Plutonium Management in the Medium Term
- BNFL Nuclear Sciences and Technology Services (United Kingdom)
- Framatome ANP (France)
- CEA Cadarache (France)
- Belgonucleaire (Belgium)
- Paul Scherrer Institut (Switzerland)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (United States)
- Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (Japan)
- Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation (Japan)
- Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (Japan)
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (France)
For many years various countries with access to commercial reprocessing services have been routinely recycling plutonium as UO{sub 2}/PuO{sub 2} mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in light water reactors (LWRs). This LWR MOX recycle strategy is still widely regarded as an interim step leading to the eventual establishment of sustainable fast reactor fuel cycles. The OECD/NEA Working Party on the Physics of Plutonium Fuels and Innovative Fuel Cycles (WPPR) has recently completed a review of the technical options for plutonium management in what it refers to as the 'medium term'. For the purpose of the review, the WPPR considers the medium term to cover the period from now up to the point at which fast reactor fuel cycles are established on a commercial scale. The review identified a number of different designs of innovative plutonium fuel assemblies intended to be used in current LWR cores, in LWRs with significantly different moderation properties, as well as in high-temperature gas reactors. The full review report describes these various options and highlights their respective advantages and disadvantages. This paper briefly summarizes the main findings of the review.
- OSTI ID:
- 20837904
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear Technology, Vol. 148, Issue 3; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2006 American Nuclear Society (ANS), United States, All rights reserved. http://epubs.ans.org/; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0029-5450
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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