Enhancement of Transmutation Characteristics of the Minor Actinide Burning Fast Reactor Core Concept Using Hydride Fuel Targets and Its Introduction Scenario

Abstract

Transmutation characteristics of the minor actinide (MA) burning fast reactor core using hydride fuel targets are enhanced to reduce long-term radiotoxicity of nuclear waste. A scenario which introduces the concept is investigated. (1) The MA burner core with plutonium (Pu) multi-recycling can transmute a large amount of MAs; the amount is about that produced in 21 LWRs per year. The targets are shuffled after the 1-year irradiated in the core region and further irradiated for 2 years in the radial blanket region. (2) The MA once-through core can incinerate almost all of the MAs in targets by fission during a 6-year irradiation in the core region. (3) Introduction of the MA burner core for all fast reactors (FRs) after the year of 2020 allows the following scenario. The residual amount of MAs from LWR spent fuel can be held to zero within the 21st century and all FRs will be changed to the self-generated MA transmutation core without the targets. When the MA once-through cores are introduced with MA burner cores, the total number of targets to be reprocessed can be reduced by 50%. (4) Even in the low projection case while the MA burner cores are installed after conventional FRs, MA accumulation would also be held to zero within the 21st century.