Research on transmutation and accelerator-driven systems at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe

Transmutation is considered a promising technology worldwide for significan tly reducing the amount and, thereby, the long-term radiotoxicity of high a ctive waste (HAW) produced by the operation of nuclear power plants such as light water reactors (LWR). The maximum reduction of radiotoxicity could b e by a factor of about 100. Transmutation is thus an alternative to the dir ect deposition of large volumes of highly radioactive waste. Transmutation presents the possibility of closing the fuel cycle including the minor acti nides. Plutonium, minor actinides and long-lived fission products can be tr ansmuted in a so called Accelerator Driven Sub-critical System (ADS), which consists of an accelerator, a target module and a subcritical blanket. This paper describes the work performed at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe whic h is critically evaluating an ADS mainly with respect to its potential for transmuting minor actinides, to its feasibility and to safety aspects. The work is being done in the area of core design, neutronics, safety, system a nalyses, materials and corrosion.