Exploratory Design of a Reactor/Fuel Cycle Using Spent Nuclear Fuel Without Conventional Reprocessing - 13579

General Atomics has started design of a waste to energy nuclear reactor (EM2) that can use light water reactor (LWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF). This effort addresses two problems: using an advanced small reactor with long core life to reduce nuclear energy overnight cost and providing a disposal path for LWR SNF. LWR SNF is re-fabricated into new EM2 fuel using a dry voloxidation process modeled on AIROX/ OREOX processes which remove some of the fission products but no heavy metals. By not removing all of the fission products the fuel remains self-protecting. By not separating heavy metals, the process remains proliferation resistant. Implementation of Energy Multiplier Module (EM2) fuel cycle will provide low cost nuclear energy while providing a long term LWR SNF disposition path which is important for LWR waste confidence. With LWR waste confidence recent impacts on reactor licensing, an alternate disposition path is highly relevant. Centered on a reactor operating at 250 MWe, the compact electricity generating system design maximizes site flexibility with truck transport of all system components and available dry cooling features that removes the need to be located near a body of water. A high temperature system using helium coolant, electricity is efficiently produced using an asynchronous high-speed gas turbine while the LWR SNF is converted to fission products. Reactor design features such as vented fuel and silicon carbide cladding support reactor operation for decades between refueling, with improved fuel utilization. Beyond the reactor, the fuel cycle is designed so that subsequent generations of EM2 reactor fuel will use the previous EM2 discharge, providing its own waste confidence plus eliminating the need for enrichment after the first generation. Additional LWR SNF is added at each re-fabrication to replace the removed fission products. The fuel cycle uses a dry voloxidation process for both the initial LWR SNF re-fabrication and later for EM2 discharge reuse. The EM2 waste disposal profile is effectively only fission products, which reduces the mass (about 3% vs LWR), average half life, heat and long term radio-toxicity of the disposal. Widespread implementation of EM2 fuel cycle is highly significant as it would increase world energy reserves; the remaining energy in U.S. LWR SNF alone exceeds that in the U.S. natural gas reserves. Unlike many LWR SNF disposition concepts, the EM2 fuel cycle conversion of SNF produces energy and associated revenue such that the overall project is cost effective. By providing conversion of SNF to fission products the fuel cycle is closed and a non-repository LWR SNF disposition path is created and overall repository requirements are significantly reduced. (authors)