Hard spectrum STFR (Spray Type Fast Reactor) cooled by water at 7.5 MPa

A new concept of fast reactor, i.e. the STFR (Spray Type Fast Reactor), is proposed here to perform high burn-up of UO2 fuel or MOX fuel by the use of BWR technology, and to improve the back-end process of discharged fuel. STFR can be realized by some important changes of BWR system, at 7.50 MPa. In case of STFR, heat produced in the core is removed by the evaporation of sprayed hot water jetted to fuel with cross flow at 7.50 MPa, and two phases (liquid and vapor) of coolant at high void ratio goes down to the bottom of the pressure vessel. This is an improved concept of BWR, which can be regarded as a breakthrough of fast reactor. This concept has not been listed in generation IV. Future performance of STFR are as follows, (1) STFR can increase the fraction of direct fission of U238 with neutron reaction of higher energy than 1 MeV, (2) STFR can burn the nuclear fuel to the higher burn-up (80 to 200 GWd/Mg-HM) compared with BWR fuel burn-up. (3) Higher burn-up of fuel will reduce the frequency of reprocessing, so STFR can reduce the reprocessing cost per power production. (4) STFR can reduce the remains of Pu and Minor Actinides: Np, Am, Cm, etc, in discharged fuel. The direct fission of U238 can be increased if a mixture of water (2/3 D2O + 1/3 H2O) is used as coolant