The role of Z-pinch fusion transmutation of waste in the nuclear fuel cycle.

Smith, James Dean ; Drennen, Thomas E. (Hobart & ; William Smith College, Geneva, NY) ; Rochau, Gary Eugene ; Martin, William Joseph ; Kamery, William (Hobart & ; William Smith College, Geneva, NY) ; Phruksarojanakun, Phiphat (University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI) ; Grady, Ryan (University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI) ; Cipiti, Benjamin B. ; Wilson, Paul Philip Hood (University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI) ; Mehlhorn, Thomas Alan ; Guild-Bingham, Avery (Texas A& ; M University, College Station, TX) ; Tsvetkov, Pavel Valeryevich (Texas A& ; M University, College Station, TX)

Sandia National Laboratories

关键词: Radioactive Wastes;    Fuel Cycle;    Sandia National Laboratories;    Radioactive Wastes-Transmutation.;    Radioactive Wastes-Transmutation-Technological Innovations.;   

DOI  :  10.2172/920827
RP-ID  :  SAND2007-6487
RP-ID  :  AC04-94AL85000
RP-ID  :  920827

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

The resurgence of interest in reprocessing in the United States with the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership has led to a renewed look at technologies for transmuting nuclear waste. Sandia National Laboratories has been investigating the use of a Z-Pinch fusion driver to burn actinide waste in a sub-critical reactor. The baseline design has been modified to solve some of the engineering issues that were identified in the first year of work, including neutron damage and fuel heating. An on-line control feature was added to the reactor to maintain a constant neutron multiplication with time. The transmutation modeling effort has been optimized to produce more accurate results. In addition, more attention was focused on the integration of this burner option within the fuel cycle including an investigation of overall costs. This report presents the updated reactor design, which is able to burn 1320 kg of actinides per year while producing 3,000 MWth.