation by Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (CSSX)

GA-EMS developed Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (CSSX) as a key technology for significantly reducing high-level liquid nuclear waste. CSSX is a four-step chemical process that extracts radioactive cesium-137 from legacy waste, enabling decontamination, immobilization, and safe disposal. CSSX is a critical component of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) in Aiken, South Carolina, and is now embedded in the Liquid Salt Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina.

Selective Gas Extraction

Invented by General Atomics, Selective Gas Extraction (SGE) is a dry process designed to extract components from mixed solid nuclear waste. SGE uses process gases to selectively volatilize specific solid components, separating them from the remaining material. This unique GA-EMS extraction method has been evaluated by Idaho National Laboratory for treatment of sodium-bonded fuel rod waste and is currently being evaluated for dry recycling of used nuclear fuel.

Irradiated Graphite Treatment (a first of a kind)

GA-EMS is developing a process to isotopically separate graphite; a breakthrough approach aimed at addressing nearly 300,000 tonnes of irradiated graphite nuclear waste stored worldwide. This waste has remained untreatable for decades due to inability to separate radioactive C-14 isotope from the stable C-12 carbon matrix. Early bench-scale demonstrations show promising potential to bring economic benefit from the of this waste.