Izvestiya vuzov. Yadernaya Energetika

The peer-reviewed scientific and technology journal. ISSN: 0204-3327

The results of the transmuting minor actinides with thermal and fast reactors neutrons

3/28/2016 2016 - #02 Fuel cycle and nuclear waste management

Kazansky Y.A. Ivanov N.V. Romanov M.I.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26583/npe.2016.2.08

UDC: 621.039.54(04)

One of the problems of nuclear energy is the accumulation of radioactive waste. There are many scenarios treatment of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). One of them with a closed fuel cycle and reproduction of fissile nuclei is the transmutation of minor actinides (MA) in the fission fragments in fast reactors. In the present paper considered the radiation characteristics, depending on the time, after irradiation MA in the spectra of neutrons of thermal and fast reactors. The irradiation time was chosen to be 25 years. During this time, burn up in the thermal reactor was about 95%, and in the fast reactor about 75%. Transmutation efficiency is determined by a time-dependent after irradiation «coefficient of transmutation». Coefficient of transmutation is the ratio of the radioactivity (or biological hazards on the air or on the water) after the transmutation of the isotope (isotopes) to its radioactivity without transmutation. This is a positive number in the range from 0 to infinity.

Calculations showed that coefficient of transmutation of the burning of the MA in the thermal reactor (at the same time of irradiation to thermal and fast reactors) have notable advantages over coefficient of transmutation during burning in the fast reactors. Importantly, the thermal reactor burn up MA of 95% is achieved while 40 – 60% smaller than in the fast breeder reactor.

Analyzed the results of transmutation. Significant gains in radioactivity can be obtained for americium and curium after 25 years irradiation through decades. The gain in the case of irradiation of neptunium can be obtained through decades and the hundreds of thousands of years (depending on the irradiation time).

Shown that efficiency of the amplitude and time depends on the criterion of radioactivity (radioactivity, the biological effectiveness of permissible concentrations in air and water). In particular, coefficient of transmutation on basis biological hazards nuclides in the air could differ significantly from coefficient of transmutation on radioactivity. At 10 times coefficient of transmutation on basis biological hazards in the air in the first thousand years less than the same coefficient on the basis of radioactivity. At the same time, the coefficient of transmutation on basis biological hazards nuclides in the water do not differ significantly from the transmutation of the coefficients on radioactivity.

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transmutation minor actinides spent fuel radioactivity biological hazard

Link for citing the article: Kazansky Y.A., Ivanov N.V., Romanov M.I. The results of the transmuting minor actinides with thermal and fast reactors neutrons. Izvestiya vuzov. Yadernaya Energetika. 2016, no. 2, pp. 77-86; DOI: https://doi.org/10.26583/npe.2016.2.08 (in Russian).

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