A fuel for sub-critical fast reactor

Abstract

Along with the problem of the nuclear waste transmutation, the problem of minimization of waste production is of current interest. It is not possible to eliminate production of waste at a nuclear power plant, but, as is shown in this report, it is in principle possible to arrange a fuel composition with no net production of transuranic elements. The idea is to find the transuranic elements composition to which the depleted uranium is continuously supplied during frequent reprocessing, and amount of each other transuranic fuel component remains unchanged in time. For each transuranic component, the balance is achieved by equating burnup and production rates. The production is due to neutron capture by the neighboring lighter isotope and subsequent beta-decay. The burnup includes fission, neutron capture and decays. For the calculations a simplified burnup model which accounts for 9 isotopes of uranium, neptunium, plutonium and americium is used. The calculated fuel composition consists mainly of uranium with minority of plutonium isotopes. Such a fuel, after usage in a sub-critical fast reactor, should be reprocessed. The fission product content increases during burnup, representing a net production of waste, while the transuranic elements and 238U should be recycled into a new fuel. For such a fuel cycle, the net consumption is only for 238U, and the net waste production is just fission products.