Nuclear decommissioning
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Composite Material Recycling Technology—State-of-the-Art and Sustainable Development for the 2020s Open
Recently, significant events took place that added immensely to the sociotechnical pressure for developing sustainable composite recycling solutions, namely (1) a ban on composite landfilling in Germany in 2009, (2) the first major wave of…
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Sustainable decommissioning of an offshore wind farm Open
The offshore wind industry has historically focused on setting up new projects, with the decommissioning phase receiving little attention. This can cause future problems as decommissioning needs to be planned at the beginning to prevent co…
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Coded-aperture imaging systems: Past, present and future development – A review Open
Scintillator based coded-aperture imaging has proven to be effective when applied for X- and gamma-ray detection. Adaptation of the same method for neutron imaging has resulted in a number of propitious systems, which could be potentially …
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Is floating photovoltaic better than conventional photovoltaic? Assessing environmental impacts Open
Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy installations are growing all over the world as a promising renewable alternative to generate electricity. However, many studies have highlighted some drawbacks associated with the installation and operation …
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Worldwide oil and gas platform decommissioning: A review of practices and reefing options Open
Consideration of whether to completely remove an oil and gas production platform from the seafloor or to leave the submerged jacket as a reef is an imminent decision for California, as a number of offshore platforms in both state and feder…
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CO2 Storage in Depleted or Depleting Oil and Gas Fields: What can We Learn from Existing Projects? Open
Storing CO2 in depleted or depleting oil and gas fields has now been proven at a number of sites worldwide. Key risks have been overcome, for example, relating to site design for dealing with reduced reservoir pressure, re-using infrastruc…
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Failure Mode Identification and End of Life Scenarios of Offshore Wind Turbines: A Review Open
In 2007, the EU established challenging goals for all Member States with the aim of obtaining 20% of their energy consumption from renewables, and offshore wind is expected to be among the renewable energy sources contributing highly towar…
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Critical Review of Scintillating Crystals for Neutron Detection Open
There exists an ongoing need to develop and improve methods of detecting radioactive materials. As each radioactive isotope leaves a unique mark in a form of the particles it emits, new materials capable of detecting and measuring these pa…
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Radiation imaging using a compact Compton camera mounted on a crawler robot inside reactor buildings of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Open
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., went into meltdown in the aftermath of a large tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011. Measurement of…
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The abandoned ice sheet base at Camp Century, Greenland, in a warming climate Open
In 1959 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Camp Century beneath the surface of the northwestern Greenland Ice Sheet. There they studied the feasibility of deploying ballistic missiles within the ice sheet. The base and its wastes were …
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Digital twin for ship life-cycle: A critical systematic review Open
The focus on digitalisation in manufacturing is spreading to other industry fields, including large and complex objects like ships. Such interest introduces the concept of Digital Twins in supporting designers and operators through the who…
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Plasma source mass spectrometry for radioactive waste characterisation in support of nuclear decommissioning: a review Open
The efficient characterization of nuclear waste materials represents a significant challenge during nuclear site decommissioning, with a range of radionuclides requiring measurement in varied and often complex sample matrices. ICP-MS is in…
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Highlighting the need to embed circular economy in low carbon infrastructure decommissioning: The case of offshore wind Open
Development and deployment of low carbon infrastructure (LCI) is essential in a period of accelerated climate change. The deployment of LCI is, however, not taking place with any obvious long term or joined up thinking in respect of life-c…
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Developing policies for the end-of-life of energy infrastructure: Coming to terms with the challenges of decommissioning Open
Energy sector policies have focused historically on the planning, design and construction of energy infrastructures, while typically overlooking the processes required for the management of their end-of-life, and particularly their decommi…
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Imp and Syp RNA-binding proteins govern decommissioning of <i>Drosophila</i> neural stem cells Open
The termination of the proliferation of Drosophila neural stem cells, also known as neuroblasts (NBs), requires a “decommissioning” phase that is controlled in a lineage-specific manner. Most NBs, with the exception of those of the Mushroo…
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The usefulness of sustainable business models: Analysis from oil and gas industry Open
The management of offshore platforms at the end of their production phase is a complex issue for technological, socioeconomic, ecological and safety reasons. The decommissioning or reconversion of offshore platforms in the context of a cir…
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Super Dragon: A 10-m-Long-Coupled Tendon-Driven Articulated Manipulator Open
The decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants is a national urgent problem in Japan. The distribution and characteristics of the fuel debris inside the nuclear reactor must be investigated to safely retrieve them. This …
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Enhancing the Scientific Value of Industry Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) in Our Oceans Open
Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are used extensively by the offshore oil and gas and renewables industries for inspection, maintenance, and repair of their infrastructure. With thousands of subsea structures monitored across the world’s …
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The ecology of infrastructure decommissioning in the North Sea: what we need to know and how to achieve it Open
As decommissioning of oil and gas (O&G) installations intensifies in the North Sea, and worldwide, debate rages regarding the fate of these novel habitats and their associated biota—a debate that has important implications for future decom…
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Influence of offshore oil and gas structures on seascape ecological connectivity Open
Offshore platforms, subsea pipelines, wells and related fixed structures supporting the oil and gas (O&G) industry are prevalent in oceans across the globe, with many approaching the end of their operational life and requiring decommission…
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Wind Turbines’ End-of-Life: Quantification and Characterisation of Future Waste Materials on a National Level Open
Globally, wind power is growing fast and in Sweden alone more than 3000 turbines have been installed since the mid-1990s. Although the number of decommissioned turbines so far is few, the high installation rate suggests that a similarly hi…
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Mitigating biodiversity impacts associated with solar and wind energy development: guidelines for project developers Open
Achieving a climate-resilient future requires rapid, sustained and far-reaching transformations in energy, land-use, infrastructure and industrial systems. Large-scale expansion of renewable energy can play a critical role in meeting the w…
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The HADES Facility for High Activity Decommissioning Engineering & Science: part of the UK National Nuclear User Facility Open
Research and innovation is key to delivering UK Government’s civil nuclear energy policy, in particular to accelerate reduction in the hazard, timescale and cost of legacy decommissioning and geological disposal of radioactive wastes. To a…
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RICA: A Tracked Robot for Sampling and Radiological Characterization in the Nuclear Field Open
Throughout the lifetime of nuclear facilities, radiological inspections are of vital importance, as controlling the radiological state of these facilities is necessary to ensure that their operations remain safe. These inspections are equa…
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Sustainable transformation of end-of-life wind turbine blades: Advancing clean energy solutions in civil engineering through recycling and upcycling Open
Decommissioning end-of-life wind turbine blades (EoL-WTBs) presents significant waste management challenges. This comprehensive review explores the recycling of EoL-WTBs and their potential application in civil engineering for its clean de…
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Challenges of decommissioning offshore wind farms: Overview of the European experience Open
In the coming years, an important number of offshore wind turbines will reach the end of their initially planned service life. In a wind turbine end-of-life scenario, owners can decide between extending the life of the asset, repowering th…
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Radiation imaging using a compact Compton camera inside the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station building Open
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., went into meltdown in the aftermath of a large tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011. The measuremen…
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Geochemical tracers for monitoring offshore CO2 stores Open
Chemical tracers are proposed as an effective means of detecting, attributing and quantifying any CO2 leaks to surface from geological CO2 storage sites, a key component of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology. A significant proport…
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Radiocarbon dioxide detection based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy and a quantum cascade laser Open
Monitoring of radiocarbon (C14) in carbon dioxide is demonstrated using mid-infrared spectroscopy and a quantum cascade laser. The measurement is based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy, and a high sensitivity is achieved with a simple setu…
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A State-of-the-Art Review of Radioactive Decontamination Technologies: Facing the Upcoming Wave of Decommissioning and Dismantling of Nuclear Facilities Open
The average share of nuclear energy in electricity production is expected to increase under the background of the global pursuit towards carbon neutrality. Conjugating with its rapid development, the wave of decommissioning and dismantling…