Burning of the Minor Actinides in fuel cycle of the MTR-reactors

Abstract

A computational study to recycle the spent fuel of the MTR-22MW reactor by MOX (UO2 and PuO2) caramel fuel (CF) mixed with 237Np, 241Am, 242mAm, 243Am and 245Cm as burnable absorber actinides has been performed. The calculation results showed that the enrichment with 235U and the loaded amount of the 235U uranium decreases significantly up to 33%. A re-evaluation of the criticality, the neutronic parameters, and the power peaking factors for the MTR-22MW reactor for the MOX CF mixed with the 237Np, 241Am, 242mAm, 243Am and 245Cm actinides was done. The obtained results showed that re-cycling the spent fuel of MTR-22MW reactor by MOX CF mixed with 0.01% (237Np, 241Am, 242mAm, 243Am and 245Cm) actinides has no negative effects on the safety of the reactor. In addition re-cycling the plutonium and the 237Np, 241Am, 242mAm, 243Am and 245Cm actinides together leads to less hazardous and possibly more useful forms of the radioactive wastes, and enhances the proliferation resistance of the fissile materials.