Fuel breeding and waste burnup capabilities of an accelerator‐driven system using thorium and reprocessed fuels

Abstract

Summary Fuel breeding and waste actinide burnup capabilities of a lead‐cooled accelerator‐driven system were evaluated using thorium and reprocessed fuels. The subcritical core simulated was filled with a hexagonal lattice formed by 232ThO2 rods and reprocessed fuel rods. Four types of reprocessed fuel were studied: Group ActiNide EXtraction (GANEX) fuel spiked with 51% of thorium, GANEX fuel spiked with 51% of depleted uranium, Uranium Extraction Plus (UREX+) fuel spiked with 51% of thorium and UREX+ fuel spiked with 51% of depleted uranium. The results indicated that the use of thorium and reprocessed fuels allows thorium regeneration and reduction of the inventory of high radiotoxicity isotopes. The Monte Carlo code SERPENT 2.1.31 was used for the simulations.