Actinide evolution and equilibrium in fast thorium reactors

Abstract

The development of accelerator-driven sub-critical reactors operating with pure and enriched thorium fuel mixtures has been heralded as delivering a new era in sustainable nuclear power production. Many benefits have been claimed for these systems, particularly with respect to their ability to consume existing plutonium stockpiles and their inability to breed additional plutonium. This paper examines the operation of fast thorium reactors using a lumped model that can demonstrate to first-order accuracy the principles of actinide evolution and equilibrium and allow the identification of trends within the nuclide transformations. The fundamental mechanisms that affect nuclide evolution are demonstrated and the freedoms and constraints bounding this process are shown. Fast reactors operating with a 100% thorium fuel source are shown to generate plutonium and to offer no advantage over enriched thorium fuel in terms of actinide generation in longer-term operation.