Abstract
The mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is one of the most important fuels for the advanced reactors in the future. It is flexible to be applied either in the thermal reactor like pressurized water reactor (PWR) or in the fast reactor (FR). This paper compares the two approaches from the view of fuel cost. Two features are involved. (1) The cost of electricity (COE) is investigated based on the simulation of realistic operation of a practical PWR power plant and a typical fast breeder reactor design. (2) A new economic analysis model is established, considering the discount rate and the revenue of the reprocessed plutonium besides the traditional costs in the processes of fuel cycle. The sensitivity of COE to the changing parameters is also analyzed. The results show that, in the closed fuel cycle, the fuel cost of applying MOX fuels in the FBR is about 25% lower than that in the PWR at the current operating and fuel cycle level.
Highlights
The closed fuel cycle becomes more and more attractive in the fast development of nuclear industry
The results show that the fuel cost of electricity (FCOE) in pressurized water reactor (PWR) with mixed oxide (MOX) fuel loaded is 25% higher than that of in FBR
To avoid the confusion from the differences of reactors, the fuel cost of electricity (FCOE) evaluated by the cost per kilowatt hour electricity production from the fuel cycle is applied in the analysis
Summary
The closed fuel cycle becomes more and more attractive in the fast development of nuclear industry. The previous studies have shown that the utilizing of MOX fuel in the thermal reactors can increase the utilization efficiency by 20%– 30% [1]. For the nuclear power plant, the MOX fuel can be used in both thermal and fast reactors. It is useful to analyze the composition of cost while using the MOX fuel in different reactors and make the comparisons to suggest a better decision from the view of economics besides the technologies, and so forth. Owen and Omberg compared the economics of pressurized water reactor (PWR) and FR They pointed out that the construction cost and fuel cost are the two main parts [6]. The fuel costs of using the MOX fuels in PWR and FBR are investigated, considering the current. The situation will be changed with the burnup and discount rate
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