World's largest breeder comes on line

Journal Article · · Fusion; (United States)

OSTI ID:5156149

Rosenfeld, L

Testing continues on France's Superphenix, a 1240 MWe reactor which began delivering commercial power in January and which makes France the world leader in nuclear power capacity. Liquid-metal cooled fast breeding reactors of this type could extend the life of known uranium reserves 140 times, or the equivalent of 5600 years from natural uranium. As the world's first industrial scale breeder, the Superphenix uses a fertile blanket of depleted uranium to convert uranium-238 to uranium-239. A consortium involving French, German, Italian, British, Dutch, and Belgian utilities kept construction time down to seven years, only half the period required to build a conventional plant in the US.

• OSTI ID: 5156149
• Journal Information: Fusion; (United States), Journal Name: Fusion; (United States); ISSN FUSID
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210500* -- Power Reactors
Breeding
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BARYON REACTIONS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BREEDER REACTORS
COOPERATION
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
EUROPE
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FAST FISSION
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
FISSION
FRANCE
HADRON REACTIONS
HEAVY NUCLEI
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
ISOTOPES
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NEUTRON REACTIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
NUCLEON REACTIONS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PHENIX REACTOR
PLUTONIUM REACTORS
POWER PLANTS
POWER REACTORS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTORS
SODIUM COOLED REACTORS
TESTING
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
URANIUM 238
URANIUM 239
URANIUM ISOTOPES
WESTERN EUROPE
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES