The sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR).

Conference · Fri Oct 25 04:00:00 EDT 2002

OSTI ID:803901

Lineberry, M J; Allen, T R

The primary mission for the SFR is the management of high-level wastes, and in particular, management of plutonium and other actinides. The Generation IV Roadmap Fuel Cycle Crosscut Group (FCCG) found that the limiting factor facing an essential role for nuclear energy with the once-through cycle is the availability of repository space worldwide [FCCG Report]. This becomes an important issue, requiring new repository development in only a few decades. Systems that employ a fully closed fuel cycle hold the promise to reduce repository space and performance requirements, although their costs must be held to acceptable levels. Closed fuel cycles, working alone or symbiotically with systems using a once-through cycle, permit partitioning the nuclear waste and management of each partitioned fraction. In the longer term, beyond 50 years, or if major new missions requiring nuclear energy production (such as a major growth in the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier) develop, uranium resource availability also becomes a limiting factor unless breakthroughs occur in mining or extraction technologies. Fast spectrum reactors have the ability to utilize almost all of the energy in the natural uranium versus the 1% utilized in thermal spectrum systems.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 803901
• Report Number(s): ANL/NT/CP-108933
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

08 HYDROGEN
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
ACTINIDES
AVAILABILITY
FAST REACTORS
FUEL CYCLE
HYDROGEN
MANAGEMENT
MINING
NATURAL URANIUM
NUCLEAR ENERGY
PERFORMANCE
PLUTONIUM
PRODUCTION
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
URANIUM
WASTES