A Study on the optimized fuel cycle systems during the transition period from LWR era to FBR era

Ojima, Hisao; Hayashi, Naoto; Nagai, Toshihisa ; Fujita, Yuji ; Kawata, Tomio

This paper mentions a preliminary evaluation on the typical LWR-to-FBR transition scenarios. Deployment rate of FBRs is strongly connected with replacement rate of LWRs, however, the transition should be seen as a matter of the optimization of fuel cycle systems. Based on the Pu balance evaluation, it seems definitely necessary to save an adequate amount of LWR spent fuels before beginning the deployment of FBRs. The mission of the second LWR fuel reprocessing plant in Japan will most provably be to feed Pu needed for starting up new FBRs. Along with the Pu utilization, especially as LWR-MOX fuel, the accumulation of minor actinides(MAs) in the high-level radioactive waste will become dominant and finally result in larger number of vitrified HLW because of heat generation from MAs. MA recovery cycle combined with the FBR will gives successful solution on this matter. Requirements on the next generation reprocessing plant, which corresponds to the transition scenario, are studied and innovative concept named