[en] The costs for annual fuel reloads of different back end options were compared. The changes in the front end costs, if influenced, were considered

[en] In France the complete closure of the fuel cycle can be reached in 3 steps. The first step relies on the improvement of the present fuel cycle by implementing the use of reprocessed uranium (URT) and by enlarging the use of MOX fuel from 900 MW to 1300 MW PWR. The first loading of URT fuel is planned in 2023. The second step will be the multi-recycling of plutonium. The loading of a test fuel assembly with multi-recycled Pu in a PWR core could be made in 2025-2028 and the industrial deployment may be made in 2040 at the soonest. The third step implies the development of a fleet of fast reactors that will allow a limitless recycling of spent fuels and no necessity of using enriched natural uranium. (A.C.)

[en] Separate abstracts were prepared for 9 papers in this meeting

[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] The Fuel Cycle Options (FCO) campaign in the U.S. DOE Fuel Cycle Research and Development Program recently completed a detailed evaluation and screening of nuclear fuel cycles (report available at www.inl.gov). The comprehensive study identified promising fuel cycle options that offer the potential for substantial improvement compared to the current U.S. fuel cycle. This paper describes insights from the study and the use of the results for current fuel cycle analysis activities. The insights obtained from the study prompted questions about the usefulness of minor actinide recycle and the relative potential of thorium-based fuel cycles compared to uranium-based fuel cycles. The FCO campaign is conducting analyses exploring these issues as well as the potential transition to such fuel cycles to identify the challenges and the timing for critical decisions that would need to be made, including investigation of concerns such as the effects of a temporary lack of recycle fuel resources or supporting infrastructure. These studies are part of an overall analysis approach designed to provide information to the U.S. DOE Office of Nuclear Energy decision-making process for R/D directions. (author)

[en] British Nuclear Fuels are examining how best reprocessed uranium can be safely and economically returned to the fuel cycle. In conjunction with Urenco, they are currently offering a recycle passage which can be tailored to customers' individual requirements. By the mid 1990s there will be on line, full scale facilities for uranium recycle. (author)

[en] The aim of the paper is to discuss problems connected by nuclear power security on long term. It is shown that the advanced fuel cycles in LWR's and particularly in CANDU's may extend significantly the resources of U _nat owning to the quality of recycling cumulative consumption of U _nat. Thermal advanced fuel cycles are studied especially, as for instance, SEU, TANDEM, PU/NU, PU/Th and SSET. Further are debated the problems of fast advanced fuel cycles in LMFBR's. Finally, the problem of the mixed (thermal and fast) advanced fuel cycles is approached. Several interesting conclusions for a national policy are mentioned in the end of the paper. (Author)

[en] The thorium-uranium fuel cycle has several advantages that make it attractive. Some of these beneficial properties are of particular interest now as they help alleviate current concerns. The Th-U cycle has neutronic advantages when utilized in thermal or epithermal reactors. Some of these reactors enjoy extraordinary safety qualities. The combination of these traits suggest that now is an appropriate time to deploy and begin exploiting the Th-U fuel cycle

[en] Reenrichment of reprocessed uranium gives opportunity to save natural uranium. The variable U6 and U4 contents in RU put penalty on the energetic value of uranium. Nevertheless linearity of phenomena in a realistic concentration scale, allows us to establish a simple equivalence law between RU and natural uranium

[en] Published in summary form only