International Conference on the Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors 2019: Learning from the Past, Enabling the Future

Increasing plutonium disposition rate in the thermal reactors (VVER and RBMK)

26 Jun 2019, 10:30

30m

Poster Track 4: Recycling as a spent fuel management option Track 4 Poster Session

Speaker

Dr Saadou Aldawahrah (Syrian atomic energy commission)

Description

Several countries reuse MOX fuel (reactor-grade (RG) and weapons-grade (WG) Pu) in the thermal reactors, but within no more than 30% of the total core loading. Many years of operational experience with MOX-fuelled cores along with well-developed technologies in the management of MOX fuel demonstrate possibilities in extending MOX fuel share in commercial nuclear power plants. Therefore, this paper deals increasing weapons-grade plutonium disposition rate (mPu) in the thermal reactors using differenced methods as: reducing the burnup, reducing the residence time of the MOX assemblies in the reactor, increasing the fraction of MOX assemblies in the core, and reducing the plutonium enrichment in the MOX fuel. The results showed at EOC for 100% MOX fuel that the mPu were: 1320 and 930 kg/year and the 240Pu fractions were: 31 and 45% for VVER and RBMK respectively. The mPu was increased: 930, 985, 1076 and 1590 when the plutonium enrichment was reduced: 1.8, 1.6, 1.4, 1.0 % respectively. The mPu was increased by 45% when using four UO2 fuel cycles and one MOX cycle instead of three UO2 fuel cycles and one MOX cycle.

Peer reviewing

Paper

Accepted on 27 May 2019 by Amparo Gonzalez-Espartero

Paper files:

• paper_ID155.docx