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Evaluation of the Breeding Performance of a NaCl-UCl-Based Reactor System

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  • Bruno Merk

    (School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, UK
    National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Warrington WA3 6AE, UK)

  • Anna Detkina

    (School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, UK)

  • Seddon Atkinson

    (School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, UK)

  • Dzianis Litskevich

    (School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, UK)

  • Gregory Cartland-Glover

    (Scientific Computing Department, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Daresbury Laboratory, SciTech Daresbury, Cheshire WA4 4AD, UK)

Abstract

The energy trilemma forms the key driver for the future of energy research. In nuclear technologies, molten salt reactors are an upcoming option which offers new approaches. However, the key would be closed fuel cycle operation which requires sufficient breeding for a self-sustained long term operation ideally based on spent fuel. To achieve these attractive goals two challenges have been identified: achieving of sufficient breeding and development of a demand driven salt clean up system. The aim is to follow up on previous work to create an initial approach to achieving sufficient breeding. Firstly, identification of a salt system with a high solubility for fertile material and sufficiently low melting point. Secondly, evaluation of the sensitivity of the breeding performance on the sort of fissile material, the fissile material loading, and the core dimension all based on a realistic salt system which provides the solubility for sufficient fertile material to achieve the required breeding in a homogeneous reactor without breeding blanket. Both points are essential to create an innovative solution to harvest the fruits of a closed fuel cycle without the penalty of the prohibitively huge investments. It is demonstrated that the identified and investigated NaCl-UCl based systems are feasible to deliver the requested in-core breeding within the given solubility limits of fertile material in the salt system using either uranium as start-up fissile component or plutonium. This result is enriched by the analysis of the achievable full power days per inserted mass of plutonium. These new insights support reactor optimization and lead to a first conclusion that systems with lower power density could be very attractive in the case of low fuel cost, like it would be given when operating on spent nuclear fuel.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruno Merk & Anna Detkina & Seddon Atkinson & Dzianis Litskevich & Gregory Cartland-Glover, 2019. "Evaluation of the Breeding Performance of a NaCl-UCl-Based Reactor System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-18, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:20:p:3853-:d:275596
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Merk, Bruno & Stanculescu, Alexander & Chellapandi, Perumal & Hill, Robert, 2015. "Progress in reliability of fast reactor operation and new trends to increased inherent safety," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 104-116.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bruno Merk & Anna Detkina & Dzianis Litskevich & Seddon Atkinson & Gregory Cartland-Glover, 2020. "The Interplay between Breeding and Thermal Feedback in a Molten Chlorine Fast Reactor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15, April.

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