Simulation Calculation of the Utilization Rate of Uranium Resources on the ADANES Fuel Cycle

Abstract Accelerator Driven Advanced Nuclear Energy System (ADANES) is composed of Accelerator Driven subcritical System (ADS) burner and regeneration system of spent fuel, which can solve the challenging problems of low utilization efficiency of uranium resources and difficult safe disposal of spent fuel. The proportion of U-238 in spent fuel of pressurized water reactors is ∼95%, fission products are 3∼4%, and other actinide nuclides are 1∼2%. The regeneration system of spent fuel is mainly to eliminate part of fission products, including volatile, semi-volatile and rare earth nuclides, remaining nuclides to form regenerated spent fuel (mainly including actinides and other fission products). It does not perform fine separation. ADS burner can burn the regenerated spent fuel, so that ADANES can realize power generation, transmutation and proliferation for multiple fuel cycles. ADANES aims to increase the utilization rate of uranium resources to 95% and generate very little radioactive waste with a short radioactive life. At present, the preliminary principle verification device of the burner Chinese Initial ADS has been successfully applied and will be constructed in 2027. In this work, the neutron physics effects of these nuclides (volatile, semi-volatile and rare earth nuclides) on the ADS reactor core will be studied. The ADS burner can directly utilize regenerated spent fuel because of its powerful external neutron source. After removing 100% of volatile, semi-volatile and more than 50% of rare earth nuclides from the spent fuel of PWR, 3GWth ADS burner can burn the remaining spent fuel for 10∼20 years. The Keff of the reactor core will first increase to its peak and then continuously decrease, this is due to the production of plutonium-239, the consumption of uranium-235 and production and accumulation of neutron toxins. Under subcritical operating conditions of the reactor, the mass of U-235 will consume > 99% and U-238 will consume > 70% during 100 years. Meanwhile, a large amount of Pu-239 has also proliferated. The generated Pu-239 is equivalent to the consumed U-235. We attempt to calculate the number of cycles and fuel utilization on a feasible basis. Specific analysis was conducted on the requirements for initial Keff of ADS reactor core and accelerator beam intensity. More the 5 regeneration system and nuclear fuel cycle will be simulated. As the number of cycles increases, the utilization of U-238 will continue to increase. After all, there will be more and more fission products accumulated in spent fuel, which will affect the burnup level.