Transmutation of minor actinides and innovative fuel cycle concepts

Abstract

Both physical and chemical properties of actinides show significant variations depending on the element from uranium to curium. The materials database on minor actinides (MA:Np, Am, Cm) is very limited. Even with the scanty database, however, americium and curium did not appear to make viable fuels in the ordinary sense. The solutions may be (1) to tolerate a significantly lower fuel performance whose penalty has to be recovered by an improved overall economy of the MA-fuel cycle, and/or (2) to make a fuel concept whose performance is less restricted by physical and chemical properties of MA. In such a difficult program like actinide burning, the technology components would have to be combined by a modular approach. The system has to be integrated as a whole, but a technological module in the system has to be made as such that can be replaced by the other modules. This type of approach would be only possible if we have a technology which forms a common basis to these “modules”. The advantage of taking the modular approach is to allow the system to evolve with time. The pyrochemical separation can form such a common basis.