ORNL-TM-7207 - the Molten Salt Energy Technologies Web Site

BO 7
TPle fuel makeup requirements are expressed in metric tons of UaOg
for 30 years of operation in a 1-GWe plant at 75% capacity factor and are
averages for ten 30-year cycles. The effect of this averaghg is most
pronounced for option A; the fuel makeup requirement is only a fraction
of the average for the first one or two reactor lifetimes and is somewhat
greater than the average for the last cycles. Thus, while this option
would require more uramim than the others in the very long tern, its per-
fomance for the first few reactor lifetimes would be quite attractive.
Even for the long-term, this resource requirement would be well below
that of current-generation LWRs. Option B illustrates the long-term sav-
ing in uranium resources that could be achieved if higher enrichments
could be tolerated for the relatively small amsunts of makeup fuel, Be-
cause the resource savings are principally long tlem and the required
uranium enrichment exceeds currently perceived denaturing limits this
appears to be OR^ of the less gromhsi~~g options, The two remaining 0p-
tions, C and D, both show favorable resource utilization properties for
long times with only minor penalties for discarded uranium (option C> or
uranium subjected to reenrichment (optism B), Of these, option P) clearly
would be preferable if reenrichent were an acceptable procedure
Tke preceding four converter options and/or the break-even breeder
would require the availability of a cornpPex and expensive fuel cleanup
facility withh the primary containment of each reactor installation.
The technology for an integrated proeessfng facility has not been fully
developed, and past work clearly indicates that a substantial development
effort would be required to produce a commercially functional system.
Even then, the capital, operating, and maintenance costs of such a system
possibly would have a signiffcant adverse impact on the overall economic
perforname of the associated DMSR. Other factors to be considered for
these options included the willingness of the reactor operator to assme
* Conceivably, a single cleanup facility could serve several reactors
at a cornon site, but such an arrangement would complieate the 0peratiQn
and would add problem~ of inventory accountability among the various
units.
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