Protected plutonium production - fundamentals and application to thorium cycle

'Protected Plutonium Production (P³)' has been proposed to enhance the proliferation resistance of plutonium by the transmutation of Minor Actinides (MAs). Adding the small amount of MAs such as ²³⁷Np or ²⁴¹Am with large neutron capture cross-section to the uranium fuel to enhance the production of ²³⁸Pu, which is high spontaneous fission neutron source to deteriorate the quality of the nuclear explosive and also has high decay heat to makes the process of the nuclear weapon manufacture and maintenance technologically difficult, is very effective for improving the isotopic barrier of the plutonium in the spent fuel in thermal reactors