Understanding the chemistry of ionic liquids for nuclear fuel reprocessing

With the rising cost and dwindling supply of fossil fuels, nuclear power may again be considered a plausible energy option in the U.S. Safety is the public's major concern, and researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory are addressing one important aspect of that issue by investigating materials called ionic liquids. If these liquid salts were to be used in nuclear fuel reprocessing – the chemical removal of reusable nuclear material from spent nuclear reactor fuel – the risk of unintended nuclear chain reactions may be substantially reduced.