Breeder Reactors

Alexander, L G

doi:10.1146/annurev.ns.14.120164.001443

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In some studies, fuel utilization characteristics such as inventory (or specific inventory), breeding (or conversion) ratio, resource utilization efficiency, burn-up (or net burn-up), neutron economy, and doubling time [36,43,[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62] were a focal point of the economic analysis of thorium-based fuels in a reactor.…”

Section: Nuclear Economics Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other studies [43,[62][63][64], fuel cycle costing analysis was used for conducting preliminary analysis in evaluating fuel concepts. When comparing different thorium-based fuels in different reactors there were also other studies [26,65,66] that were more extensive and provided total power generation costs (and total unit energy costs), which included cost components such as reactor (or capital) costs, insurance, and operation and maintenance costs in addition to fuel costs-though some studies would only focus on reactor and fuel costs.…”

Section: Nuclear Economics Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A reactor's potential for generating new fissile isotopes is measured by a conversion ratio, sometimes referred to as a breeding ratio [41][42][43]. In the nuclear fuel cycle literature [42], a reactor with a conversion ratio <1 is referred to as a converter or burner, whereas a reactor with a conversion ratio >1 is referred to as a breeder.…”

Section: Improved Resource Utilization With Thorium and Breedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A Canadian Perspective of the Economic Issues Associated With Deploying Thorium-Based Fuel Cycles and Breeding in Heavy-Water Reactors

España

Bromley

2019

CNL Nuclear Review

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To meet future global needs for energy and green technology, it is prudent to identify energy sources and technology that may potentially be economically beneficial. Thorium-based fuels with nuclear technology, such as the Canadian heavy-water reactor, have been proposed as a way to meet those global needs, though economic challenges persist in deploying thorium-based fuels. Therefore, economic strategies to overcome the economic challenges in deploying thorium-based fuels are needed. To identify potential strategies for advancing the deployment of thorium-based fuels, this paper conducts a historical examination of the economics of thorium fuel cycles to identify economic factors that can influence a country’s development of thorium-based fuel cycles. In particular, this paper reviews the economic issues associated with Canada’s experience in deploying thorium-based fuel cycles. The study finds that the existence of natural resources and the associated price, a nuclear fuel cycle’s costs, a country’s international trade balance position and economic growth policies, the profitability of the electrical power and nuclear industry, and the technical and economical characteristics of the nuclear reactor developed in a country may all influence the adoption of a thorium-based fuel cycle. Furthermore, recent advancements in developing thorium-based fuel cycles are suggested as a possible way of bridging the technical and economic gap between near-term and long-term implementation of thorium-based fuel cycles that may overcome current economic challenges.

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