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The busyness of the nuclear fuel supply chain
Ken Petersenpresident@ans.org
With all that is happening in the industry these days, the nuclear fuel supply chain is still a hot topic. The Russian assault in Ukraine continues to upend the “where” and “how” of attaining nuclear fuel—and it has also motivated U.S. legislators to act.
Two years into the Russian war with Ukraine, things are different. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, authorizing $700 million in funding to support production of high-assay low-enriched uranium in the United States. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy this January issued a $500 million request for proposals to stimulate new HALEU production. The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 includes $2.7 billion in funding for new uranium enrichment production. This funding was diverted from the Civil Nuclear Credits program and will only be released if there is a ban on importing Russian uranium into the United States—which could happen by the time this column is published, as legislation that bans Russian uranium has passed the House as of this writing and is headed for the Senate. Also being considered is legislation that would sanction Russian uranium. Alternatively, the Biden-Harris administration may choose to ban Russian uranium without legislation in order to obtain access to the $2.7 billion in funding.
Eugene Shwageraus, Pavel Hejzlar, Mujid S. Kazimi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 147 | Number 1 | July 2004 | Pages 53-68
Technical Paper | Thoria-Urania NERI | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3514
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An assessment is made of the potential for Th-based fuel to minimize Pu and minor actinide (MA) production in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Destruction rates and residual amounts of Pu and MA in the fuel used for transmutation are examined. In particular, sensitivity of these two parameters to the fuel lattice hydrogen to heavy metal (H/HM) ratio and to the fuel composition was systematically investigated. All burnup calculations were performed using CASMO4, the fuel assembly burnup code. The results indicate that up to 1000 kg of reactor-grade Pu can be burned in Th-based fuel assemblies per gigawatt (electric) year. Up to 75% of initial Pu can be destroyed per passage through reactor core. Addition of MA to the fuel mixture degrades the burning efficiency. The theoretically achievable limit for total transuranium (TRU) destruction per passage through the core is 50%. Efficient MA and Pu destruction in Th-based fuel generally requires a higher degree of neutron moderation and, therefore, higher fuel lattice H/HM ratio than typically used in the current generation of PWRs. Reactivity coefficients evaluation demonstrated the feasibility of designing a Th-Pu-MA fueled core with negative Doppler and moderator temperature coefficients. Introduction of TRU-containing fuels to a PWR core inevitably leads to lower control material worths and smaller delayed-neutron yields than with conventional UO2 cores. Therefore, a major challenge associated with the introduction of Th-TRU fuels to PWRs will be the design of the whole core and reactor control features to ensure safe reactor operation.