Role of ADS in the back-end of the fuel cycle strategies and associated design activities: The case of Japan

• Published in: Journal of nuclear materials Vol. 415; no. 3; pp. 229 - 236
• Main Authors: Oigawa, Hiroyuki, Tsujimoto, Kazufumi, Nishihara, Kenji, Sugawara, Takanori, Kurata, Yuji, Takei, Hayanori, Saito, Shigeru, Sasa, Toshinobu, Obayashi, Hironari
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 31-08-2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Controled nuclear fusion plants; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Fission nuclear power plants; Fuels; Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy; Nuclear fuels; Japan; Radioactive waste; Fuel cycle; High level radioactive waste; Research and development; Light water reactor; Nuclear reactor; Waste management; Subcritical reactor; Actinide; Nuclear energy; Hybrid reactor; Nuclear power plant; Eutectic; Fast breeder; Transmutation; Bismuth; Fast reactor; Safety; Reliability
• ISSN: 0022-3115; 1873-4820
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2011.04.032

Reduction of burden caused by radioactive waste management is one of the most critical issues for the sustainable utilization of nuclear power. The Partitioning and Transmutation (P&T) technology provides the possibility to reduce the amount of the radiotoxic inventory of the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) dramatically and to extend the repository capacity. The accelerator-driven system (ADS) is regarded as a powerful tool to effectively transmute minor actinides (MAs) in the “double-strata” fuel cycle strategy. The ADS has a potential to flexibly manage MA in the transient phase from light water reactors (LWRs) to fast breeder reactors (FBRs), and can co-exist with FBR symbiotically and complementarily to enhance the reliability and the safety of the commercial FBR cycle. The concept of ADS in JAEA is a lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE) cooled, tank-type subcritical reactor with the power of 800
MWth driven by a 30
MW superconducting LINAC. By such an ADS, 250
kg of MA can be transmuted annually, which corresponds to the amount of MA produced in 10 units of LWR with 1
GWe. The design study was performed mainly for the subcritical reactor and the spallation target with a beam window. In Japan, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) has implemented the check and review (C&R) on P&T technology from 2008 to 2009. In the C&R, the benefit of P&T technology, the current status of the R&D, and the way forward to promote it were discussed.