Open AccessSURVEY OF LOW ENRICHMENT MOLTEN-SALT REACTORS
Author(s) -
H. G. Macpherson
Publication year - 1958
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/4143508
Subject(s) - uranium , enriched uranium , liquid fluoride thorium reactor , fuel cycle , graphite , thorium fuel cycle , molten salt , molten salt reactor , nuclear engineering , fuel element failure , spent nuclear fuel , waste management , environmental science , radiochemistry , materials science , chemistry , nuclear reactor core , nuclear chemistry , metallurgy , mox fuel , engineering
A rough survey of the nuclear charactenistics of graphite-moderated molten-salt reactors utilizing an initial complement of low enrichment uranium fuel has been made. Reactors can be constructed with initial enrichinents as low as 1.25% U-235; initial conversion ratios of as high as 0.8 can be obtained with enrichinent of less than 2%. Highly enriched uraninm would be added as make-up fuel, and such reactors could probably be operated for bunnups as high as 60,000 Mwd/ton before buildup of fission preducts wpuld make replacement of the fuel desirable. A typical circulating fuel reactor of this class might contain an initial inventory of 3600 tons of 1.8% enriched uranium, operated at 640 Mw (thermal), and generate a net of 260 Mw (electrical). The total fuel cycle cost would be approximately 1.3 mills/kwhr, of which 1.0 mill is bunnup of enniched U- 235. (auth