- Zirconium is a strong and light metal mined from coastal sand dunes and used in nuclear reactors to hold the uranium fuel together in a system of tubes called fuel assemblies.
- Neutron economics is extremely important in nuclear reactors and the maximum capture of neutrons by the moderator to convert to heat is critical for overall economic benefit, i.e. cost of electricity production.
- Despite being the best natural element for the task, natural zirconium still absorbs a small component of radioactivity produced in the reactor.
- The element zirconium has five isotopes and the Zr-91 isotope is responsible for 77% of the ability of this element to absorb neutrons in the reactor; an undesirable feature that leads to a loss of electricity production.
- Depletion of the undesirable isotopes with the ASP technology eliminates the loss factor and the reactor can either produce more saleable electricity, or achieve a saving in the enrichment grade of the U-235 fuel required.
- The nuclear reactor, furthermore, will produce less fissile material in the spent fuel if the fuel burn-up ratio is extended, thus cooler handling and storage of spent fuel can be achieved.
- The volume of nuclear waste produced by the reactor over time is also reduced.
- The fuel cladding has a greatly extended lifetime with a consequent flexibility in the refueling cycles for the reactor.
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