Research and Development of Minor Actinide-containing Fuel and Target in a Future Integrated Closed Cycle System

Osaka, Masahiko; Serizawa, Hiroyuki; Kato, Masato; Nakajima, Kunihisa; Tachi, Yoshiaki; Kitamura, Ryoichi; Miwa, Shuhei; Iwai, Takashi; Tanaka, Kenya; Inoue, Masakí; Arai, Y.

doi:10.1080/18811248.2007.9711287

Cited by 26 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Assessing a pellet as a function of temperature and irradiation history is a minimum performance standard. The metallic form is the best choice because it generally has high melting point and the space volume for loading can be minimized 50 . Thus, we have chose metallic forms for 79 Se, 93 Zr, 99 Tc and 107 Pd.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Method to Reduce Long-lived Fission Products by Nuclear Transmutations with Fast Spectrum Reactors

Chiba

Wakabayashi

Tachi

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Transmutation of long-lived fission products (LLFPs: 79Se, 93Zr, 99Tc, 107Pd, 129I, and 135Cs) into short-lived or non-radioactive nuclides by fast neutron spectrum reactors without isotope separation has been proposed as a solution to the problem of radioactive wastes disposal. Despite investigation of many methods, such transmutation remains technologically difficult. To establish an effective and efficient transmutation system, we propose a novel neutron moderator material, yttrium deuteride (YD2), to soften the neutron spectrum leaking from the reactor core. Neutron energy spectra and effective half-lives of LLFPs, transmutation rates, and support ratios were evaluated with the continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MVP-II/MVP-BURN and the JENDL–4.0 cross section library. With the YD2 moderator in the radial blanket and shield regions, effective half-lives drastically decreased from 106 to 102 years and the support ratios reached 1.0 for all six LLFPs. This successful development and implementation of a transmutation system for LLFPs without isotope separation contributes to a the ability of fast spectrum reactors to reduce radioactive waste by consuming their own LLFPs.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pellets containing these metals were simulated as a homogeneous mixture with the moderator material, YD 2 . For I, our previous study showed that BaI 2 is the most suitable compound because of its chemical stability and easy manufacturing 50 . For Cs, many Cs compounds have been proposed 51 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Method to Reduce Long-lived Fission Products by Nuclear Transmutations with Fast Spectrum Reactors

Chiba

Wakabayashi

Tachi

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…Without isotopic separation, such compositions were used as the initial compositions of the LLFPs in the pins. All LLFPs were considered in metallic forms because their melting points are generally high, and the space volume for loading can be minimized 34 . The LLFPs are supposed to be dispersed homogeneously in the pins, which helps to transmute the LLFPs 35 4) and may result in a significant transmutation.…”

Section: Selection Of Llfpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transmutation of Long-Lived Fission Products in an Advanced Nuclear Energy System

Sun¹,

Luo²,

Lan³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Disposal of long-lived fission products (LLFPs) produced in reactors has been paid a lot attention for sustainable and clean nuclear energy. Although a few transmutation means have been proposed to address this issue, there are still scientific and/or engineering challenges to achieve efficient transmutation of LLFPs. In this study, we propose a novel concept of advanced nuclear energy system (ANES) for transmuting LLFPs efficiently without isotopic separation. The ANES comprises intense photoneutron source (PNS) and subcritical reactor, which consist of lead-bismuth (Pb-Bi) layer, beryllium (Be) layer, and fuel, LLFPs and shield assemblies. The PNS is produced by bombarding radioactive cesium and iodine target with a laser-Compton scattering (LCS) γ-ray beam. We investigate the effect of the ANES system layout on transmutation efficiency by Monte Carlo simulations. It is found that a proper combination of the Pb-Bi layer and the Be layer can increase the utilization efficiency of the PNS by a factor of ~10, which helps to decrease by almost the same factor the LCS γ-beam intensity required for driving the ANES. Supposing that the ANES operates over 20 years at a normal thermal power of 500 MWt, five LLFPs including 99Tc, 129I, 107Pd, 137Cs and 79Se could be transmuted by more than 30%. Their effective half-lives thus decrease drastically from ~106 to less than 102 years. It is suggested that this successful implementation of the ANES paves the avenue towards practical transmutation of LLFPs without isotopic separation.

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“…Such a system could reduce the capacity of the TRU burner units and the associated fuel cycle facilities to about 1/5 and 1/8, respectively. ere have been many studies on uranium-free or fertile-free fuel systems [1][2][3]; however, difficulties remain, such as the requirement for new reprocessing technology. For example, reprocessing technology for producing TRU-burning oxide fuel is required to separate actinides and lanthanides, which have similar chemical behavior [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Estimation of the Thermal Properties of Pu-Rich Metallic Fuel

Odaira

Arita

2019

Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

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Pu-rich metallic fuel is promising for transuranic element burners. In this study, we calculated the thermal properties of Pu-rich metallic fuel. The thermal conductivity was calculated by using both Nordheim’s rule and Wiedemann–Franz law. The thermal conductivity of Pu-40Zr (14.3 Wm−1·K−1 at 600 K) was much lower than that of U-10Zr (23.5 Wm−1·K−1 at 600 K), another candidate metallic fuel. This addresses the metallic fuel has much lower durability in accidental situations than U-Zr metallic fuel. Thus, we also calculated thermal conductivity of the Pu-20U-20Zr alloy. The result shows uranium addition to the Pu-Zr alloy increased the thermal conductivity. In addition, we calculated the melting point of the Pu-(0–80U)-20Zr alloy and the result shows uranium addition increased melting point. This result suggests the accident tolerance of the Pu-rich metallic fuel increases by adding uranium.

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Research and Development of Minor Actinide-containing Fuel and Target in a Future Integrated Closed Cycle System

Cited by 26 publications

References 27 publications

Method to Reduce Long-lived Fission Products by Nuclear Transmutations with Fast Spectrum Reactors

Method to Reduce Long-lived Fission Products by Nuclear Transmutations with Fast Spectrum Reactors

Transmutation of Long-Lived Fission Products in an Advanced Nuclear Energy System

An Estimation of the Thermal Properties of Pu-Rich Metallic Fuel

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