Status Report on Actinide and Fission Product Transmutation Studies
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IAEA-TECDOC-948 Status reporton actinide fissionand product transmutation studies INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY June 1997 The IAEA does not normally maintain stocks of reports in this series However, microfiche copie f thesso e reportobtainee b n sca d from INIS Clearinghouse International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse 5 PO Box 100 A 1400 Vienna, Austria Orders should be accompanied by prepayment of Austrian Schillings 100, for e fore chequa th f m th IAEf m o n i o m r eAo microfiche service coupons orderee whicb y hdma separately fro INIe mth S Clearinghouse originatine Th g Sectio f thino s publicatio IAEe th An i was: Nuclear Power Technology Development Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wag rame rstrasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria STATUS REPOR ACTINIDN TO FISSIOD EAN N PRODUCT TRANSMUTATION STUDIES IAEA, VIENNA,"!997 IAEA-TECDOC-948 ISSN 1011-4289 ©IAEA, 1997 Printed by IAEA in Austria June 1997 FOREWORD e managemenTh issuef y radioactivo t ke today'n e i s th f o se e politicawaston s publid ei an l c discussions on nuclear energy. In each country with nuclear power, the decision as to which strategy one should pursue in a national programme depends on a wide range of economic, political and historical considerations, but all have in common that the safety of the population and radiation exposur humano et accordancn i s si e with radiation protection principles accepted worldwide. Public acceptanc f nucleaeo r power generatio more b y e easilnma y obtaine isolatioe th f di n time required for deca radionuclidee f mosyo th f o t hign si h level wast reduces ei 200-30o dt 0 years. One of the fields that looks into the future possibilities of nuclear technology is the neutronic transmutatio f actinideno f somo d e san mos t important fission products. Rather than waitin r theigfo r radioactiv eprincipln i deca s i t i y e possibl reduco t e e perioth e f toxicitdo f theso y e isotopey b s transforming them into short live r stablo d e nuclide n fissioi s n reactor n accelerator-drivei r o s n subcritical facilities. Thirathea fiels w i s f activitIAEAe ne o dr th e Specialistr yfo Th . f Fasso Meetine t Us n go Reactor r Actinidsfo e Transmutation hel Obninskn di , Russian Federation, 22-24 September 1992, ma consideree yb da startin g event e TechnicaTh . l Committee Meetin Viennn gi n Safeto ad an y Environmental Aspects of Partitioning and Transmutation of Actinides and Fission Products, 29 November - 2 December 1993, followed. A Special Scientific Programme on the Use of High Energy Accelerators for Transmutation of Actinides and Power Production in conjunction with the 38th IAEA General Conference was held in Vienna on 21 September 1994. More than one hundred participants attended the meeting. Nowadays more and more studies are carried out on transmutation of actinides in various internationacountrien a t a d san l level. OECD/NE initiates Aha d recentl SystemT P& ya s Studd yan expectes ii t d tha resulte stude th tth f yso wil publishee b l d withi nexe yearso nth tw t . Since there ear R&D activitie thin i s s field outsid OECDe eth IAEe th ,s take Aha e initiativ nth documeno t e e th t research activities on transmutation of actinides and fission products in those Member States. The Technical Committee Meeting on Feasibility of Transmutation of Actinides in Advanced Reactors, held in Vienna from 5 to 7 December 1994, has recommended the preparation of the status report on transmutation of actinides and fission products studies in non-OECD countries and provided an input preparatioe foth r reporte th f no . The status report was prepared by a Technical Committee meeting held in September 1995. The aim of the report is to present an up-to-date general overview of current and planned research on transmutation in non-OECD countries, thus fostering bilateral and multilateral co-operation of interested Member States. The IAEA would like to thank all those individuals who participated in the Technical Committee meeting d thoso providean s wh e d written contributions fro e varioumth s countries. Specia. RabotnoN o t l e thankvdu froe Russiae sar m th n Federation compileo wh , inpue dth t from the experts and to I. Gibson from the United Kingdom, who reviewed and edited the final draft. EDITORIAL NOTE In preparing this publication for press, staff of the IAEA have made up the pages from the original manuscript views (s).The expressed necessarilynot do reflect governmentsthosethe of of nominatingthe Member States nominating ofthe or organizations. Throughout textthe names Memberof States retainedare theyas were when textthe was compiled. Theof use particular designations countriesof territoriesor does imply judgementnot any by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities institutionsand delimitation ofthe or of their boundaries. The mention namesof specificof companies productsor (whetherindicatednot or as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................7 2. CONCEPTS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE.......................... 11 2.1. Introduction........................................................................................... 11 2.2. Summary of national activities.................................................................... 11 2.2.1. Belgium....................................................................................... 11 2.2.2. China.......................................................................................... 13 2.2.3. Czech Republic.............................................................................. 14 2.2.4. France......................................................................................... 16 2.2.5. India........................................................................................... 17 2.2.6. Japan .......................................................................................... 20 2.2.7. Republi Korea..........................................................................f co 2 2 . 2.2.8. Russian Federation.......................................................................... 22 2.2.9. International organizations...............................................................5 2 . 3. TRANSMUTATION RESEARCH.........................................................................29 3.1. Nuclear physic nuclead san r data................................................................9 2 . 3.1.1. China.......................................................................................... 29 3.1.2. India........................................................................................... 29 3.1.3. Russian Federatioa........................................................................1 3 . 3.2. Thermophysic thermohydraulics...........................................................d san 4 3 . 3.2.1. Russian Federation.........................................................................4 3 . 3.3. Reactor physics and core design.................................................................. 37 3.3.1. China.......................................................................................... 37 3.3.2. Republic of Korea........................................................................... 41 3.3.3. Russian Federation.........................................................................2 5 . 3.4. Radiochemistry....................................................................................... 59 3.4.1. India...........................................................................................59 3.4.2. Russian Federation.........................................................................0 6 . 3.5. Accelerator driven transmutation technologies (ADTT).....................................5 6 . 3.5.1. International status.........................................................................5 6 . 3.5.2. Czech Republic.............................................................................. 68 3.5.3. Russian Federation.........................................................................5 7 . 3.6. Fuel cycle P&T................................................................................r sfo 9 7 . 3.6.1. Genera lrecycling......................................................... issueA M f so 9 7 . 3.6.2. India..........................................................................................6 8 . 3.6.3. Russian Federation.......................................................................... 86 . 4 FUTURE TRENDS..........................................................................................9 9 . REFERENCES.....................................................................................................^! ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................ 109 CONTRIBUTORS TO DRAFTING AND REVIEW........................................................ Ill NEXT PAQE(S) left BLANK 1. INTRODUCTION Management of radioactive waste (RW) in an environmentally safe manner is an important issue being addressed by all the countries developing a nuclear industry. In many countries it has become serioua s political issue attracting intense critical attentio generae th f no l public. Therefore,