Actinide transmutation in fission reactors

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:6606244

Choi, J S

This study evaluates the long-term performance of fission reactors to transmute actinides (Np, Am, Cm) recovered from irradiated fuel. The evaluation is based on a criterion of overall reduction factor of actinide content by transmuting Np, Am, Cm in a liquid-metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR). It is shown that recycling and transmuting Np, Am, Cm can ultimately reduce the mass and water-dilution volume of these radionclides by two orders of magnitude, depending mainly upon the fraction of the actinides lost to the wastes. However, transmutation in reactors is slow, the Np, Am, Cm must be exposed through several successive irradiation cycles, and for a long time the total amount of these radionuclides continues to build-up in the reactor and fuel cycle. To obtain appreciably reduction in total Np, Am, Cm inventory, the inventory in the core and fuel cycle of a decommissioned reactor must be transferred to the next replacement reactor, and so on to subsequent replacement reactors as long as fission reactors exist. Therefore, for a realistic evaluation of the benefits from partitioning and transmutation, we calculate a time-dependent overall reduction factor defined as the ratio of the amount of Np, Am, Cm accumulated in wastes without recycling to the total inventory of these actinides in the reactor, fuel cycle and wastes with recycling.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Berkeley (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6606244
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210500* -- Power Reactors
Breeding
ACTINIDES
AMERICIUM
BREEDER REACTORS
CURIUM
DATA
ELEMENTS
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
FUEL CYCLE
INFORMATION
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
MATERIALS
METALS
NEPTUNIUM
NUMERICAL DATA
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REACTORS
TRANSMUTATION
TRANSPLUTONIUM ELEMENTS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
WASTES