Design windows for accelerator driven pebble-bed transmutators

Nuclear waste transmutation can be achieved by different strategies. In this paper, the studies are focused in the 'Once Through' scenario, consisting in the nuclear waste transmutation until a maximum burnup (BU) is achieved. After transmutation, the fuel elements can be disposed in a Deep Storage Facility (DSF.) The main advantage of this strategy is that only one reprocess step is necessary. The drawback of this strategy consists mainly in the need of a fuel element design capable of withstanding very high burn-ups. It has been demonstrated that pebbles fuel elements in a pebble bed reactor design can withstand 700 MWd/Kg BU. This reactor presents the possibility of attainment different neutron spectrum with different fuel element designs, presents good safety characteristics, and the possibility of replacing the fuel elements easily inside the reactor (necessary for recycling strategies.) The transmutation process can be achieved in two steps. The first one, as a critical reactor, and the second one, as a subcritical assembly driven by an accelerator. In this paper, the optimum spectrum for the 'Once Through' strategy is presented, and some safety characteristics of the subcritical assembly are introduced. (authors)