An jv 7 XA9743134 IAEA-TECDOC-916 Advanced fuels with reduced actinide generation Proceedings of a Technical Committee meeting held in Vienna, 21-23 November 1995 INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY November 1996 The IAEA does not normally maintain stocks of reports in this series. However, microfiche copies of these reports can be obtained from INIS Clearinghouse International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A 1400 Vienna, Austria Orders should be accompanied by prepayment of Austrian Schillings 100, in the form of a cheque or in the form of IAEA microfiche service coupons which may be ordered separately from the INIS Clearinghouse. The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Nuclear Power Technology Development Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria ADVANCED FUELS WITH REDUCED ACTINIDE GENERATION IAEA, VIENNA, 1996 IAEA-TECDOC-916 ISSN 1011-4289 © IAEA, 1996 Printed by the IAEA in Austria November 1996 FOREWORD Nuclear energy can play an important future role in supplying the world population with energy. However, this form of energy will be successful only under certain conditions: it must meet very strict safety requirements, it must be economically competitive, and it must be acceptable to the public. Nuclear power produces radioactive wastes and in several countries the public raises concern about safety. Much development work on advanced nuclear power systems is going on in several countries, with participation of both governmental and private industries to meet these conditions. Advanced nuclear power systems are currently under development with the potential to make a significant contribution to meeting the energy needs of the world in an environmentally acceptable manner. These systems are being developed to meet the challenges of increasingly demanding safety requirements, economic competitiveness and public acceptance. Technological solutions to radioactive waste management and disposal are under intensive investigation in several countries. Because of the high cost of development of advanced nuclear power systems, especially the innovative concepts, Member States may find it attractive to co-operate internationally in technology development. The IAEA's programme in nuclear power technology development encourages international co-operation through technical information exchange and co-operative research. In the framework of this IAEA activity the Technical Committee Meeting on Advanced Fuels with Reduced Actinide Generation was organized. The aim of the meeting was to highlight current research activities and to identify new research areas and fields of possible co-operation. The scope of the meeting included advanced fuels for all types of nuclear reactors: light water reactors, heavy water reactors, high temperature reactors, fast reactors, molten salt reactors and for accelerator driven systems. Other topics covered a wide range of investigations made, or to be made in the Member States. The IAEA wishes to thank all those who participated in meeting. Special thanks are due to the session chairmen. The officers of the IAEA responsible for the preparation of this publication are V. Arkhipov and A. Grigoriev of the Division of Nuclear Power and the Fuel Cycle. EDITORIAL NOTE In preparing this publication for press, staff of the IAEA have made up the pages from the original manuscripts as submitted by the authors. The views expressed do not necessarily reflea those of the governments of the nominating Member States or of the nominating organizations. Throughout the text names of Member States are retained as they were when the text was compiled. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as tothe legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated 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. The authors are responsible for having obtained the necessary permission for the IAEA to reproduce, translate or use material from sources already protected by copyrights. CONTENTS SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................... 7 PAPERS PRESENTED Emerging applications of advanced fuels for energy generation and transmutation. Overview of IAEA activities ....................................................................................................... 21 Pong Eil Juhn, V. A rkhipov Status of the nuclear fuel cycle in IAEA Member States ........................................................ 25 A. Grigoriev Criteria for achieving actinide reduction goals ............................................................................. 31 J.-O. Liljenzin The feasibility of MA transmutation in CEFR.............................................................................. 39 Zhang Yushan, Yi Xiaoyi, Su Lixin Liquid fuel concept benefits ................................................................................................................ 43 M. Hron Long term potential risk due to thorium mining ......................................................................... 55 J. P. Schapira, S. Menard Use of plutonium in pebble bed HTRs in a two ball type concept ....................................... 65 M. Khorochev, E. Teuchert Reduction requirements for actinides with special regard to the isolation time at final disposal ................................................................................................................................. 71 P.-W. Phlippen Build-up of plutonium isotopes in HTR fuel elements; Comparison between computed prediction and chemical analysis ........................................................................... 83 H. Wenter MOX fuels for reduced actinide generation ................................................................................. 105 K. Anantharaman, P.D. Krishnani, H.D. Purandare, D.S.C. Purushotham Thorium fuel-cycle development through plutonium incineration by THORIMS-NES (thorium molten-salt nuclear energy synergetics) ................................................................ 115 K. Furukawa, K. Mitachi, A. Lecocq, A. Furuhashi, S.E. Chigrinov A study for optimal transmutation system ....................................................................................129 W.S. Park, T.Y. Song, H.S. Shin, C.K. Park A partitioning-free transmutation concept of nuclear waste reduction ...............................137 •S’. Taczanowski Some results on development, irradiation and post-irradiation examinations of fuels for fast reactor-actinide burner (MOX and inert matrix fuel)...............................151 V. Poplavsky, L. Zabudko, L. Moseev, B. Rogozkin, I. Kurina A strategy for Pu destruction in PWRs ......................................................................................... 159 J. Magill, P. Peerani, H. Matzke, J. Van Geel PAPERS SUBMITTED BUT NOT PRESENTED Studies on HTGR Th-U fuel cycle at the Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology, Tsinghua University ........................................................................................................................ 171 Zhu Y ongjin Neutronic analysis of a U-Th fuel cycle, lead cooled accelerator-driven system ........... 179 P.A. Landeyro, M. Guidotti LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 185 SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION The Technical Committee Meeting on Advanced Fuels with Reduced Actinide Generation was held in Vienna, from 21 to 23 November 1995 and was attended by 31 representatives and observers from three international organizations (the European Commission, CERN and the IAEA) and 14 Member States (China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, the Russian Federation, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom). Sixteen papers were presented in seven sessions, followed by a panel discussion. The objective of the meeting was to exchange information on the feasibility and reliability of advanced fuels and related operation modes, aiming at a significant reduction in the generation of actinides in general and of plutonium, especially. The world is faced with an increasing population, an increasing demand for power but with diminishing resources of traditional fossil fuels and increasingly stringent controls on release of C02 and pollutants into the atmosphere. Against this background, there is a need for the increasing deployment of other energy sources. Renewables will clearly play a part but they are not able to meet the full demand. Considerable technology development and demonstration is required before fusion energy can achieve commercialization and the reducing level of funding by many countries is moving the prospects for its eventual use further into the future. Nuclear power will have to play an important role to meet the demand under environmentally benign conditions. However, a major concern is the public perception of nuclear safety and in the longterm the storage of nuclear waste. There is a further concern about the increasing production and stockpiling of plutonium which presents an ever present threat of diversion into weapons making. Ways in which both the waste problem and