Evaluation of recycle P&T treatment by using BWR to perform geologic disposal

Abstract

Geologic disposal scenario combined with multiple-recycle P&T ( partitioning and transmutation) treatment of MA ( minor actinide) was thought to have an important potential merit to carry out the geologic disposal. P&T treatment was thought to have a role to avoid an uncertainty caused by geologic behavior, such as underground water migration rate, reductive and inorganic environment in a super-long time. Partitioning and grouping of LLRN ( long-lived radionuclide), i.e. MA and LLFP ( long-lived fission product), has an essential role to the transmutation treatment. B T ( burning and/or transmutation) treatment of MA, with R&P ( reprocessing and partitioning) process, could be recycled and SLFP ( short-lived fission product) was removed to immobilize in GSC ( glass solidified canister). If R&P has a high performance, the multi-recycle system which combines B T-BWR ( B T boiling water reactor ) and R&P can transmute of U&Pu, MA and LLFP etc. with small inventory. B T fraction of MA is high in case of multi-recycle system, and then the remain of mass of MA or LLFP is recycled many times with low inventory. The B T fraction of MA or LLFP could be high, if the flux is high, i.e. the time needed for high B T fraction is relatively short in case of high flux BWR, or long in case of normal BWR. The optimum period for discharge of B T fuel could be determined by the net difference between the reduced mass of MA burned and/or transmuted in the B T fuel and the accumulated mass of MA in the normal fuel, and with the additional mass of MA accumulated by U&Pu, which was unrecovered in the reprocessing existed in B T fuel.