Protected Plutonium Production in Fast Breeder Reactor: Attractiveness of Plutonium

摘要

Super weapon grade plutonium could be produced in the blanket of a conventional Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR). By increasing the ~(238)Pu ratio in the total plutonium through minor actinides (MA) doping into the fresh blanket fuel, protected plutonium with high proliferation- resistance can be produced [1,2]. A new evaluation function, attractiveness, defined as a ratio of potential of fission yield to the technological difficulties of nuclear explosive device, is generally proposed to evaluate the proliferation resistance of Pu based on the nuclear material property [3]. In the present paper, the possibility of protected plutonium production by transmutation of MA and attractiveness of the Pu produced in the blanket of fast breeder reactor are discussed.