Study of Pu consumption in Advanced Light Water Reactors. Evaluation of GE Advanced Boiling Water Reactor plants

Technical Report · Thu May 13 00:00:00 EDT 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10172193· OSTI ID:10172193

Timely disposal of the weapons plutonium is of paramount importance to permanently safeguarding this material. GE`s 1300 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) has been designed to utilize fill] core loading of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide fuel. Because of its large core size, a single ABWR reactor is capable of disposing 100 metric tons of plutonium within 15 years of project inception in the spiking mode. The same amount of material could be disposed of in 25 years after the start of the project as spent fuel, again using a single reactor, while operating at 75 percent capacity factor. In either case, the design permits reuse of the stored spent fuel assemblies for electrical energy generation for the remaining life of the plant for another 40 years. Up to 40 percent of the initial plutonium can also be completely destroyed using ABWRS, without reprocessing, either by utilizing six ABWRs over 25 years or by expanding the disposition time to 60 years, the design life of the plants and using two ABWRS. More complete destruction would require the development and testing of a plutonium-base fuel with a non-fertile matrix for an ABWR or use of an Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (ALMR). The ABWR, in addition, is fully capable of meeting the tritium target production goals with already developed target technology.

• Research Organization: General Electric Co., San Jose, CA (United States). Nuclear Energy Business Operations
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-93SF19681
• OSTI ID: 10172193
• Report Number(s): DOE/SF/19681-T1; ON: DE93017006; TRN: 93:017871
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: 13 May 1993
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
BWR TYPE REACTORS
NUCLEAR FUELS
PLUTONIUM
EVALUATION
REACTOR CORES
DESIGN
MIXED OXIDE FUELS
SPENT FUELS
FABRICATION
MANAGEMENT
TRITIUM
LITHIUM
FUEL RODS
COST
SCHEDULES
SAFETY
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
210100
050700
050800
POWER REACTORS
NONBREEDING
LIGHT-WATER MODERATED
BOILING WATER COOLED
FUELS PRODUCTION AND PROPERTIES
SPENT FUELS REPROCESSING