Open AccessThe problem of large-scale production of plutonium-238 for autonomous energy sources
Author(s) -
А. Н. Шмелев,
Н. И. Гераскин,
G. G. Kulikov,
Е. Г. Куликов,
В. А. Апсэ,
В. Б. Глебов
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1689/1/012030
Subject(s) - neptunium , plutonium , isotope , neutron , radiochemistry , nuclear reactor core , plutonium 239 , neutron temperature , nuclear physics , physics , chemistry , fission
The article is devoted to the urgent problem of large-scale production of plutonium-238. Various starting isotopes and Pu-238 production schemes are analyzed. The isotope characteristics of the chain based on the starting Np-237 isotope are presented. It has been substantiated that the region of neutron resonant absorption for the isotope Np-237 is the preferred spectrum of its irradiation. It is proposed to form a region with a preferred neutron spectrum in the fast reactor core for irradiation of neptunium-237. The preferred spectrum is achieved by a heterogeneous target structure including neptunium-237 and a moderator with a high atomic weight (Pb, Pb-208, Bi, Pb-Bi eutectic). It is shown that when a moderator with a high atomic weight is used, it becomes possible to form an extensive region with the preferred spectrum. In conclusion, the main conditions for the large-scale production of isotopically pure Pu-238 in a fast reactor are formulated.