PLENTIFUL ENERGY

CONTENTS
FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER 1 ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY AND THE INTEGRAL FAST REACTOR ......1
1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 2
1.2 Argonne National Laboratory ...................................................................................... 7
1.3 National Nuclear Power Development ...................................................................... 11
1.4 Beginnings: The Early History of Argonne and Argonne Reactor Development ....... 16
1.5 Fast Breeder Reactor Technology at Argonne: The Early Years, 1946 to 1964 ......... 20
1.6 Argonne in the "Shaw Years" of Reactor Development, 1965-1973 ......................... 29
1.7 The Decade of FFTF and CRBR ................................................................................... 34
1.8 Summary .................................................................................................................... 36
CHAPTER 2 THE INTEGRAL FAST REACTOR INITIATIVE .................................................. 39
2.1 Beginnings .................................................................................................................. 39
2.2 The Integral Fast Reactor Initiative ............................................................................ 41
2.3 Assembling the Pieces ............................................................................................... 44
2.4 Termination of the IFR Program ................................................................................ 47
2.5 Accomplishments and Status of the Integral Fast Reactor Initiative......................... 49
2.6 Summary .................................................................................................................... 51
CHAPTER 3 THE ARGONNE EXPERIENCE ....................................................................... 52
3.1 The Argonne Experience (Till) .................................................................................... 52
3.2 The Argonne Experience (Chang) .............................................................................. 69
3.3 Summary .................................................................................................................... 76
CHAPTER 4 IN THE BACKGROUND ................................................................................ 78
4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 78
4.2 Energy Today ............................................................................................................. 83
4.3 National Energy Considerations ................................................................................ 85
4.4 The Relative Rarity of Carbon-Based Resources ........................................................ 86
4.5 Uranium Is the Key to an Orderly Transition ............................................................. 91
4.6 The Importance of China in All Such Discussions ...................................................... 95
4.7 The Energy Picture in Total ........................................................................................ 97
4.8 Summary .................................................................................................................. 100
CHAPTER 5 CHOOSING THE TECHNOLOGY.................................................................. 102
5.1 Aims and Considerations ......................................................................................... 102
5.2 The Fuel Choice ........................................................................................................ 104
5.3 The Coolant Choice .................................................................................................. 108
5.4 The Reactor Configuration Choice ........................................................................... 109
5.5 The Spent Fuel Processing Choice ........................................................................... 111
5.6 Summary .................................................................................................................. 114
v