Abstract: | Transmutation of neptunium, which is contained in radioactive wastes discharged from nuclear reactors, was investigated as a substitutional method for geologic disposal. We proposed a transmutation reactor fueled with a mixture of gaseous 233UF6 and 237NpF6. Neutronic and thermodynamic analysis of the reactor revealed the feasibility of the concept. The reactor has two principal advantages: (1) use of the fuel gas enables on-line reprocessing, (2) 237Np can be transmuted by a high neutron flux. Our calculation indicated that the transmutation rate of 237Np was 335 g/year/MWth, which is much larger than the annual yield of 232Np in PWR (6.19 g/year/MWth). |