ithec’s approach toward nuclear waste transmutation and energy production with thorium
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iThEC’s Approach toward Nuclear Waste Transmutation and Energy Production with Thorium. Yacine Kadi Thorium Energy Conference 2013 Globe of Innovation, CERN, Switzerland October 31, 2013. Concerns on Conventional Nuclear Power Plants Safety. Accidents & Safety Nuclear Proliferation - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Yacine KadiThorium Energy Conference 2013
Globe of Innovation, CERN, SwitzerlandOctober 31, 2013
iThEC’s Approach toward Nuclear Waste Transmutation
andEnergy Production with Thorium
Concerns on Conventional Nuclear Power Plants Safety
Accidents & Safety Nuclear Proliferation
Accumulation of Radioactive Wastes Depletion of Uranium Resources
These problems need to be solved in order to be able to deploy nuclear power on a large scale
The path towards sustainability
Nuclearwaste
• 400 – 800 GWe Business as usual Open fuel cycle
• 1200 GWe by 2030 / 7000 GWe by 2050 Accelerated alternative
scenario Only made possible by closing
fuel cycle• Commercial demos
Th-ADS by 2030 International initiative iThEC
Key objective is to encourage• Transmutation of nuclear waste• Thorium power generation Actions : • Organising conferences, addressing political and economic circles, the
media and the public• Fostering links between academia and private sector Concrete steps :• September 2012: iThEC founded as a non-profit organisation in Geneva. • October 2013: Organization of ThEC13• Next step: by 2015 set up an international collaboration on an ADS for Thorium
power and waste transmutation
The role of iThEC
Partitioning &Transmutation
• P/T applies to TRU (Pu and Minor Actinides) and Long Lived Fission Products.
• It should be kept in mind that Plutonium is a special case: it can be considered as a valuable resource or part of the wastes.
• However, P/T technologies must apply to all fuel cycles.
• The objectives of GEN-IV include P/T (waste minimization), as consistent with sustainability and non-proliferation: it is the path towards “Advanced Fuel Cycles”.
• Implementation: currently related to Fast Reactor deployment. However, ADS is the only option for Minor Actinide elimination
Common Deployment Scenario
2020• Implementation of MA
partitioning• Waste minimization
(Vitrified FP)
Typical transmutation rates (~ 50 kg/TWh) using MA based fuels.
Doping with Pu will sensibly decrease the transmutation efficiency of such systems
MA Transmutation
Alternative Deployment Scenario
ADS LWR with reduced waste generation
232Th
Nuclearwaste
232Th+ 233U
STAGE 1 STAGE 2
Transmutation Rates
Reactivity Evolution of ThPu fuel
Three Stage Program in India
Thorium in Centre Stage
Development is Time-Consuming
Fast track by Integration of Consolidated Technologies … by 2030 !
UO2+PuO2
UO22+
PuO22+
Technology of pyrochemical
reprocessing of fuel
Technologies of fast reactors
with lead-bismuth coolant
High power accelerators technology
Liquid metal targets
technology
R&D in Europe
Lead or Lead-Bismuth studies• Eurotrans using the
many loop facilities existing in Europe
• Japan, India and China, all have lead or LBE loops,and are making significantprogress in corrosionissues (new materials, passivation methods, etc.)
STELLA LoopCEA CIRCE LoopENEA
TALL LoopKTH CIRCO LoopCIEMAT
CorrWett LoopPSI
VICE LoopSCK-CEN CHEOPE LoopENEA
J-PARC
China LBE loop: 550˚C, 6m3/h
India
(Shinian Fu, IHEP, Bejing
Worldwide ProgramsProject Neutron Source Core PurposeFEAT(CERN)
Proton (0.6 to 2.75 GeV)(~1010p/s)
Thermal (≈ 1 W) Reactor physics of thermal subcritical system (k≈0.9) with spallation source - done
TARC(CERN)
Proton (0.6 to 2.75 GeV)(~1010p/s)
Fast(≈ 1 W) Lead slowing down spectrometry and transmutation of LLFP - done
MUSE (France) DT (~1010n/s) Fast
(< 1 kW) Reactor physics of fast subcritical system - done
YALINA(Belorus) DT (~1010n/s) Fast
(< 1 kW) Reactor physics of thermal & fast subcritical system - done
MEGAPIE (Switzerland)
Proton (600 Me)+ Pb-Bi (1MW)
----- Demonstration of 1MW target for short period - done
TRADE (Italy)
Proton (140 MeV)+ Ta (40 kW)
Thermal(200 kW) Demonstration of ADS with thermal feedback - cancelled
TEF-P(Japan)
Proton (600 MeV)+ Pb-Bi (10W, ~1012n/s)
Fast(< 1 kW)
Coupling of fast subcritical system with spallation source including MA fuelled configuration - postponed
SAD(Russia)
Proton (660 MeV)+ Pb-Bi (1 kW)
Fast(20 kW) Coupling of fast subcritical system with spallation source - cancelled
TEF-T(Japan)
Proton (600 MeV)+ Pb-Bi (200 kW)
----- Dedicated facility for demonstration and accumulation of material data base for long term - postponed
MYRRHA(Belgium)
Proton (600 MeV)+ Pb-Bi (1.8 MW)
Fast(60 MW) Experimental ADS – under design
Th-ADS Demo Parameters
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Proton Driver Power
250 MeV*3 mA= 0.75 MWth
250 MeV*6 mA= 1.5 MWth
900 MeV*6 mA= 5.4 MWth
Gain G0 0.75 0.75 2.5
Sub-criticality level, k
0.95 0.975 0.975
Gain=Go/(1-k) 15 30 100
Thermal Power Output
11.25 MWth 45 MWth 540 MWth
• By 2015, iThEC aims to set up an international collaboration to build a Thorium ADS
• In the two years to come, iThEC will identify material and financial resources and competencies on a world-wide basis
• iThEC will invite interested parties to join in this common undertaking
The iThEC Initiative
Concluding remarks
• Accelerator-driven systems offers a unique level of safety, which give operational flexibility to future systems for safe and clean energy production and waste transmutation
• Present accelerator technology offers the possibility of closing the thorium fuel cycle. The Energy Amplifier is one of the examples with high potentialiThEC aims to promote the deployment of
these technologies
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Thank YouYacine Kadi
iThEC