Design of 500 MWe Metal Fuel Demonstration Fast Reactor

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chellapandi Perumal ◽  
V. Balasubramaniyan ◽  
P. Puthiyavinayagam ◽  
Raghupathy Sundararajan ◽  
Madhusoodanan Kanakkil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Natural Uranium ◽  
Industrial Scale ◽  
Fast Breeder Reactor ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Metal Fuel ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Breeder Reactors

Indian nuclear power programme is being implemented in three stages taking in to consideration limited uranium resources and vast thorium resources in the country. The first stage consists of investing natural uranium in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). This stage has the potential of 10 GWe. The second stage involves large scale deployment of Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR) with co-located fuel cycle facilities to utilize the plutonium and depleted uranium extracted from the PHWR spent fuel. This stage has a potential of about 300 GWe. In the third stage, effective utilization of the vast thorium resources is planned. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) instituted in 1971 at Kalpakkam, is involved in the mission of developing the technology of FBR. A host of multidisciplinary laboratories are established in the centre around the central facility of the 40 MWt Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR). Presently, the construction of indigenously designed MOX fueled 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) that started in 2003 is in advanced stage and commissioning activities are underway. The design of PFBR incorporates several state-of-art features and is foreseen as an industrial scale techno-economic viability demonstrator for the FBR program. Beyond PFBR, the proposal is to build one twin unit having two reactors, with each of improved design compared to PFBR, to be commissioned by 2025. Subsequently, towards rapid realization of nuclear power, the department is planning a series of metal fueled FBRs starting with a 500 MWe Metal fuel Demonstration Fast Breeder Reactor (MDFR-500) to be followed by industrial scale 1000 MWe metal fueled reactors. The paper discusses in detail the above aspects and highlights the activities carried out towards designing MDFR.

Lessons Learned From the Operation of Large-Scale Reprocessing-Recycling Facilities in France: What Is in It for China?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Gros
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
The Impact

AREVA has been running since decades nuclear reprocessing and recycling installations in France. Several industrial facilities have been built and used to this aim across the time. Following those decades and with the more and more precise monitoring of the impact of those installations, precise data and lessons-learned have been collected that can be used for the stakeholders of potential new facilities. China has expressed strong interest in building such facilities. As a matter of fact, the issue of accumulation of spent fuel is becoming serious in China and jeopardizes the operation of several nuclear power plants, through the running out of space of storage pools. Tomorrow, with the extremely high pace of nuclear development of China, accumulation of spent fuel will be unbearable. Building reprocessing and recycling installations takes time. A decision has to be taken so as to enable the responsible development of nuclear in China. Without a solution for the back end of its nuclear fuel cycle, the development of nuclear energy will face a wall. This is what the Chinese central government, through the action of its industrial CNNC, has well understood. Several years of negotiations have been held with AREVA. Everybody in the sector seems now convinced. However, now that the negotiation is coming to an end, an effort should be done towards all the stakeholders, sharing actual information from France’s reference facilities on: safety, security, mitigation measures for health protection (of the workers, of the public), mitigation measures for the protection of the environment. Most of this information is public, as France has since years promulgated a law on Nuclear transparency. China is also in need for more transparency, yet lacks means to access this public information, often in French language, so let’s open our books!

scholarly journals Nuclear Fuel Transmutation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akbar Abbasi
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Computer Code ◽  
Natural Uranium ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Used Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Front End

Nuclear power plants to generates electric energy used nuclear fuel such as Uranium Oxide (UOX). A typical VVER−1000 reactor uses about 20–25 tons of spent fuel per year. The fuel transmutation of UOX fuel was evaluated by VISTA computer code. In this estimation the front end and back end components of fuel cycle was calculated. The front end of the cycle parameter are FF requirements, enrichment value requirements, depleted uranium amount, conversion requirements and natural uranium requirements. The back-end component is Spent Fuel (SF), Actinide Inventory (AI) and Fission Product (FP) radioisotopes.

scholarly journals The Fuel Cycle Implications of Nuclear Process Heat

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 6073
Author(s):  
Aiden Peakman ◽  
Robert Gregg
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Industrial Process ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Decay Heat ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
Process Heat

International and UK fuel cycle scenario analyses performed to date have focused on nuclear plants producing electricity without considering in detail the other potential drivers for nuclear power, such as industrial process heat. Part of the reason behind the restricted applications of nuclear power is because the assumptions behind the future scenario are not fully captured, for example how big are demands from different sectors? Here we present a means to fully capture the potential opportunities for nuclear power using Sankey diagrams and then, using this information, consider for the first time in the UK the fuel cycle implications of decarbonising industrial heat demand in the year 2050 with nuclear power using the ORION fuel cycle code to study attributes related to spent fuel, uranium demand and decay heat from the spent fuel. We show that even in high industrial energy demand scenarios, the sensitivity of spent fuel masses and decay heat to the types of reactor deployed is relatively small compared to the greater fuel cycle demands from large-scale deployment of nuclear plants for electricity production. However, the sensitivity of spent fuel volumes depends heavily on the extent to which High Temperature Reactor and Light Water Reactor systems operating on a once-through cycle are deployed.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Radiotoxicity of Spent Nuclear Fuel from a Fleet of PWR Reactors

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3094
Author(s):  
Mikołaj Oettingen
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Hybrid Energy ◽  
Cycle Simulation ◽  
Water Reactors

The paper presents the methodology for the estimation of the long-term actinides radiotoxicity and isotopic composition of spent nuclear fuel from a fleet of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR). The methodology was developed using three independent numerical tools: the Spent Fuel Isotopic Composition database, the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Simulation System and the Monte Carlo Continuous Energy Burnup Code. The validation of spent fuel isotopic compositions obtained in the numerical modeling was performed using the available experimental data. A nuclear power embarking country benchmark was implemented for the verification and testing of the methodology. The obtained radiotoxicity reaches the reference levels at about 1.3 × 105 years, which is common for the PWR spent nuclear fuel. The presented methodology may be incorporated into a more versatile numerical tool for the modeling of hybrid energy systems.

scholarly journals Dynamic Analysis of a Pyroprocessing Coupled SFR Fuel Recycling

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanxing Gao ◽  
Won Il Ko
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Natural Uranium ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Cycle System ◽  
Sodium Fast Reactor ◽  
Generation Cost ◽  
Comprehensive Comparison ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Country Specific

Numerous studies have attempted to solve the problems constraining the sustainable utilization of nuclear power, for example, the already accumulated HLWs, the worsening environment due to greenhouse emissions, the questionable reliability of natural uranium resources, and the argument over nuclear safety, which are certainly top issues to be addressed. A well-organized nuclear fuel cycle system is the basis for nuclear power sustainability. Therefore, which type of reactor to be employed and whether or not to adopt a reprocessing technique for spent fuel are two key issues to be addressed. A Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR), a Generation IV reactor, has gained considerable attention worldwide. SFR recycling coupled to pyroprocessing, a so-called Pyro-SFR Recycling, shows promising advantages, and therefore, this paper focuses on exploring a strategy of how to realize it, which can offer informative procedures for a better use of nuclear power. A dynamic model has been developed to quantitatively analyze a country-specific case employing two scenarios, a once-through and Pyro-SFR, for a comprehensive comparison, especially focusing on the uranium utilization, the HLW reduction, and the electricity generation cost.

Transmutation and the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

2006 ◽  
Vol 985 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Bresee
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Closed Fuel Cycle ◽  
State Of The Union ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
The U.S

AbstractIn the January 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush announced a new Advanced Energy Initiative, a significant part of which is the Global Nuclear Energy Initiative. Its details were described on February 6, 2006 by the U.S. Secretary of Energy. In summary, it has three parts: (1) a program to expand nuclear energy use domestically and in foreign countries to support economic growth while reducing the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. (2) an expansion of the U.S. nuclear infrastructure that will lead to the recycling of spent fuel and a closed fuel cycle and, through transmutation, a reduction in the quantity and radiotoxicity of nuclear waste and its proliferation concerns, and (3) a partnership with other fuel cycle nations to support nuclear power in additional nations by providing small nuclear power plants and leased fuel with the provision that the resulting spent fuel would be returned by the lessee to the lessor. The final part would have the effect of stabilizing the number of fuel cycle countries with attendant non-proliferation value. Details will be given later in the paper.

The Crucial Importance of the Back-End in Multinational Initiatives to Enhance Fuel Cycle Security

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles McCombie ◽  
Neil Chapman ◽  
Thomas H. Isaacs
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Tier 2 ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Front End ◽  
Comprehensive Service ◽  
Small Countries ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Security Concerns

There have been repeated proposals for establishing multinational cooperation approaches that could reduce the security concerns of spreading nuclear technologies. Most recently, there have been initiatives by both Russia (GNPI) and the USA (GNEP) – each aimed at promoting nuclear power whilst limiting security concerns. In practice, both initiatives place emphasis on the supply of reactors and enriched fuel but neither has made clear and specific proposals about the back-end part of the arrangement. The primary incentive offered to the user countries is “security of supply” of the front end services. However, there is no current shortage of supply of front end services, so that the incentives are not large. A much greater incentive could be the provision of a spent fuel or waste disposal service. The fuel supplied to Tier 2 countries could be shipped back (with no return of wastes) to the supplier or else to an accepted third party country that is trusted to operate safe and secure disposal facilities. If a comprehensive service that obviates the need for a national deep repository is offered to small countries then there will be a really strong incentive for them to sign up to GNEP or GNPI type deals.

The Development and Innovation of Spent Fuel Reprocessing in Fuel Cycle

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guang Jun Chen ◽  
Yu Lin Cui ◽  
Guo Guo Zhang ◽  
Hong Jun Yao
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Fission Products ◽  
Purex Process ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Spent Fuel Reprocessing ◽  
Long Life ◽  
Fuel Reprocessing

With an increased population and an increasing demand for power, nuclear power has attracted an increasing attention and mass nuclear power plant have been built in different countries in the past several decades. At present, about ten thousands ton spent fuels are discharged from nuclear power plant every year and the estimated capacity will approximately add up to 5×105 ton. Therefore, spent fuel reprocessing, by which the co-extraction and separation as well as purification of Uranium and Plutonium could be realized and ensure the recycle of uranium resources and the management of nuclear waste, is a vital step in nuclear fuel cycle including two major strategies, i.e. once-through cycle and closed fuel cycle. It is worth noting that the utilization of MOX fuel made by plutonium mixed with uranium has been successfully achieved in thermal reactor. Fortunately, the middle experiment plant of china spent fuel reprocessing has been being debugged and will be operated completely in future two years. Various reprocessing schemes have been proposed for the extraction of actinides from fission products and other elements presented in spent nuclear fuel. However, after numerous studies of alternate reprocessing methods and intensive searches for better solvents, the PUREX process remains the prime reprocessing method for spent nuclear fuels throughout the world. High burning and strong radioactive spent fuel resulting from the evolution of various reactors drive the development of the advanced PUREX technology, which emphasizes the separation of neptunium and technetium besides the separation of the Uranium and Plutonium from the majority of highly active fission products. In addition, through Partitioning and Transmutation method, some benefits such as segregating the actinides and long life fission products from the high level waste can be obtained. The GANEX process exploited by CEA, which roots in COEX process belonged to advanced PUREX process, considers the separation of the actinides and long life fission products. The study on the pyro-chemical processing such as the method of electro-deposition from molten salts has still not replaced the traditional PUREX process due to various reasons. In conclusion, the future PUREX process will focus on the modified process including predigesting the technical flowsheets and reducing reprocessing costs and using salt-less reagent in order to minimize the waste production.

The Fast Breeder Reactor — Energy without Depletion of Natural Resources

1976 ◽  
Vol 190 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-175
Author(s):  
R. D. Vaughan ◽  
A. A. Farmer
Keyword(s):  
Energy Production ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Western World ◽  
Fast Reactors ◽  
Generating Capacity ◽  
Fast Breeder Reactors ◽  
Breeder Reactors ◽  
Fuel Reprocessing

SYNOPSIS. Nuclear power should account for 20% of primary energy production in the Western world by the end of the century, but only if growth of generating capacity can be freed of the constraint of uranium supply. It is shown that, providing fast breeder reactors and their associated fuel reprocessing facilities are developed quickly, a substantial increase in nuclear capacity could be provided by fast reactors. The relative importance of various fuel cycle parameters is spelt out and brief accounts are given of the alternative fast reactors being developed to meet the requirements.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document