Simple fuel cycle for molten salt reactors

摘要

Fuel for a molten salt fuelled nuclear reactor is prepared from spent nuclear fuel by removal of excess uranium, isolation of actinides by conversion to halides, reduction of the halides to metal and conversion of the metal to halide in such a way that noble metal fission products and group 1 and 2 elements are largely removed and lanthanide fission products are partially removed. This is performed by reducing the uranium content via volitilisation as a tetrahalide, under conditions where the plutonium, curium and americium remain as trihalides, which are then reduced to metals, and finally conversion of the resulting metals to halide salts for use in a molten salt reactor. Also provided is a means of recycling spent nuclear fuel by the addition of concentrated fissile isotopes coupled with reduction in concentration of uranium or other neutron absorbing but non fissile isotope in the reactor and removal of noble metal fission products.