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Assessment of the use of extended burnup fuel in light water power reactors

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5655949· OSTI ID:5655949
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This study has been conducted by Pacific Northwest Laboratory for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review the environmental and economic impacts associated with the use of extended burnup nuclear fuel in light water power reactors. It has been proposed that current batch average burnup levels of 33 GWd/t uranium be increased to above 50 GWd/t. The environmental effects of extending fuel burnup during normal operations and during accident events and the economic effects of cost changes on the fuel cycle are discussed in this report. The physical effects of extended burnup on the fuel and the fuel assembly are also presented as a basis for the environmental and economic assessments. Environmentally, this burnup increase would have no significant impact over that of normal burnup. Economically, the increased burnup would have favorable effects, consisting primarily of a reduction: (1) total fuel requirements; (2) reactor downtime for fuel replacement; (3) the number of fuel shipments to and from reactor sites; and (4) repository storage requirements. 61 refs., 4 figs., 27 tabs.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
5655949
Report Number(s):
NUREG/CR-5009; PNL-6258; ON: TI88006080
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210100* -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Boiling Water Cooled
210200 -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled
BURNUP
BWR TYPE REACTORS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FUEL CYCLE
FUELS
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FUELS
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
RADIATION EFFECTS
REACTOR MATERIALS
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WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS