Fuel cycle scenarios and back-end technologies of HTGR in Japan

Fukaya, Yuji; Goto, Minoru; Shibata, Taiju

IAEA-TECDOC-2040, p.133 - 136, 2023/12

https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/TE-2040web.pdf

Japan has developed back-end technologies to establish a multi-recycling fuel cycle with fast breeder reactors (FBRs) to ensure energy resources. Even though the development of FBR has been retreated to one of fundamental research, the reprocessing technologies for uranium fuel and disposal technologies had been completed for Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel cycle on the process. These technologies were inherited to utilities and are about to be practical. Now, Japan had been completed High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) a prototype and research reactor, a commercial High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) design Gas Turbine High Temperature Reactor 300 (GTHTR300) with related reprocessing technologies, and is planning domestic demonstration reactor project. In this context, a representative fuel cycle policy is reprocessing in Japan. However, Japan has investigated various fuel cycle scenarios to expand the usage of the commercial HTGR. Then, we would like to introduce the scenarios and development status of related technologies in the present study.