Method for dry process recycling of mixed (U,Pu)O2 oxide nuclear fuel waste

A process for dry recycling of (U,Pu)O2 mixed-oxide nuclear fuel scrap arising from the manufacture of fuel or from the scrapping of fuel as result of shortage or discontinuation of use, comprising:

• a first series of steps for pretreating said scrap, including:
• pelletizing (20) and sintering (21) of the scrap, said scrap being in the form of powder, in order to form a first set of scrap pellets, and
• micronization (23) of the first set of scrap pellets in order to form micronized scrap powder;
• and
• a second series of steps for manufacturing (U,Pu)O2 mixed oxide fuel pellets, including:
• a dispensing and a first blending (1) of at least a portion of the micronized powder scraps and, if required, of PuO2 and/or UO2 powders, to form a first blend:
• micronization (2) and forced sieving (3) of the first blend,
• another dispensing and a second blending (4) of the first sieved blend, of UO2 powders and, if required, of a further portion of the micronized scrap powder, to form a second blend,
• pelletizing (6) of the second blend to form pellets, and
• sintering (7) of the pellets, to form sintered pellets.