transmutation, development of advanced fuel for transmutation, R&D activities
related to the heavy liquid metal technology, innovative structural materials, and
nuclear data measurement. This approach resulted in a European strategy, the
so-called four building blocks at engineering level for P&T, as given next. The
implementation of P&T of a large part of the high-level nuclear wastes in Europe
needs the demonstration of its feasibility at an “engineering” level. The respective
R&D activities could be arranged in these four “building blocks,” as listed next:
1. Demonstration of the capability to process a sizable amount of spent fuel from
commercial LWRs to separate plutonium (Pu), uranium (U), and minor actinides
(MA),
2. Demonstration of the capability to fabricate, at a semi-industrial level, the
dedicated fuel needed to load in a dedicated transmuter (JRC-ITU)
3. Design and construction of one or more dedicated transmuters
4. Provision of a specific installation for processing of the dedicated fuel unloaded
from the transmuter, which can be of a different type than that used to process
the original spent fuel unloaded from commercial power plants, together with
the fabrication of new dedicated fuel
These “blocks will” result in identification of the costs and benefits of partitioning
and transmutation for European society.
7.2 MYRRHA: A Flexible Fast-Spectrum Irradiation
Facility
MYRRHA (Multi-purpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications) is
the flexible experimental accelerator-driven system (ADS) in development at
SCK•CEN. MYRRHA is able to work both in subcritical (ADS) and in critical
mode. In this way, MYRRHA targets the following applications catalogue:
• To demonstrate the ADS full concept by coupling the three components (accelerator, spallation target, and subcritical reactor) at reasonable power level (50–
100 MW th ) to allow operation feedback, scalable to an industrial demonstrator;
• To allow the study of the efficient technological transmutation of high-level
nuclear waste, in particular, minor actinides that would require high fast flux
intensity (Φ >0.75MeV ¼ 10
15 n/cm
2 s);
• To be operated as a flexible fast-spectrum irradiation facility allowing for
– Fuel developments for innovative reactor systems, which need irradiation rigs
with a representative flux spectrum, a representative irradiation temperature,
and high total flux levels (Φ tot ¼ 5 · 10
14 to 10
15 n/cm
2 s); the main target will
be fast-spectrum GEN IV systems, which require fast-spectrum conditions;
– Material developments for GEN IV systems, which need large irradiation
volumes with high uniform fast flux level (Φ >1 MeV ¼ 1 ~ 5 · 10
14 n/cm
2 s) in
62
H.A. Abderrahim
related to the heavy liquid metal technology, innovative structural materials, and
nuclear data measurement. This approach resulted in a European strategy, the
so-called four building blocks at engineering level for P&T, as given next. The
implementation of P&T of a large part of the high-level nuclear wastes in Europe
needs the demonstration of its feasibility at an “engineering” level. The respective
R&D activities could be arranged in these four “building blocks,” as listed next:
1. Demonstration of the capability to process a sizable amount of spent fuel from
commercial LWRs to separate plutonium (Pu), uranium (U), and minor actinides
(MA),
2. Demonstration of the capability to fabricate, at a semi-industrial level, the
dedicated fuel needed to load in a dedicated transmuter (JRC-ITU)
3. Design and construction of one or more dedicated transmuters
4. Provision of a specific installation for processing of the dedicated fuel unloaded
from the transmuter, which can be of a different type than that used to process
the original spent fuel unloaded from commercial power plants, together with
the fabrication of new dedicated fuel
These “blocks will” result in identification of the costs and benefits of partitioning
and transmutation for European society.
7.2 MYRRHA: A Flexible Fast-Spectrum Irradiation
Facility
MYRRHA (Multi-purpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications) is
the flexible experimental accelerator-driven system (ADS) in development at
SCK•CEN. MYRRHA is able to work both in subcritical (ADS) and in critical
mode. In this way, MYRRHA targets the following applications catalogue:
• To demonstrate the ADS full concept by coupling the three components (accelerator, spallation target, and subcritical reactor) at reasonable power level (50–
100 MW th ) to allow operation feedback, scalable to an industrial demonstrator;
• To allow the study of the efficient technological transmutation of high-level
nuclear waste, in particular, minor actinides that would require high fast flux
intensity (Φ >0.75MeV ¼ 10
15 n/cm
2 s);
• To be operated as a flexible fast-spectrum irradiation facility allowing for
– Fuel developments for innovative reactor systems, which need irradiation rigs
with a representative flux spectrum, a representative irradiation temperature,
and high total flux levels (Φ tot ¼ 5 · 10
14 to 10
15 n/cm
2 s); the main target will
be fast-spectrum GEN IV systems, which require fast-spectrum conditions;
– Material developments for GEN IV systems, which need large irradiation
volumes with high uniform fast flux level (Φ >1 MeV ¼ 1 ~ 5 · 10
14 n/cm
2 s) in
62
H.A. Abderrahim