Development of Improved Burnable Poisons for Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors

Technical Report · Tue Sep 30 04:00:00 EDT 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/820689· OSTI ID:820689

Burnable poisons are used in nuclear reactors to produce a more level distribution of power in the reactor core and to reduce to necessity for a large control system. An ideal burnable poison would burn at the same rate as the fuel. In this study, separation of neutron-absorbing isotopes was investigated in order to eliminate isotopes that remain as absorbers at the end of fuel life, thus reducing useful fuel life. The isotopes Gd-157, Dy-164, and Er-167 were found to have desirable properties. These isotopes were separated from naturally occurring elements by means of plasma separation to evaluate feasibility and cost. It was found that pure Gd-157 could save approximately $6 million at the end of four years. However, the cost of separation, using the existing facility, made separation cost- ineffective. Using a magnet with three times the field strength is expected to reduce the cost by a factor of ten, making isotopically separated burnable poisons a favorable method of increasing fuel life in commercial reactors, in particular Generation-IV reactors. The project also investigated various burnable poison configurations, and studied incorporation of metallic burnable poisons into fuel cladding.

• Research Organization: University of Tennessee (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology (NE) (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 820689
• Report Number(s): RO11382079-01; Subcontract to UT: M9SF990074
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
ADVANCED REACTOR
BURNABLE POISON
BURNABLE POISONS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
DISTRIBUTION
DYSPROSIUM
ERBIUM
GADOLINIUM
MAGNETS
NEUTRON ABSORBERS
NUCLEAR FUEL
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEAR POWER
PLASMA
REACTOR CORES
REACTORS