Application of candle burnup strategy for future nuclear energy utilization

The CANDLE burnup strategy is a new reactor burnup concept, where the distributions of fuel nuclide densities, neutron flux, and power density move with the same constant speed along the core axis from bottom to top (or from top to bottom) of the core and without any change in their shapes. Therefore, any burnup control mechanisms are not required, and reactor characteristics do not change along burnup. The reactor is simple and safe. If this burnup scheme is applied to some neutron rich fast reactors, either natural or depleted uranium can be utilized as fresh fuel after second core and the burnup of discharged fuel is about 40%. It means about 40% of natural or depleted uranium can be utilized without either enrichment or reprocessing.

In the ideal nuclear energy utilization system, the radioactive toxicity in the environment should remain or decrease after the utilization. This requirement is very severe and difficult to be satisfied. It may take too much time for its realization. The CANDLE burnup may substitute this period. Though it is a once-through fuel cycle, the discharged fuel burnup is about ten times of the present value for light water reactors. The space necessary for final disposal can be drastically reduced. However, in order to realize such a high burnup of discharged fuels some innovative technologies should be developed. Either new material standing still for such a high burnup or intermediate recladding will be required. Especially new fuel development will take a lot of time. For the time being a small reactor with CANDLE burnup may be a good option for nuclear power generation. Even this kind of reactor requires some innovative technologies and a long period for their developments. For the first stage of CANDLE burnup the prismatic fuel high-temperature gas cooled reactor is preferable. Since the design of this reactor fits to the CANDLE burnup very well, only a little time is required for its research and development.