Nuclear Fuel Cycle II
PhDr. Tomáš Vlček, Ph.D.
International Relations and Energy Security
Department of International Relations and European Studies
Nuclear Fuel Cycle
4
The Middle Part
When and where took the first chain
reactions in nuclear reactor place?
When and where was the first nuclear
reactor connected to the electricity grid?
When and where took the first chain
reactions in nuclear reactor place?
December 20, 1951, at the Experimental
Breeder Reactor EBR-I in Arco, Idaho,
USA
When and where was the first nuclear
reactor connected to the electricity grid?
June 26, 1954, at Obninsk, Russia, the
nuclear power plant APS-1 with a net
electrical output of 5 MW
World reactor fleet 2017
 413 operating reactors
 31 countries
 50 under construction
◦ 16 in China, 5 in Russia, 7 in India
◦ 4 in S. Korea, 4 in UAE
Nuclear power plants
Nuclear power plants in commercial operation
Reactor type
Main
Countries
Number GWe Fuel Coolant Moderator
Pressurised
Water Reactor
(PWR)
US, France,
Japan, Russia,
China
271 270.4 enriched UO2 water water
Boiling Water
Reactor (BWR)
US, Japan,
Sweden
84 81.2 enriched UO2 water water
Pressurised
Heavy Water
Reactor
'CANDU'
(PHWR)
Canada 48 27.1 natural UO2 heavy water heavy water
Gas-cooled
Reactor (AGR
& Magnox)
UK 17 9.6
natural U
(metal),
enriched UO2
CO2 graphite
Light Water
Graphite
Reactor (RBMK
& EGP)
Russia 11 + 4 10.4 enriched UO2 water graphite
Fast Neutron
Reactor (FBR)
Russia 1 0.6 PuO2 and UO2 liquid sodium none
TOTAL 436 399.3
Nuclear Fission
PWR Reactor
Loop = Reactor + Main Circulation Pump + Steam Generator
Compensators = electric heaters + water showers
PWR Reactor
Chernobyl NPP, UKR
Dukovany NPP, CZE
Dukovany NPP
Dukovany NPP
Zwentendorf NPP, AUT
Novovoronezh NPP, RF
Obninsk NPP, RF
BWR Reactor
PHW Reactor
 Generally the same structure as PWR
 Heavy water (nor radioactive) absorbs less neutrons,
thus is able both to moderate nuclear reaction and
secure criticality = non-enriched fuel can be used
 Fission chain reaction consumes only uranium isotope 235U.
 Used fuel contains approximately a quarter of the original
value of this isotope, thus still remains enriched to about 1%
235U.
 The fuel consists of more
than 96% uranium dioxide (UO2)
and newly developed
plutonium dioxide (PuO2)
in an amount of about 1%,
and other compounds (3%),
while most of the fission
products are radioactive
isotopes.
33
Back End
MOX Fuel
 Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel provides almost 5% of the
new nuclear fuel used today.
 MOX fuel is manufactured from plutonium
recovered from used reactor fuel, mixed with
depleted uranium.
 MOX fuel also provides a means of burning
weapons-grade plutonium (from military sources)
to produce electricity.
MOX Fuel
MOX Fuel
World mixed oxide fuel fabrication capacities (t/yr)
2009 2020
France, Melox 195 195
Japan, Tokai 10 10
Japan, Rokkasho 0 130
Russia, Mayak, Ozersk 5 5
Russia, Zheleznogorsk 0 60?
UK, Sellafield 40 0
Total for LWR 250 400
Fast Neutron Reactors
 About 400 reactor-years of operating experience have
been accumulated to the end of 2010.
 A fast neutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a
category of nuclear reactor in which the fission chain
reaction is sustained by fast neutrons.
 Such a reactor needs no neutron moderator, but must
use fuel that is relatively rich in fissile material when
compared to that required for a thermal reactor.
 Fuel consists of U-235, Pu-239 (products of fission with
higher radiation) that produce more fast neutrons =
waste from Gen II and III reactors is used
Fast Neutron Reactors (BN 800)
Fast Neutron Reactors
Fast Neutron Reactors
Back-end of Nuclear Fuel Cycle
 In the first phase, the fuel is actively cooled in a pool next to
the reactor. After five-ten years they are put into dry
containers and passively cooled in interim storages.
 Dukovany NPP annually produces less than one container of
spent fuel. Temelin NPP annually produces two full
containers of used fuel.
 The dry interim storage facility is constructed to store fuel for
about 80 years.
 The second phase, i.e. transport phase, is/will be provided
by rail.
 The third phase is the underground geological repository
Back-end of Nuclear Fuel
Cycle
Is it safe to swim in the spent fuel pool?
Is it safe to swim in the spent fuel pool?
https://what-if.xkcd.com/29/
47
48
Open vs. Closed Cycle
Types of waste
(1)negligibly hazardous waste (not considered a risk to humans
or the environment, e.g. material after the demolition of
nuclear power plants)
(2)slightly hazardous waste (produced for example in hospitals,
pharmacies, some manufacturing processes, and in some
parts of the nuclear fuel cycle, this waste does not require
casing and can be placed into surface storages)
(3)moderately hazardous wastes (e.g. contaminated material
after the demolition of the reactor of the NPP, the waste may
require cladding and shielding)
(4)highly hazardous waste (spent fuel, it is essential to shield and
cool it)
49
Surface storage is needed for at least 40-50 years, after which
the temperature and the radioactivity drops to a level that is
acceptable for underground geological repository with limited or
no access of cooling.
Geological surveys and technical plans are fairly advanced in
Sweden and Finland, which have a defined location. U.S.
repository should be built at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, but the
decision was postponed.
Variants of Storage
- Underground
- Space
- Long-term surface storage