Comparative Fuel Cycle Analysis of Critical and Sub-Critical Fast Reactor Transmutation Systems

摘要

Fuel cycle analyses are performed to evaluate the impacts of further transmutation of spent nuclear fuel on high-level and low-level waste mass flows into repositories, on the composition and toxicity of the high-level waste, on the capacity of high-level waste repositories, and on the proliferation-resistance of the high-level waste. Storage intact of LWR spent nuclear fuel, a single recycle in a LWR of the plutonium as MOX fuel, and the repeated recycle of the transuranics in critical and sub-critical fast reactors are compared. The overall conclusion of the studies is that repeated recycling of the transuranics from spent nuclear fuel would significantly increase the capacity of high-level waste repositories per unit of nuclear energy produced, significantly increase the nuclear energy production per unit mass of uranium ore mined, significantly reduce the radio-toxicity of the waste streams per unit of nuclear energy produced, and significantly enhance the proliferation-resistance of the material stored in high-level waste repositories.