Assessing the technical aspects of spent nuclear fuel storage in deep horizontal boreholes

核能发电预计将在向低碳能源未来的过渡中发挥重要作用。这将包括继续使用大型发电厂，类似于在包括加拿大在内的不同地点使用了几十年的发电厂。然而，随着小型模块化反应堆(SMR)的出现，核能发电的新机会正在出现。新不伦瑞克省、安大略省、萨斯喀彻温省和艾伯塔省最近签署了一份谅解备忘录，其中列出了在未来10年内实施多项SMR设计的计划。拟议的研究将通过开发在水平深井中储存乏核燃料的备选方案来支持这些计划。核电产生的乏燃料具有放射性，因此需要谨慎管理。这种乏燃料以固体状态存在，在某些情况下可能在未来有用(例如，用于回收和再用作反应堆燃料)。因此，有必要将乏燃料放置在一个安全的环境中，在这种环境中，可以在一段时间内回收乏燃料，但从长远来看，也将继续将乏燃料与周围环境隔离。全球对适合在页岩、岩盐或花岗岩等无孔岩石中长期储存和处置乏核燃料的深层地质储存库进行了广泛的研究。计划即将使用的存储库设计基于挖掘和隧道技术。选择在加拿大使用的设计包括一个垂直竖井，沉入所需深度，从那里横向挖掘出入隧道和储藏室的网络。安大略省的两个可能的地点正在考虑用于这种类型的储存库。这项研究的主要目标是开发在深层地质储存库中安全、长期储存乏核燃料的技术，这些储存库使用地面上钻出的水平钻孔建造。这项研究将建立在以前对常规储存库设计的研究和过去25年来水平钻井和完井技术所取得的巨大进步的基础上，寻求结合和适应这些技术的最佳手段，以开发相对低成本、灵活、可扩展和安全的存储手段。这项提议的具体目标是评估和设计加拿大大草原深处两个岩层--厚岩层和致密结晶岩层--的井底储存库。该研究计划将帮助我们实现安全、低排放的能源生产，为从事采矿和核电的人们和社区提供经济利益，并支持非常适合加拿大偏远社区的灵活发电方案(SMRS)。这项研究还将培养在各种能源开发和工程应用中使用的、在地下基础设施设计方面经验丰富的受过独特培训的高素质人员。

Nuclear power generation is expected to play an important role in the transition to a low-carbon energy future. This will include the continued use of large-scale power generation plants similar to those used for several decades in various locations, including Canada. However, new opportunities for nuclear power generation are emerging with the advent of small modular reactors (SMRs). The provinces of New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta recently signed a memorandum of understanding which lays out plans to implement a number of SMR designs in the next 10 years. The proposed research will support these plans by developing options for storing spent nuclear fuel in deep horizontal boreholes. The spent fuel resulting from nuclear power generation is radioactive, hence it requires careful management. This spent fuel exists in a solid state, and in some cases may be useful in the future (e.g., for recycling and reuse as reactor fuel). As such, there is a need to place spent fuel in a secure environment from which it may be retrieved for some interval of time, but which will also continue to isolate the spent fuel from the surrounding environment over the long term. Extensive research has been conducted globally on deep geological repositories suitable for long-term storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel in non-porous rocks like shale, halite (rock salt) or granite. Repository designs planned for imminent use are based on mining and tunneling technologies. The design selected for use in Canada includes a vertical shaft sunk to the desired depth, from which a network of access tunnels and storage rooms are excavated laterally. Two possible sites in Ontario are being considered for this type of repository. The main goal of this research is to develop technologies for secure, long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel in deep geological repositories constructed using horizontal boreholes drilled from ground surface. The research would build on previous research in conventional repository design and the tremendous advancements achieved in horizontal drilling and completion technology in the past 25 years, seeking the best means of combining and adapting these technologies to develop a relatively low cost, flexible, scalable and secure means of storage. The specific objectives of this proposal are to assess and design borehole-based repositories in two rock formations deep beneath the Canadian prairies; i.e., a thick halite formation and a dense crystalline rock formation. This research program will help us achieve safe, low-emissions energy production, provide economic benefits for people and communities involved in mining and nuclear power, and support a flexible power generation option (SMRs) well-suited for remote Canadian communities. The research will also lead to uniquely trained, highly-qualified personnel experienced in the design of subsurface infrastructure for use in a variety of energy development and engineering applications.