Use of Gas-Cooled Fast Reactors for Recycling Spent Fuels

摘要

The TRU waste, which has a long-term radiation effect, can be almost completely burned in the GFR fuel cycle systems. For the one-tier option, the TRU waste is reduced by a factor of 100 compared to the once-through LWR fuel cycle. For the two-tier case with the same GFR core, the TRU waste is reduced by a factor of 200 compared to the once-through fuel cycle. Such a huge reduction in the TRU inventory will significantly mitigate the burden of geological repositories and proliferation risk. Natural uranium resources are also appreciably extended. Therefore the GFR core with an appropriate conversion ratio can provide alternative fuel cycle options that have great advantages for natural resources utilization and waste minimization.