As an alternative approach to the transmutation of Np, Am, and Cm in fast power reactors, the use of a specialized facility is considered, which includes a molten-salt burner reactor and module for fuel reprocessing and fabrication. Based on the requirements for the consumer properties of the installation, a comparative analysis of transmutation for LiF–NaF–KF and LiF–BeF2 salts was performed. Calculations of the transmutation characteristics were performed for model systems. The computational results show the advantages of a reactor based on the LiF–NaF–KF salt on account of the higher solubility of actinide fluorides. For a given transmutation capacity, a burner reactor based on LiF–NaF–KF consumes several-fold less power-grade plutonium, right up to its absence in the equilibrium regime, as well as lower thermal power and lower production of fission products. Of note is a particular aspect of the molten-salt incinerator reactor that is associated with the accumulation of even-numbered plutonium isotopes during its operation whereby the plutonium extracted from the facility is actually converted into long-lived radioactive waste.
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Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 132, No. 4, pp. 195–200, April, 2022.
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Belonogov, M.N., Volkov, I.A., Modestov, D.G. et al. Comparative Analysis of Transmutation in a Burner Reactor Based on the Salts LiF–NaF–KF and LiF–BeF2. At Energy 132, 202–207 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-023-00928-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-023-00928-1