INCINERATION OF RADIOACTIVE FISSION-PRODUCTS AND TRANSURANICS BY MUON-CATALYZED FUSION

A system of nuclear transmutation is presented in which fission produc ts and transuranics (TR U) are incinerated using 14-MeV neutrons produ ced by muon-catalyzed fusion (muCF) and a subcritical core composed of fission products and TRU. The 14-MeV neutrons produced by muCF are us ed to transmute Sr-90 (fission product) by the (n,2n) reaction. The ou tcoming neutrons from the Sr-90 cell transmute TR U through fission re actions and Tc-99 through (n,gamma) reactions. This fission energy is converted into electric energy to supply 4 Ge V-25 mA deuteron beam po wer, which is used to produce mu- mesons. We also evaluate the product ion of tritium that is consumed as a fuel for muCF The feasibility of the system was analyzed by the MCNP Monte Carlo neutron transport code . The results show that this system can be subcritical and can transmu te fission products and TRU with an incineration half-life of approxim ately 1 yr and that the deuteron beam energy and tritium fuel required to operate the system can be supplied within the system cycle itself.