NUKEM Achieves Key Milestones in Cementation Plant Project
NUKEM Technologies Engineering Services GmbH (NUKEM) reports significant progress in its project to design and construct a state-of-the-art cementation plant for the safe conditioning of radioactive waste in Dessel, Belgium.
These milestones represent major steps forward in ensuring the project's successful delivery and the advancement of innovative waste management solutions.
Achieved Milestones
1. Successful Full-Scale Test (September 2024)
The third full-scale test validated the performance of the plant’s mixing technology and the quality of the cemented waste matrix. The results confirmed compliance with all technical specifications and acceptance criteria, further demonstrating the process’s reliability and effectiveness.
2. Positive Maintainability Workshop at NUKEM, Karlstein am Main (January 2025)
During this workshop, key challenges for the project’s second phase were identified and will now be addressed in follow-up demonstrations. This proactive approach ensures the maintainability of the plant’s equipment and processes, with a follow-up workshop already scheduled to further refine these concepts.
3. Productive Risk Assessment Meeting in Dessel, Belgium (February 2025)
A comprehensive review of the project’s processes, risks, and safety measures - conducted using the HAZOP/HAZID/LOPA methodology - resulted in an agreed list of measures. These measures, to be finalized and reported by the end of February, further solidify the safety and reliability of the project.
These advancements underline the close and productive collaboration between NUKEM and its client NIRAS ensuring steady progress toward completing the detailed design (Project Phase 1).
About the Project
The project involves constructing a homogeneous cementation plant for the treatment of nitrate-rich, acidic radioactive liquids. The plant will safely process and encapsulate this waste - originating partly from the dismantling of nuclear facilities - into a stable, cemented form. Once operational, the plant will condition approximately 800 drums of liquid waste, ensuring compliance with international safety and environmental standards.
NUKEM’s solution scales up a laboratory process developed by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) into an industrial application. The safe conditioning process involves homogeneously cementing the waste and encapsulating it in non-radioactive mortar for final storage.
Looking Ahead
With the detailed design phase nearing completion, the next phases of the project - including construction, commissioning, and handover - are planned for completion in 2029. Once commissioned, the plant will play a key role in ensuring the safe management of Belgium’s radioactive waste, contributing to long-term environmental protection and sustainability.
Thomas Seipolt, President of NUKEM, highlights the broader significance of the project beyond its technical achievements: “With this project, we are not only meeting complex engineering requirements, but also reinforcing public trust in the safe and responsible handling of radioactive waste - for the benefit of future generations.”
Nobuaki Ninomiya, Managing Director of NUKEM, adds: “We are proud to have contributed to the national interest of Belgium through the successful advancement of this cementation plant project. Ensuring the safe and sustainable treatment of radioactive waste is not only a technical achievement but also a vital societal mission. This milestone reflects the strong collaboration between NUKEM and NIRAS, as well as our enduring commitment to innovation, safety, and environmental responsibility.”
NUKEM Technologies Engineering Services GmbH in Karlstein am Main, Germany, is world-wide active in the areas of management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, decommissioning of nuclear facilities, engineering and consulting. For more than 60 years NUKEM provides high quality products, technologies and services, where Innovation, Solutions and Excellence are closely linked.
Contact:
Bea Heinze
NUKEM Technologies Engineering Services GmbH
Zeche Gustav 6, 63791 Karlstein am Main
E-mail:
www.nukemtechnologies.de
