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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Powering the future: How the DOE is fueling nuclear fuel cycle research and development
As global interest in nuclear energy surges, the United States must remain at the forefront of research and development to ensure national energy security, advance nuclear technologies, and promote international cooperation on safety and nonproliferation. A crucial step in achieving this is analyzing how funding and resources are allocated to better understand how to direct future research and development. The Department of Energy has spearheaded this effort by funding hundreds of research projects across the country through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP). This initiative has empowered dozens of universities to collaborate toward a nuclear-friendly future.
Debdas Biswas, Roy W. Rathbun, Si Young Lee, Melvin R. Buckner
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 121 | Number 1 | September 1995 | Pages 1-16
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE95-A24124
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Studies have been conducted to demonstrate that weapons-grade plutonium can be readily disposed of by utilizing it as a fuel in pressurized water reactors (PWR). The disposition can be achieved by first fabricating the weapons-grade plutonium into a mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel form and then irradiating it in either advanced or existing PWRs to a depleted level similar to commercial spent fuel. Preliminary neutronics studies pertaining to safety-related core design using 100% weapons-grade MOX fuel are presented. The results demonstrate the feasibility of a small plutonium disposition reactor of 600-MW(electric) capacity called the PDR600, a large plutonium disposition reactor of 1400-MW(electric) capacity called the PDR1400, and a typical four-loop modified Westinghouse reactor. Feasible loading patterns are obtained for the initial and equilibrium cycles using discrete borosilicate glass burnable absorbers and a heavy loading of zirconium diboride integral fuel burnable absorbers in every fuel rod. The preliminary core physics results include information on soluble boron concentration, peaking factors, Doppler and moderator reactivity coefficients, boron, xenon and control rod worths, shutdown margin and delayed neutron parameters. The core design for weapons-grade plutonium disposition can be achieved with minimum changes in the present safety and licensing criteria of advanced or existing PWRs.