Download or read book Potential of Thorium Based Fuel Cycles to Constrain Plutonium and Reduce Long Lived Waste Toxicity written by International Atomic Energy Agency and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Potential of Thorium Based Fuel Cycles to Constrain Plutonium and Reduce Long Lived Waste Toxicity written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Potential of Thorium Based Fuel Cycles to Constrain Plutonium and Reduce Long Lived Waste Toxicity written by International Atomic Energy Agency and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the different fuel cycle options in which plutonium can be recycled with thorium to incinerate plutonium. The potential of the thorium matrix is examined through computer simulations.
Download or read book Performance of Thorium Based Mixed Oxide Fuels for the Consumption of Plutonium and Minor Actinides in Current and Advanced Reactors written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A renewed interest in thorium-based fuels has arisen lately based on the need for proliferation resistance, longer fuel cycles, higher burnup and improved wasteform characteristics. Recent studies have been directed toward homogeneously mixed, heterogeneously mixed, and seed-and-blanket thorium-uranium fuel cycles that rely on "in situ" use of the bred-in U-233. However, due to the higher initial enrichment required to achieve acceptable burnups, these fuels are encountering economic constraints. Thorium can nevertheless play a large role in the nuclear fuel cycle; particularly in the reduction of plutonium. While uranium-based mixedoxide (MOX) fuel will decrease the amount of plutonium, the reduction is limited due to the breeding of more plutonium (and higher actinides) from the U-238. Here we present calculational results and a comparison of the potential burnup of a thorium-based and uranium-based mixed oxide fuel in a light water reactor (LWR). Although the uranium-based fuels outperformed the thorium-based fuels in achievable burnup, a depletion comparison of the initially charged plutonium (both reactor and weapons grade) showed that the thorium-based fuels outperformed the uranium-based fuels by more that a factor of 2; where more than 70% of the total plutonium in the thorium-based fuel is consumed during the cycle. This is significant considering that the achievable burnup of the thorium-based fuels were 1.4 to 4.6 times less than the uranium-based fuels. Furthermore, use of a thorium-based fuel could also be used as a strategy for reducing the amount of long-lived nuclides (including the minor actinides), and thus the radiotoxicity in spent nuclear fuel. Although the breeding of U-233 is a concern, the presence of U-232 and its daughter products can aid in making this fuel self-protecting, and/or enough U-238 can be added to denature the fissile uranium. From these calculations, it appears that thorium-based fuel for plutonium incineration is superior as compared to uranium-based fuel, and should be considered as an alternative to traditional MOX in both current and future reactor designs.
Download or read book Thorium Fuel Cycle written by International Atomic Energy Agency and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a critical review of the thorium fuel cycle: potential benefits and challenges in the thorium fuel cycle, mainly based on the latest developments at the front end of the fuel cycle, applying thorium fuel cycle options, and at the back end of the thorium fuel cycle.
Download or read book A Review of Thorium Utilization as an Option for Advanced Fuel Cycle Potential Option for Brazil in the Future written by J. R. Maiorino and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 15 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the beginning of Nuclear Energy Development, Thorium was considered as a potential fuel, mainly due to the potential to produce fissile uranium 233. Several Th/U fuel cycles, using thermal and fast reactors were proposed, such as the Radkwoski once through fuel cycle for PWR and VVER, the thorium fuel cycles for CANDU Reactors, the utilization in Molten Salt Reactors, the utilization of thorium in thermal (AHWR), and fast reactors (FBTR) in India, and more recently in innovative reactors, mainly Accelerator Driven System, in a double strata fuel cycle. All these concepts besides the increase in natural nuclear resources are justified by non proliferation issues (plutonium constrain) and the waste radiological toxicity reduction. The paper intended to summarize these developments, with an emphasis in the Th/U double strata fuel cycle using ADS. Brazil has one of the biggest natural reserves of thorium, estimated in 1.2 millions of tons of ThO{sub 2}, as will be reviewed in this paper, and therefore R & D programs would be of strategically national interest. In fact, in the past there was some projects to utilize Thorium in Reactors, as the ''Instinto/Toruna'' Project, in cooperation with France, to utilize Thorium in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor, in the mid of sixties to mid of seventies, and the thorium utilization in PWR, in cooperation with German, from 1979-1988. The paper will review these initiatives in Brazil, and will propose to continue in Brazil activities related with Th/U fuel cycle.
Download or read book Analysis of Multi recycle Thorium Fuel Cycles in Comparison with Once through Fuel Cycles written by Lloyd Michael Huang and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this research is to develop a methodology for a thorium fuel recycling analysis that provides results for isotopics and radio-toxicity evaluation and analysis. This research is motivated by the need to reduce the long term radiological hazard in spent nuclear fuel, which mitigates the mixing hazard (radiotoxicity and chemical toxicity) and decay heat load on the repository. The first part of the thesis presents comparison of several once-through cases with uranium and thorium fuels to show how transuranics build up as fuel is depleted. The once-through analysis is performed for the following pairs of comparison cases: low enriched uranium dioxide (UOX) vs. thorium dioxide with 233UOX (233U-ThOX), natural uranium dioxide mixed with transuranic oxides (U-TRUOX) vs. thorium dioxide mixed with transuranic oxides (Th-TRUOX), natural uranium dioxide mixed with weapons grade plutonium dioxide (U-WGPuOX) vs. thorium dioxide mixed with weapons grade plutonium dioxide (Th-WGPuOX), natural uranium dioxide mixed with reactor grade plutonium dioxide (U-RGPuOX) vs. thorium mixed with reactor grade plutonium dioxide (Th-RGPuOX). The second part of the research evaluates the thorium fuel equilibrium cycle in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) and compares several recycling cases with different partitioning schemes. Radio-toxicity results of the once-through cycle and multi-recycle calculations demonstrate advantages for thorium fuel and reprocessing with respect to long term nuclear waste management.
Download or read book The Benefits of an Advanced Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle for Plutonium Management written by and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 21 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States has no program to investigate advanced nuclear fuel cycles for the large-scale consumption of plutonium from military and civilian sources. The official U.S. position has been to focus on means to bury spent nuclear fuel from civilian reactors and to achieve the spent fuel standard for excess separated plutonium, which is considered by policy makers to be an urgent international priority. Recently, the National Research Council published a long awaited report on its study of potential separation and transmutation technologies (STATS), which concluded that in the nuclear energy phase-out scenario that they evaluated, transmutation of plutonium and long-lived radioisotopes would not be worth the cost. However, at the American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting in June, 1996, the STATS panelists endorsed further study of partitioning to achieve superior waste forms for burial, and suggested that any further consideration of transmutation should be in the context of energy production, not of waste management. 2048 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has an active program for the short-term disposition of excess fissile material and a 'focus area' for safe, secure stabilization, storage and disposition of plutonium, but has no current programs for fast reactor development. Nevertheless, sufficient data exist to identify the potential advantages of an advanced fast reactor metallic fuel cycle for the long-term management of plutonium. Advantages are discussed.
Download or read book Performance Analysis Review of Thorium TRISO Coated Particles During Manufacture Irradiation and Accident Condition Heating Tests written by International Atomic Energy Agency and published by IAEA Tecdoc. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication is the outcome of an IAEA coordinated research project on near term and promising long term options for deployment of thorium based nuclear energy. It is based on the compilation and analysis of available results on thorium tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coated particle fuel performance in manufacturing during irradiation and accident condition heating tests. As a result, the project participants concluded that the performance statistics for the high enriched thoria urania TRISO fuel system are in perfect concert with those state of the art requirements for present day high temperature reactor concepts.
Download or read book Improving Fuel Cycle Design and Safety Characteristics of a Gas Cooled Fast Reactor written by Willem Frederik Geert van Rooijen and published by IOS Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Generation IV Forum is an international nuclear energy research initiative aimed at developing the fourth generation of nuclear reactors, envisaged to enter service halfway the 21st century. One of the Generation IV reactor systems is the Gas Cooled Fast Reactor (GCFR), the subject of study in this thesis. The Generation IV reactor concepts should improve all aspects of nuclear power generation. Within Generation IV, the GCFR concept specifically targets sustainability of nuclear power generation. The Gas Cooled Fast Reactor core power density is high in comparison to other gas cooled reactor concepts. Like all nuclear reactors, the GCFR produces decay heat after shut down, which has to be transported out of the reactor under all circumstances. The layout of the primary system therefore focuses on using natural convection Decay Heat Removal (DHR) where possible, with a large coolant fraction in the core to reduce friction losses.
Download or read book The Future of Nuclear Fuel Cycle written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this analysis we have presented a method that provides insight into future fuel cycle alternatives by clarifying the complexity of choosing an appropriate fuel cycle in the context of the distribution of burdens and benefits between generations. The current nuclear power deployment practices, together with three future fuel cycles were assessed."--Page 227.
Download or read book Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy written by Thomas James Dolan and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2024-01-25 with total page 1068 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy, Second Edition is a fully updated comprehensive reference on the latest advances in MSR research and technology. Building on the successful first edition, Tom Dolan and the team of experts have fully updated the content to reflect the impressive advances from the last 5 years, ensuring this book continues to be the go-to reference on the topic. This new edition covers progress made in MSR design, details innovative experiments, and includes molten salt data, corrosion studies and deployment plans. The successful case studies section of the first edition have been removed, expanded, and fully updated, and are now published in a companion title called Global Case Studies on Molten Salt Reactors. Readers will gain a deep understanding of the advantages and challenges of MSR development and thorium fuel use, as well as step-by-step guidance on the latest in MSR reactor design. Each chapter provides a clear introduction, covers technical issues and includes examples and conclusions, while promoting the sustainability benefits throughout. A fully updated comprehensive handbook on Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy, written by a team of global experts Covers MSR applications, technical issues, reactor types and reactor designs Includes 3 brand new chapters which reflect the latest advances in research and technology since the first edition published Presents case studies on molten salt reactors which aid in the transition to net zero by providing abundant clean, safe energy to complement wind and solar powe
Download or read book Nuclear Fuel Cycle Simulation System VISTA written by International Atomic Energy Agency and published by IAEA. This book was released on 2007 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Simulation System (VISTA) is a simulation system which estimates long term nuclear fuel cycle material and service requirements as well as the material arising from the operation of nuclear fuel cycle facilities and nuclear power reactors. It is a scenario based simulation tool which can model several nuclear fuel cycle options including existing nuclear power reactor types and future possible reactor types. The past operations of the power reactors and fuel cycle facilities can be modelled in the system, in order to estimate the current amount of spent fuel stored or total Pu in stored spent fuel. It can also accept future projections for nuclear power and other scenario parameters in order to predict future fuel cycle material requirements.The model has been designed to be an optimum mixture of simplicity, speed and accuracy. It does not require too many input parameters if the purpose is just to compare the requirements for selected scenarios. Furthermore, the accuracy of the system can be improved by introducing more detailed and correct sets of input parameters.
Download or read book Uranium Enrichment and Nuclear Weapon Proliferation written by Allan S. Krass and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-11-20 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1983, this book presents both the technical and political information necessary to evaluate the emerging threat to world security posed by recent advances in uranium enrichment technology. Uranium enrichment has played a relatively quiet but important role in the history of efforts by a number of nations to acquire nuclear weapons and by a number of others to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. For many years the uranium enrichment industry was dominated by a single method, gaseous diffusion, which was technically complex, extremely capital-intensive, and highly inefficient in its use of energy. As long as this remained true, only the richest and most technically advanced nations could afford to pursue the enrichment route to weapon acquisition. But during the 1970s this situation changed dramatically. Several new and far more accessible enrichment techniques were developed, stimulated largely by the anticipation of a rapidly growing demand for enrichment services by the world-wide nuclear power industry. This proliferation of new techniques, coupled with the subsequent contraction of the commercial market for enriched uranium, has created a situation in which uranium enrichment technology might well become the most important contributor to further nuclear weapon proliferation. Some of the issues addressed in this book are: A technical analysis of the most important enrichment techniques in a form that is relevant to analysis of proliferation risks; A detailed projection of the world demand for uranium enrichment services; A summary and critique of present institutional non-proliferation arrangements in the world enrichment industry, and An identification of the states most likely to pursue the enrichment route to acquisition of nuclear weapons.
Download or read book Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems Toward Zero Release of Radioactive Wastes written by M. Saito and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2002-11-11 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a collection of the papers presented at the International Seminar on Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems toward Zero Release of Radioactive Wastes, which was held in Japan in November 2000. Scientists and engineers working in academia, research organizations and industry came together to discuss the role and contributions of nuclear energy to the environmental issues in the new millennium. It provided a forum for open discussions about the pursuit of solutions for the reduction of nuclear wastes based on the accelerator and fusion technologies, in addition to the advanced fission technology to harmonize the nuclear energy systems with the global environment. It also promoted future international collaboration in the following research fields: the role of nuclear energy in the new millennium; waste management; transmutation of minor actinides and fission products; advanced fission systems, accelerator driven systems, fusion systems, nuclear database, and advanced nuclear fuel cycles for transmutation of wastes. Published originally as a special issue (volume 40/3-4) of the international journal Progress in Nuclear Energy.
Download or read book Management and Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-08-06 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Within the next decade, many thousands of U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons are slated to be retired as a result of nuclear arms reduction treaties and unilateral pledges. Hundreds of tons of plutonium and highly enriched uranium will no longer be needed for weapons purposes and will pose urgent challenges to international security. This is the supporting volume to a study by the Committee on International Security and Arms Control which dealt with all phases of the management and disposition of these materials. This technical study concentrates on the option for the disposition of plutonium, looking in detail at the different types of reactors in which weapons plutonium could be burned and at the vitrification of plutonium, and comparing them using economic, security and environmental criteria.
Download or read book Sources Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation UNSCEAR 2016 Report written by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) and published by United Nations. This book was released on 2017-04-25 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report assesses the levels and effects of exposure to ionizing radiation. Scientific findings underpin radiation risk evaluation and international protection standards. This report comprises a report with two underpinning scientific annexes. The first annex recapitulates and clarifies the philosophy of science as well as the scientific knowledge for attributing observed health effects in individuals and populations to radiation exposure, and distinguishes between that and inferring risk to individuals and populations from an exposure. The second annex reviews the latest thinking and approaches to quantifying the uncertainties in assessments of risk from radiation exposure, and illustrates these approaches with application to examples that are highly pertinent to radiation protection.
