A PRESSURIZED-WATER REACTOR DESIGN FOR PLUTONIUM INCINERATION - FUEL-CYCLE OPTIONS

The possibility exists of utilizing pressurized water reactor (PWR) po wer plants of current technology for efficient and cost-competitive in cineration of excess plutonium. Several plutonium-based fuel cycle opt ions were considered, i.e., pure Pu-239 or reactor-grade plutonium as a fissile component and natural uranium or thorium as a fertile compon ent of the fuel. A typical PWR was chosen as the base for detailed ana lysis and comparison of all investigated fuel cycle options. A series of calculations was carried out for each of the fuel cycle options gen erating ''equilibrium'' cycles of equal length. Results of the design analysis and comparison of main performance parameters were used to co mpare different fuel options. Material mass balances were calculated t o evaluate the plutonium incineration potential of the considered opti ons. A potential of efficient reduction of excess plutonium was demons trated for all considered fuel options. The thorium-based fuel cycles were found especially effective for destruction of fissile isotopes of plutonium (>1000 kg/yr). This was partially compensated by the buildu p of U-233 isotope. One of the important conclusions of this work is t hat significant amounts of fissile plutonium may be incinerated in tho rium-based cycles and that U-233 may be denatured by addition of modes t amounts of natural uranium. Preliminary economic evaluations indicat e that plutonium incineration may be carried out in existing PWRs with out economic penalty and may, therefore, present a viable alternative to other plutonium disposition methods.