ABSTRACT
As the name suggests, the term fuel cycle refers to the life cycle of nuclear fuel-from its first processing to form the fuel element to its processing after irradiation in the reactor, there being variants in the processing steps depending upon the nature of the fuel material, its source, its subsequent use, and the policy of its reuse. These are described in some detail in subsequent sections. To start with, we study the generic variants in the fuel cycle, open and closed.
