Transmutation and Breeding Performance Analysis of Molten Chloride Salt Fast Reactor Using a Fuel Management Code with Nodal Expansion Method

Abstract

The transmutation of transuranic (TRU) elements produced by pressurized water reactors (PWRs) can effectively reduce their radioactive hazards. The molten chloride salt fast reactor (MCSFR) is a type of liquid-fueled molten salt reactor (MSR) using fuel in the form of molten chloride salts. The MCSFR utilizing a fast neutron spectrum and high actinide fraction is considered to be a potential reactor type for TRU transmutation. An online refueling and reprocessing scenario is the unique feature of liquid-fueled MSRs. On account of this characteristic, a new fuel management code named ThorNEMFM with a nodal expansion method (NEM) was developed and validated with the molten salt breeder reactor (MSBR) and the molten salt fast reactor (MSFR) benchmarks. Then, the transmutation and breeding performances of the MCSFR were simulated and analyzed with the ThorNEMFM code. The MCSFR adopts TRU elements as initial fissile loads and online feeding fissile materials. The results show that the transmutation ratio of TRU elements in the MCSFR can reach 50%, and the breeding ratio can reach 1.359. Moreover, the MCSFR has low radiotoxicity due to lower buildup of fission products (FPs).

Keywords

• molten salt reactor
• NEM method
• fuel management
• online refueling and processing
• transmutation and breeding