Multilateral evaluation of the effects of utilizing thorium oxide in the Bushehr VVER-1000 reactor

Abstract

Abstract The use of thorium oxide in thermal reactors is currently being explored due to its promising outcomes. One primary concern is how to reduce the pollution of core components and nuclear waste. The inclusion of 232Th in the reactor leads to the production of 233U and decreases the formation of minor actinides. On the other hand, 238U increases the production of 239Pu, a toxic and strategically significant isotope, along with minor actinides. Therefore, the potential of thorium to reduce the production of 239Pu, one of the most harmful isotopes, can be assessed in the Bushehr VVER-1000 reactor. This study involved replacing some uranium in the Bushehr VVER-1000 reactor with 232Th. The research focused on examining the environmental impact of nuclear waste, including activity, chain reactions, and isotope levels, over a two-year period. The impact of the new fuel substitution was evaluated in the Bushehr reactor, which has a power of 3,000 MWth, in three scenarios: thorium addition to 1.6 % enriched assemblies, thorium addition to 2.4 % enriched assemblies, and thorium addition to 3.6 % enriched assemblies. These changes were analyzed in terms of nuclear waste contamination, plutonium production, fuel burn-up, and conversion ratio, and compared to the reactor using UO2 fuel. The simulation was conducted using the MCNPX 2.6.0 computational code and heterogeneous geometry. The results indicate that nuclear waste pollution decreased when thorium was added to the 1.6 % and 2.4 % enriched assemblies, but increased when added to the 3.6 % assemblies. Additionally, fuel burn-up increased with the addition of thorium in the 1.6 % and 2.4 % assemblies, but decreased in the 3.6 % assemblies. However, the conversion ratio increased in all cases. The fuel temperature coefficient (FTC), moderator temperature coefficient (MTC), and void coefficient (VC) were calculated and evaluated.