[en] A brief overview on the Thorium fuel cycle technology will be described first. Based on the published information, the potential advantages and technical characteristics of the Thorium fuel utilization technologies are described in detail. Special emphasis will be placed on the technological feasibility and maturity of the methods to examine the practicability of their actual implementation in the near future. Then, realistic and possible ways to the deploy of the Thorium fuels utilization are discussed in terms of both value of the implementation and the technological feasibility and practicability. (author)

[en] A recent Evaluation and Screening (E/S) study of nuclear fuel cycle options was conducted by grouping all potential options into 40 Evaluation Groups (EGs) based on similarities in fundamental physics characteristics and fuel cycle performance. Through a rigorous evaluation process considering benefit and challenge metrics, 4 of these EGs were identified by the E/S study as 'most promising'. All 4 involve continuous recycle of U/Pu or U/TRU with natural uranium feed in fast critical reactors. However, these most promising EGs also include fuel cycle groups with variations on feed materials, neutron spectra, and reactor criticality. Therefore, the impacts of the addition of natural thorium fuel feed to a system that originally only used natural uranium fuel feed, using an intermediate spectrum instead of a fast spectrum, and using externally-driven systems versus critical reactors were evaluated. It was found that adding thorium to the natural uranium feed mixture leads to lower burnup, higher mass flows, and degrades fuel cycle benefit metrics (waste management, resource utilization, etc.) for fuel cycles that continuously recycle U/Pu or U/TRU. Adding thorium results in fissions of ²³³U instead of just ²³⁹Pu and in turn results in a lower average number of neutrons produced per absorption (η) for the fast reactor system. For continuous recycling systems, the lower η results in lower excess reactivity and subsequently lower achievable fuel burnup. This in turn leads to higher mass flows (fabrication, reprocessing, disposal, etc.) to produce a given amount of energy and subsequent lower metrics performance. The investigated fuel cycle options with intermediate spectrum reactors also exhibited degraded performance in the benefit metrics compared to fast spectrum reactors. Similarly, this is due to lower η values as the spectrum softens. The best externally-driven systems exhibited similar performance as fast critical reactors in terms of mass flows, but they face much greater challenges, including higher waste generation and higher economic and development costs associated with the external neutron supply. Therefore, any fuel cycle option within the most promising EGs that include thorium in the feed mixture, involves intermediate spectrum reactors, or uses externally-driven systems will be less promising than the reference fast spectrum critical reactor with only natural uranium feed. (authors)

[en] Items discussed included: 1. Progress reports from the Japanese/British Technical Secretariat, contributing countries and organisations. Task 1: Collection of basic data. Task 2: Current methods of plutonium storage. Task 3: Current methods of plutonium transport. Task 7: Plutonium recycle: Base case. 2. Numbering and distribution of papers

[en] This paper describes a thorium-fueled PFB blanket concept for a Commercial Tokamak Hybrid Reactor. A preliminary mechanical concept is presented and the results of neutronics, thermal-hydraulics and economics analyses are discussed. Futher work needed to design and advance the concept is recommended

[en] Items discussed included: 1. Organisational arrangements. 2. Presentation of note by the Co-Chairmen: consideration of the sub-group's tasks (a) plutonium management, (b) plutonium recycle

[en] In this 1981 report the work carried out by the European Institute for Transuranium elements is reviewed. Main topics are: operation limits of plutonium fuels: swelling of advanced fuels, oxide fuel transients, equation of state of nuclear materials; actinide cycle safety: formation of actinides (FACT), safe handling of plutonium fuel (SHAPE), aspects of the head-end processing of carbide fuel (RECARB); actinide research: crystal chemistry, solid state studies, applied actinide research

[en] Parametric design and systems analysis for inertial confinement fusion-fission hybrids are presented. These results were generated as part of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) sponsored Feasibility Assessment of Fusion-Fission Hybrids, using an Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) hybrid power plant design code developed in conjunction with the feasibility assessment. The SYMECON systems analysis code, developed by Westinghouse, was used to generate economic results for symbiotic electricity generation systems consisting of the hybrid and its client Light Water Reactors (LWRs). These results explore the entire fusion parameter space for uranium fast fission blanket hybrids, thorium fast fission blanket hybrids, and thorium suppressed fission blanket types are discussed, and system sensitivities to design uncertainties are explored

[en] A summary is given of the 1978 status of fuel recycle technology, along with the research and development (R and D) which is required prior to commercialization of fuel recycle. The fuel cycles consider use of uranium, thorium, or mixed uranium--thorium-based fuels; the reactor types include Light Water Reactors (LWRs), Spectral Shift Controlled Reactors (SSCRs), Heavy Water Reactors (HWRs), High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs), Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors (LMFBRs), and Gas-Cooled Fast Reactors (GCFRs). Estimates of the schedules and costs for implementing the various fuel cycles in the different reactor types are given, and include those for demonstration/pilot plants. The technical areas cover fuel fabrication/refabrication, fuel reprocessing, fuel qualification, and waste treatment

No abstract available

[en] The following possibilities are examined for stretching the nuclear fuel supply: (1) fast breeder reactors, (2) thorium cycle, (3) heavy water reactors, (4) better isotope separation, and (5) electronuclear boosting