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Fusion Science and Technology
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Glass strategy: Hanford’s enhanced waste glass program
The mission of the Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (ORP) is to complete the safe cleanup of waste resulting from decades of nuclear weapons development. One of the most technologically challenging responsibilities is the safe disposition of approximately 56 million gallons of radioactive waste historically stored in 177 tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
ORP has a clear incentive to reduce the overall mission duration and cost. One pathway is to develop and deploy innovative technical solutions that can advance baseline flow sheets toward higher efficiency operations while reducing identified risks without compromising safety. Vitrification is the baseline process that will convert both high-level and low-level radioactive waste at Hanford into a stable glass waste form for long-term storage and disposal.
Although vitrification is a mature technology, there are key areas where technology can further reduce operational risks, advance baseline processes to maximize waste throughput, and provide the underpinning to enhance operational flexibility; all steps in reducing mission duration and cost.
R. W. Moir, N. N. Martovetsky, A. W. Molvik, D. D. Ryutov, T. C. Simonen
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 61 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 206-215
Fusion-Fission Hybrids and Transmutation | Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A13421
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Early application of the simple axisymmetric mirror, requiring intermediate performance between a neutron source for materials testing Q=Pfusion/Pinput ~0.05 and pure fusion Q>10, are the hybrid applications. The Axisymmetric Mirror has attractive features as a driver for a fusion-fission hybrid system: geometrical simplicity, as well as the typical mirror features of inherently steady-state operation, and natural divertors in the form of end tanks. This level of physics performance has the virtue of being low risk with only modest R&D needed; and its simplicity promises economy advantages. Operation at Q~1 allows for relatively low electron temperatures, in the range of 3 keV, for the DT injection energy ~ 80 keV from existing positive ion neutral beams designed for steady state. A simple mirror with the plasma diameter of 1 m and mirror-to-mirror length of 40 m is discussed. Simple circular steady state superconducting coils are based on 15 T technology development of the ITER central solenoid. Three groups of physics issues are presented: axial heat loss, MHD stability, and microstability of sloshing ions.Burning fission reactor wastes by fissioning transuranics in the hybrid will multiply fusion's neutron energy by a factor of ~10 or more and diminish the Q needed to overcome the cost of recirculating power for good economics to less than 2 and for minor actinides with multiplication over 50 to Q~0.2. Hybrids that obtain revenues from sale of both electricity and production of fissile fuel with fissioning blankets might need Q<2 while suppressing fissioning might be the most economical application of fusion but will require Q>4.