Analysis of the impact of retrievable spent fuel storage

Technical Report · Wed Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6570500· OSTI ID:6570500

Merrill, E T; White, M K; Fleischman, R M

The impact of retrievably storing spent fuel is measurable in terms of the contribution the stored spent fuel makes to implementing the fuel management option selected. For the case of a decision to recycle LWR fuel in LWRs, a useful indicator of impact is the ratio of energy production with varying degrees of spent fuel retrievability to that achievable with total spent fuel retrievability. For a decision made in the year 2000, this ratio varies from 0.81 (10 yr storage in reactor basins) to 0.97 (retrievable storage for 25 years after fuel discharge). An earlier decision to recycle in LWRs results in both of these ratios being nearer to 1.0. If a decision is reached to implement a breeder reactor economy, the chosen comparison is the installed breeder capacity achievable with varying degrees of spent fuel retrievability. If a decision to build breeder reactors is reached in the year 2000, the maximum possible installed breeder capacity in 2040 varies from 490 GWe (10 yr storage in reactor basins) to 660 GWe (all fuel retrievably stored). If all fuel is retrievably stored 25 years, 635 GWe of breeder capacity is achievable by 2040. For an earlier decision date, such as 1985, the maximum possible installed breeder capacity in 2040 ranges from 740 GWe (no retrievable storage) to 800 GWe (all fuel retrievably stored). As long as a decision to reprocess is reached before 2000, most of the potential benefit of retrievable storage may be realized by implementing retrievable storage after such a decision is made. Neither providing retrievable spent fuel storage prior to a decision to reprocess, nor designing such storage for more than 25 years of retrievability appear to offer significant incremental benefit.

• Research Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-06-1830
• OSTI ID: 6570500
• Report Number(s): PNL-2413
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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BREEDER REACTORS
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
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LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
REACTORS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
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