On the Burning of Plutonium Originating from Light Water Reactor Use in a Fast Molten Salt Reactor—A Neutron Physical Study

Abstract

An efficient burning of the plutonium produced during light water reactor (LWR) operation has the potential to significantly improve the sustainability indices of LWR operations. The work offers a comparison of the efficiency of Pu burning in different reactor configurations—a molten salt fast reactor, a LWR with mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, and a sodium cooled fast reactor. The calculations are performed using the HELIOS 2 code. All results are evaluated against the plutonium burning efficiency determined in the Consommation Accrue de Plutonium dans les Réacteurs à Neutrons RApides (CAPRA) project. The results are discussed with special view on the increased sustainability of LWR use in the case of successful avoidance of an accumulation of Pu which otherwise would have to be forwarded to a final disposal. A strategic discussion is given about the unavoidable plutonium production, the possibility to burn the plutonium to avoid a burden for the future generations which would have to be controlled.

Keywords

• plutonium
• plutonium management
• plutonium burning
• nuclear reactors
• molten salt reactor (MSR)
• fast reactor
• light water reactor
• mixed oxide (MOX) fuel