Comparative Evaluation on Several Reactor Type of Actinide Closed-Cycle Schemes

Abstract

Naturally, nuclear fuel resources are coming from uranium and thorium fuels for nuclear energy utilization. As by product reactor operation, some spent nuclear nuclear are produce which can be optimized by optimum recycled fuel option, as well as new fuel resource to increases fuel sustainabililty aspect of nuclear fuel. Several nuclear reactor types and the utilization of some recycled fuel options from their spent nuclear fuel as well as fuel breeding cabalitiy of the reactor based on those uranium and thorium fuel cycles. Some important parameters have been analyzed such as reactor performance of criticality and fuel conversion as well as some actinide productions in the present evaluation based on several fuel cycle schemes. As a basic recycling scheme, an open and a closed-fuel cycle of some actinides was used based on water-cooled reactor system, including ligh water and heavy water coolant. Basic analysis of the system is based on an equilibrium burnup calculation for the present computational approach analysis. Once through case requires more fissile materials than MOX fuel scheme to maintain criticality condition and heavy water coolant requires more fissile material than light water coolant for UOX fuel case, however, it shows the opposite trend for in case of MOX fuel. Thorium cycle requires more fissile material of U-233 for heavy water coolant than light water coolant. In term of light water case, the required fissile material of U-233 is less for thorium case than fissile material of U-235 in MOX fuel case. Fuel conversion ratios are obtained less than unity except for heavy water coolant of MOX fuel case, which obtains slightly more than unity. Thorium fuel shows better fuel breeding capability as well as heavy water coolant, which gives more fuel conversion capability than light water coolant. Actinide compositions of plutonium gives more than 1% for light water coolant and more than 10% for heavy water coolant case. For different fuel scheme cases, it shows that plutonium recycled scheme as MOX fuel case gives higher production of actinide or trans-uranium actinides from neptunium up to Curium than UOX fuel case for H2O coolant. Total even mass plutonium isotope produces higher than total odd mass plutonium isotope for both coolants and heavy water coolant produces more than its production for light water coolant. Better composition of even mass plutonium has shown better proliferation resistant level which is shown by plutonium recycled scheme and heavy water coolant case.