ORNL-5388 - the Molten Salt Energy Technologies Web Site

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denatured reactors or by energy-center reactors.
provided a source of 233U for initial loading and makeup requirements, as well as a means
for disposing of the non-recyclable (in the dispersed reactors) plutonium. The significant
point of such a system is that no plutonium-containing fresh fuel circulates outside the
energy center. The plutonium contained in the spent fuel is returned to the center for
ultimate destruction.
The dispersed reactors in turn are
DENATURED FUEL ASSEMBLIES (NO Pu)
oRI?L-Iwc 77-1041
~KEUP ,y38
ENERGY
(U-233, U-238, T~-232) OXIDE
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/CENTER
[ BOUNDARY
DISPERSED REACTORS
-1 LWR
IRRADIATED
FUEL
, SPENT FUEL t~
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FABRICATION PU
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Pu TO U-233
TRANSMUTER
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TERM I NAL
STORAGE
IRRADIATED
FUEL
Fig. 2.2-1. Schematic Fuel Flow for Symbiotic System Consisting of an
Energy Center and Dispersed Reactors Operating on Denatured 233U Fuel.
One obvious concern regarding such a coupled system is the amount of power produced
by the dispersed systems relative to that produced in the energy center reactors.
power ratio,* defined a5 dispersed power generated relative to centralized power, can be
viewed as a parameter characterizing the practicality of the system.
ratio depends on the characteristics of the reactors actually utilized for the various
components and is considered in detail later in this report, certain generic statements
can be made. In a mature "safeguarded" plutonium cycle, the ratio would be zero since
all reactors would, of necessity, be located in energy centers. In the current open-ended
LEU cycles, this ratio is essentially infinite since current nuclear generating capacity
is dispersed via "naturally denatured" thermal systems. The denatured 233U cycle will fall
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* A1 so called ''energy support ratio."
The
While the power
.