Closing nuclear fuel cycle with fast reactors: problems and prospects
- Bochvar Institute - VNIINM, Moscow (Russian Federation)
The closed nuclear fuel cycle (CNFC) with fast reactors (FR) is the most promising way of nuclear energetics development because it prevents spent nuclear fuel (SNF) accumulation and minimizes radwaste volume due to minor actinides (MA) transmutation. CNFC with FR requires the elaboration of safety, environmentally acceptable and economically effective methods of treatment of SNF with high burn-up and low cooling time. The up-to-date industrially implemented SNF reprocessing technologies based on hydrometallurgical methods are not suitable for the reprocessing of SNF with high burn-up and low cooling time. The alternative dry methods (such as electrorefining in molten salts or fluoride technologies) applicable for such SNF reprocessing have not found implementation at industrial scale. So the cost of SNF reprocessing by means of dry technologies can hardly be estimated. Another problem of dry technologies is the recovery of fissionable materials pure enough for dense fuel fabrication. A combination of technical solutions performed with hydrometallurgical and dry technologies (pyro-technology) is proposed and it appears to be a promising way for the elaboration of economically, ecologically and socially accepted technology of FR SNF management. This paper deals with discussion of main principle of dry and aqueous operations combination that probably would provide safety and economic efficiency of the FR SNF reprocessing. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22257846
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: GLOBAL 2013: International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference - Nuclear Energy at a Crossroads, Salt Lake City, UT (United States), 29 Sep - 3 Oct 2013; Other Information: Country of input: France; 20 refs.; Related Information: In: Proceedings of GLOBAL 2013: International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference - Nuclear Energy at a Crossroads| 1633 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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