The FuTure oF nuclear Fuel cycle - MIT Energy Initiative

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Chapter 10 — Recommended Analysis, Research, Development, and Demonstration Programs Our analysis of the future of the nuclear fuel cycle has been carried out in the context of a potential global nuclear power deployment over this century on a much larger scale than is the case today. Stringent limits on CO 2 emissions would greatly enhance the importance of nuclear power as a large-scale alternative to fossil fuel combustion. Our recommendations are geared towards enabling nuclear power as a viable marketplace option. Criteria and GoalS Analysis, research, development, and demonstration (ARD&D) must play an important role if nuclear power is to be economically competitive while further enhancing safety performance commensurate with an order of magnitude larger deployment, addressing waste management challenges in a scientifically grounded manner that provides public confidence, and mitigating nuclear proliferation risks associated with fuel cycle development globally. The ARD&D priorities should be driven by the strategic needs identified throughout our study. The ARD&D program goal is to provide the technical basis for critical decision points in fuel cycle development, choices that have multi-decadal implications. Multiple technology options call for R&D prior to making very expensive large-scale demonstration decisions that lock in fuel cycle development pathways. A disciplined ARD&D program aligned with strategic objectives will be a necessary condition for stability over the decadal time scale needed for major progress in the nuclear reactor and fuel cycle domain. The results of our analysis that underpin the ARD&D recommendations include: p There is ample affordable uranium for nuclear power expansion throughout this century. p LWRs will be the workhorse of the nuclear fleet for decades. p Long term storage of irradiated LWR fuel, with a century planning horizon, is the preferred approach. This can be done safely at the reactor, a centralized facility, or in a repository that allows future spent nuclear fuel retrievability. p Geological isolation of SNF and/or HLW will ultimately be employed and is scientifically sound. p Waste management will be facilitated by better classification of all waste streams and by development of waste forms tailored to the disposal pathway. chapter 10. recommended analysis, research, development, and demonstration Programs 133
p Waste management must be integrated with the design of the fuel cycle. This creates new options such as partitioning/reprocessing of irradiated fuel that may enhance waste management and public acceptance. p There are multiple options for advanced reactor/closed fuel cycle choices, and these options need research and analysis that enables timely marketplace decisions. p End-to-end nuclear fuel cycle costs must be competitive with the future costs of other low-carbon options if deployment is to scale appreciably. p Institutional and technical advances are needed to minimize fuel cycle proliferation risks. Table 10.1 Fuel Cycle Objectives and Potential RD&D Implications obJeCtiveS economics Safety and Security Waste Management resource availability & utilization non-proliferation & Safeguards potential impliCationS 1. reactor life extension beyond 60 years (may be lowest cost option) 2. high efficiency reactors 3. advanced technologies for lWrs with enhanced performance, thus building upon existing industrial base 4. Modular reactors for specialized markets, more favorable financing conditions, or industrial heat (displacing fossil fuels). 5. efficient regulatory process for a wider class of reactors than large lWrs 1. Super fuel forms that withstand severe conditions with reduced safety challenges for reactors (but make recycle more difficult) 2. Wider use of information technology for plant safety and operations 3. coupled reprocessing-repository facilities to reduce process risks 1. Tailored waste forms/ advanced fuel designs for disposal 2. Special management of actinides or long-lived fission products novel separations with waste stream minimization Transmutation—waste destruction Borehole disposal 3. repository with multi-century retrievability 4. collocated fuel cycle facilities to maximize local benefits 1. uranium resource assessment 2. uranium from seawater 3. Fast spectrum reactors with open, modified, or closed fuel cycle 4. repository with retrievable SnF 1. avoidance of high-enriched uranium and separated plutonium e.g., Fast reactors fueled with natural uranium after startup/no reprocessing 2. Borehole disposal of Tru 3. advanced safeguards Each of these defines part of the overall high-priority ARD&D agenda. A high level summary of some of the implications is provided in Table 10.1. The very limited amount of fuel cycle R&D carried out in the U.S. over the last quarter century has centered on technology pathways established early in the nuclear power development program (see Appendix E). In moving forward, a broader set of options needs to be explored in the spirit of technology tradeoffs within multi-objective fuel cycle design. 134 MIT STudy on The FuTure oF nuclear Fuel cycle
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Other Reports in This Series The Fu
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MIT Nuclear Fuel Cycle Study Adviso
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vi MIT STudy on The FuTure oF nucle
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viii MIT STudy on The FuTure oF nuc
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Study Findings and Recommendations
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Recommendation We recommend that a
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p Innovative nuclear energy applica
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p In line with many of our R&D reco
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The “once through” or open fuel
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have been implemented slowly. This
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Recommendation We recommend that th
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oped policies for specific wastes r
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nuClear Fuel CyCleS The united Stat
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- The primary differences were in t
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Recommendation Integrated system st
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Table 1.2 Summary of R&D Recommenda
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18 MIT STudy on The FuTure oF nucle
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the once-through Fuel Cycle for lig
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tricity costs. Waste management cos
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Figure 2.3 partial recycle of lWr S
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history of the nuclear Fuel Cycle B
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• What is the impact of timing of
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nuclear fuel cycles, the wastes (SN
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Because ore demand is closely coupl
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eStimatinG Future CoStS oF uranium
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Figure 3.3 relative uranium Cost vs
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Figure 3.4 100 year price trend for
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Stockpiling If supply interruption
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CitationS and noteS 1. Uranium 2007
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If SNF is to be shipped, typically
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a policy that maintains fuel cycle
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Dry cask storage is used for short
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For decommissioned sites, our econo
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with its attractiveness of jobs and
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2. The United States should create
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Table 5.1 United States Waste Class
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table 5.3 examples of operational G
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Waste Isolation Pilot Plant The uni
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Successful repository programs are
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designed with limited SNF storage c
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CitationS and noteS 1. A Handbook f
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energy spectrum centered at higher
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light Water reactor Fuel technical
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(fertile-free) to CR=1.0 (break-eve
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license. However, fuel reprocessing
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Figure 6.4 densification Factors as
Page 99 and 100: As expected, the breeder installed
Page 101 and 102: Figure 6.8 shows the development of
Page 103 and 104: Table 6.8 Uranium Cost in $/kg, Sta
Page 105 and 106: Figure 6.11 location of the tru inv
Page 107 and 108: SenSitivity analySiS: alternative a
Page 109 and 110: Fast reactor technical Characterist
Page 111 and 112: cooled fast reactor (SFR) fueled by
Page 113 and 114: Summary oF ConCluSionS Among the in
Page 115 and 116: [hoffman et al., 2006] e.a. hoffman
Page 117 and 118: This chapter reports the cost of th
Page 119 and 120: Table 7.1 Input Parameter Assumptio
Page 121 and 122: Twice-Through Cycle Table 7.3 shows
Page 123 and 124: Table 7.4 The LCOE for the Fast Rea
Page 125 and 126: higher cost of disposal of the spen
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Page 129 and 130: power program might be used, as is
Page 131 and 132: Figure 8.1 Weapons-usability Charac
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Page 137 and 138: in technology innovation are likely
Page 139 and 140: Reprocessing choices Commercial rep
Page 141 and 142: Table 8.2 Safeguard Technical Objec
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Page 149: who are very concerned with global
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Page 159 and 160: There are large financial and polic
Page 161 and 162: Figure 3A.2 shows the results. As c
Page 163 and 164: Figure A.3 plots Eq (2), where adva
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Page 169 and 170: Figure 3b.1 Cumulative probability
Page 173 and 174: Figure 5a.1 decay of radioactivity
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Page 177 and 178: Repository Engineering All reposito
Page 179 and 180: epreSentative repoSitory deSiGnS: u
Page 181 and 182: orehole diSpoSal There are three me
Page 185 and 186: table 7a.1 list of variables , 1 lc
Page 187 and 188: The Twice-Through Cycle The LCOE fo
Page 189 and 190: A proper representation of the chai
Page 191 and 192: In the Twice-Through Cycle, the pai
Page 193 and 194: table 7a.2 once-through Fuel Cycle
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Page 197 and 198: CitationS and noteS 1. The methodol
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p Analogous to plutonium. Plutonium
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In case self-protection of U-232 da
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Figure a.3 Schematic view of Sbu an
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190 MIT STudy on The FuTure oF nucl
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eaCtor teChnoloGieS Nuclear power e
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via 239 Pu and 240 Pu, and then the
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urnups, but the gap between the nec
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(~700°C) with higher thermal-to-el
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There are several unique consequenc
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performance goals can be achieved.
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is that it will be many decades bef
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system [1]. The nuclear power plant
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The HTRs can be used to provide hig
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[http://nextgenerationnuclearplant.
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CitationS and noteS Brinkmann, H. U
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The analysis is based on the assump
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considerations discussed above. We
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In our analysis we make the explici
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Figure d.4 transmutation Consequenc
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Figure d.5 breeder Consequences LWR
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facilities. These concerns are the
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Technological applicability Geologi
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It must be noted, that net risks an
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p Once-through fast reactor fuel. T
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Table E.1 Recycling Plant Functions
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Table E.3 Conventional Fuel Fabrica
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eactor. A summary of inputs from in
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