On an Optimal Minor-Actinide Transmutation Regime in a Molten-Salt Reactor

The basic regularities in the transmutation Np, Am, and Cm in a molten-salt burner reactor are examined on the basis of the results of neutronic calculations of an idealized infinite homogeneous medium consisting of metal halogenides with low atomic mass. It is shown that an optimal equilibrium regime for the transmutation of Np, Am, and Cm in a molten-salt burner reactor could exist. In this regime, makeup fuel consists of the actinides of the spent nuclear fuel of power reactors; only fission products are extracted. The optimal regime obtains at a definite concentration of actinide fluorides in the fuel composition. The concentration is determined by the size of the reactor and depends relatively weakly on the composition of the spent nuclear fuel, type of salt solvent, and frequency of fuel reprocessing during a run.