A review of nuclear waste transmutation using accelerator beams up to several GeV

conference paper

English

A review of transmutation rates of the unspent fuel elements like 238U, 239Pu and 237Np by way of (n,γ) and (n,f) reactions has been presented in the light of neutron economy using data of reaction rates measured in the neutron environments produced by a number of proton and deuteron beams at E+T experimental set up at JINR Dubna. Transmutation power of GAMMA-3 set up in case of 232Th and natU are measured at JINR is also reviewed. Results have also been compared with the data of similar experiments with different particle beams. A fast reactor is found to be better than a thermal reactor for transmutation by way of capture and fission reactions due to neutron economy, which can be even better in Accelerator driven subcritical systems particularly for incineration of 239Pu fissile fuel because of higher neutron flux and possibility to incinerate by way of (n,xn) type reactions.

Transmutation power; Nuclear waste; Accelerator beams; spectrum averaged cross-section; radiation damage

KUMAR, V.; KATOVSKÝ, K.; TUNDWAL, A.; SHARMA, M.

16. 5. 2016

Czech Technical University in Prague

Praha

978-1-5090-0907-7

Proceedings of the 2016 17th International Scientific Conference on Electric Power Engineering (EPE)

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