https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202124718002
COMPARISON OF WASTE DUE TO IRRADIATED STEELS IN THE ESFR AND DEMO
1 Nucleargraduates, ENERGUS, Blackwood Road, Lillyhall, CA14 4JW
2 Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3EB
3 Magnox Ltd. Oldbury Technical Centre, Oldbury BS35 1RQ
Jack.Reid@nucleargrads.com
Greg.Bailey@ukaea.uk
Edmund.Cracknell@magnoxsites.com
Mark.Gilbert@ukaea.uk
Lee.Packer@ukaea.uk
Published online: 22 February 2021
For either nuclear fusion or generation IV fission reactors to be viable as a commercial energy source the decommissioning and waste disposal solutions must be considered during the design. A multi-step simulation process combining Monte Carlo Neutron Transport simulations with inventory simulations have been performed to estimate the activation of steels in key reactor components of the European Sodium-cooled fast Reactor (ESFR). Waste classifications based on UK waste disposal regulations have been applied to the key components to estimate the expected masses of low level and intermediate level waste. The use of reduced activation steels, EUROFER and F82H, in reactor components external to the core results in a factor of 10 reduction in the percentage of waste classified as Intermediate Level Waste (ILW). Waste estimates are compared to existing waste estimates for the European Demonstration fusion reactor (DEMO). The ESFR has a lower percentage of ILW per total reactor mass due to irradiated steels compared to DEMO. However, there is no Higher Activity Waste (HAW) associated with DEMO, compared with arisings from the ESFR spent fission fuel.
Key words: Waste / Fission / Fusion / MCNP / FISPACT-II
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2021
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
