RELEVANCE OF MESOCATALYTIC HYBRID REACTORS FOR ACCUMULATION OF FISSILE NUCLEI AND ENERGY-BALANCE ANALYSIS

On the basis of the energy and angular spectra of particles emitted fr om the lateral surfaces of light element targets, the energy balance o f a mesocatalytic hybrid reactor (MCHR) has been estimated, with the d ependence upon fuel enrichment, type and volume fraction of coolant in the mesocatalytic and electronuclear channel blankets taken into acco unt. It is shown that it is possible to generate a considerable amount of electric power in an MCHR due to burning up fissile nuclides in an MCHR blanket by choosing appropriate types of fuel composition and co olant. Despite some reduction of the fissile nuclide breeding ratio an d of the number of nuclear reactors (NR) in the MCHR-NR system, the pr imary beam power gain is of the same magnitude as in the case of a nat ural uranium blanket with a hard neutron spectrum. A simplification in solving ecological, economic and safety problems in nuclear fuel repr ocessing can be reached by burning the accumulated fissile nuclides di rectly in the MCHR blanket.