EDN: JLXHIW
Authors & Affiliations
Khomyakov A.Yu.
Joint-Stock Company “TVEL”, Moscow, Russia
Khomyakov A.Yu. – Chief Specialist, Joint-stock company “TVEL”.
Contacts: 49, Kashirskoe sh., Moscow, Russia, 115409. Tel.: +7 (910) 545-42-19; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Abstract
Computational studies of the nuclide kinetics of uranium-plutonium fuel for a 1200 MW high-power fast sodium reactor using the SCALE-6.2.4 complex were performed to estimate the possibility and efficiency of minor actinides (MA) incineration. Particular attention was paid to various criteria of the MA transmutation effectiveness. It has been shown that the efficiency of MA utilization significantly depends on the choice of particular criteria and the exposure time. Theoretically, the efficiency can be from 10 to 100-fold in terms of reduction of heat release and potential biological hazard, should the relevant criteria be applied, while the activity of radioactive waste can be determined by the content of fission fragments and 14C isotope, and it just slightly depends on the MA handling options. Measurement of the efficiency in terms of relative mass change may lead to an overestimation of the real radiological efficiency of transmutation on the magnitude of several times due to the unburned residue and the accumulation of 238Pu, 234U, and Cm isotopes. The calculations of real multiple recycling show the possibility of a fast reactor to operate in transmutation mode with an estimated efficiency of its own MA transmutation in the range from 7 up to 70 times, taking into account the disposal of Cm isotopes’ decay products. It was determined that the MA transmutation efficiency is limited by the accepted value of technological purification ratio of radioactive wastes from plutonium isotopes.
With the increase in the degree of purification of radioactive waste from Pu to 0.01 %, the potential biological hazard of radioactive waste will be determined by MA content and the efficiency of their transmutation will be 20–200 times.
Keywords
activity, actinides, fast reactor, efficiency criteria, multiple recycling, simulation, nuclide kinetics, computational studies, spent nuclear fuel, potential biohazard, radioactive waste, transmutation
Article Text (PDF, in Russian)
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UDC 621.039.5
Problems of Atomic Science and Technology. Series: Nuclear and Reactor Constants, 2024, no. 3, 3:2
