The PAREX Code: A powerful tool to model and simulate solvent extraction operations
Abstract
The PAREX code has been developed since the nineties by CEA and AREVA to describe the PUREX
process implemented in the French fuel reprocessing plants. It enables the calculation, either in
steady or transitory states, of the behaviour of the different elements of interest at each process
step. The highly customised structure of the software allowed the implementation of various
phenomenological models describing solvent extraction systems dedicated to uranium purification
from crude ore to spent fuel. After qualification of the implemented models, the code was used to
design flow sheets for safety demonstration analysis or for operational assistance. CEA is currently
developing a new simulation platform to make the code PAREX perennial and associate it with
tools included in a standardised computing background for their perpetuation and sharing of
generic functionality. In particular, it is planned to develop validated databases to reference the
scientific knowledge useful in modelling development. The platform will adapt the standard
phenomenological complexity needed to simulate a reprocessing plant, real or virtual, share tools
and improve the transposition from laboratory scale to industrial scale, thus decreasing the
number of experimental studies required for the implementation of a process.
Origin : Files produced by the author(s)