Cheng/Cerbone-Page 1 PROSPECT OF NUCLEAR WASTE TRANSMUTATION AND POWER PRODUCTION IN FUSION REACTORS
نویسنده
چکیده
A small tokamak-based fusion reactor can be attractive for actinide waste transmutation. Equilibrium concentrations of transuranium isotopes were estimated in a molten-salt based fusion transmutation reactor. Nuclear performance parameters were derived for two types of fusion-driven transmutation reactors: Pu-assisted and minor actinidesonly systems. The minor actinide-only burning system appears to be the ultimate fusion transmutation reactor. Because such a transmutation system can destroy the minor actinides generated in 35 LWRs, each of which produces the same thermal power as the transmutation reactor. However, a Pu-assisted transmutation reactor may achieve the same thermal power at a lower fusion power because of the higher energy multiplication in the blanket. It can therefore be developed as a shorter-term technology to demonstrate the viable long-term solution to nuclear waste.
منابع مشابه
Minimizing the Integrated Collective Radiation Dose and the Transmutation of Long-lived Nuclear Waste
For more than a year, ECN is engaged in a research programme on transmutation of actinides as well as of fission products by means of respectively fission and neutron capture. It is intended to contribute to international efforts, which evaluate recycling options of the nuclear waste problem. Besides studies on strategy and scenarios, efforts are made to demonstrate possibilities for transmutat...
متن کاملUWFDM-1313 Engineering Issues Facing Transmutation of Actinides in Z-Pinch Fusion Power Plant
The initiation of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership includes nuclear-based transmutation devices to recycle the spent fuel. Fusion can offer an alternative to the use of fast reactors for the transmutation of actinides. At a modest fusion power of 20 MW, a Z-Pinch driven sub-critical blanket can burn actinides and produce power. Several engineering issues have been examined: the effect of t...
متن کاملAssessing a new direction for fusion
The principal application proposed for fusion for the past 40 years has been the central station, electrical power generation plant. However, the sizable increases that were forecast for future electrical power demands have not been realized to date. Only coal power plants have been increasing (3%/year) generating capacity (Annual Energy Outlook, 1998) [1]. Likewise, the ability of fusion to de...
متن کاملWhy Accelerator-Driven Transmutation of Wastes Enables Future Nuclear Power?
Criticality concerns, decay heat management and radioactive waste handling are perceived as the primary, unsatisfactorily resolved technological problems of nuclear reactors. They all originate from very specific features of a fission phenomenon: self-sustained chain reaction in fissile materials, very strong radioactivity of fission products and very long half-life of some of the radioactive f...
متن کاملConcept of Multi-function Fusion Reactor
To really use the fusion energy and make the fusion energy as a main energy in the world could need more than 50 years. The construction of ITER starts the real course to realize the peaceful use of the fusion energy. It means the technologies developed in the world are feasible to built fusion facilities or reactors with fusion core plasmas. Based on the technologies nowadays, a concept of mul...
متن کامل