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Thermal to Fast Reactor Transition Scenarios: Roles for Heavy Water Reactors

Thermal to Fast Reactor Transition Scenarios: Roles for Heavy Water Reactors. B. Hyland and G.R. Dyck Advanced Fuel Cycles. Transition Scenarios. The current, global nuclear power reactor fleet is almost entirely thermal reactors LWRs HWRs LWR and HWR fuel cycles can be quite different

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Thermal to Fast Reactor Transition Scenarios: Roles for Heavy Water Reactors

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  1. Thermal to Fast Reactor Transition Scenarios:Roles for Heavy Water Reactors B. Hyland and G.R. Dyck Advanced Fuel Cycles

  2. Transition Scenarios • The current, global nuclear power reactor fleet is almost entirely thermal reactors • LWRs • HWRs • LWR and HWR fuel cycles can be quite different • In examining a transition to a fuel cycle strongly reliant on FRs, we should consider possible HWR-specific contributions.

  3. Uranium Utilization HWRs have the highest U-utilization of any current power reactor

  4. Uranium Utilization If a transition to FRs is being driven by resource availability, heavy use of HWRs, with enrichment, could help to extend available resources.

  5. Recovered Uranium • Reprocessing spent LWR fuel (for Pu) generates huge amounts of RU • ~1000 tons per FR core-load • CANDU reactors can burn RU without re-enrichment • 0.9% generates 14MWd/kg • Around 12 GWey/core-load • CANDU in insensitive to U234 and U236

  6. 50 MWd/kg 1% 0.4% 7.5 MWd/kg Plutonium Management • 2.4x more Pu produced per energy by HWR • fuel is more dilute (6.7x more fuel) C. Ganguly, 1st Annual Global Nuclear Renaissance Summit, 5-7 Dec 2006, Washington, D.C., USA

  7. Plutonium Management • Fissile production • CANDU SF is ~0.37% Pu • Burnup is ~7.4 MWd/kg • Pu per unit energy is 2.4x LWR, but more dilute

  8. Plutonium Management • Fissile production • FBRs with low conversion ratios support little growth in energy production. • Recycling of spent HWR fuel would make maximum use of uranium resources.

  9. Plutonium Management • Plutonium utilization • FBRs with high conversion ratios could increase fissile stockpile more quickly than energy growth • HWRs with (Pu,U) or (Pu,Th) would produce energy efficiently and inexpensively from this resource • Pu,Th gives similar results with the added benefits of consuming no uranium, while generating valuable U-233

  10. Comparative Study of Plutonium Burning in Heavy and Light Water Reactors T. A. Taiwo, T. K. Kim, F. J. Szakaly, R. N. Hill, and W. S. Yang Argonne National Laboratory G. R. Dyck, B. Hyland, and G. W. R. Edwards Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. (AECL) ICAPP 2007 Nice, France May 13-18, 2007

  11. Pu Destruction in CANDU

  12. Higher Burnup Translates into Higher Plutonium and Total TRU Consumption in CANDU-6 Actinide Consumption (%) at Discharge Burnup Norm. Discharge Masses, g/GWe-d

  13. Closed Fuel Cycle with Fast Reactors and CANDU SR = 2.78 SR = 5.32

  14. Actinide Burning in CANDU Reactors B. Hyland, and G.R. Dyck Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. (AECL) Global 2007 Boise, Idaho, USA Sept 9-13 13-18, 2007

  15. 30 year cooled SNF

  16. Insert CANDU here Closed Cycle with Fast Reactors Reprocessing and Fuel Fabrication Fast Reactor CR = 0.25 LWR Support Ratio = 10.4 Support Ratio = 2.3 Geological Disposal

  17. Actinide Burning • If a transition to FRs is driven by concerns over spent fuel, and repository heat loading, HWRs could enhance the capacity of fast burner reactors to reduce minor actinide content in spent fuel

  18. Conclusions • There are valuable roles for heavy water reactors in thermal to fast reactor transition scenarios • Efficient use of fissile and fertile resources • Plutonium management • Actinide burning

  19. Closed Fuel Cycle with Fast Reactors and PWR SR = 1.34 SR = 1.78 SR = 2.21

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