A fusion transmutation of waste reactor

A design concept and the performance characteristics for a fusion transmutation of waste reactor (FTWR)—a sub-critical fast reactor driven by a tokamak fusion neutron source—are presented. The present design concept is based on nuclear, processing and fusion technologies that either exist or are at an advanced stage of development and on the existing tokamak plasma physics database. A FTWR, operating with keff⩽0.95 at a thermal power output of about 3 GW and with a fusion neutron source operating at Qp=1.5–2, could fission the transuranic content of about a hundred metric tons of spent nuclear fuel per full-power-year and would be self-sufficient in both electricity and tritium production. In equilibrium, a nuclear fleet consisting of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) and FTWRs in the electrical power ratio of 3/1 would reduce the actinides discharged from the LWRs in a once-through fuel cycle by 99.4% in the waste stream that must be stored in high-level waste repositories.