The fast breeder or fast breeder reactor (FBR) is a fast neutron reactor designed to breed fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes. A fast neutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of Nuclear reactor in which the fission Chain reaction is sustained by Fast neutrons In Nuclear engineering, a fissile material is one that is capable of sustaining a Chain reaction of Nuclear fission. The FBR is one possible type of breeder reactor. A breeder reactor is a Nuclear reactor that generates new Fissile or fissionable material at a greater rate than it consumes such material
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Reactor designs
As of 2006, all large-scale FBR power stations have been liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) reactors cooled by liquid sodium. Sodium (ˈsoʊdiəm is an element which has the symbol Na( Latin natrium, from Arabic natrun) atomic number 11 atomic mass 22 These have been of one of two designs:
- Loop type, in which the primary coolant is circulated through primary heat exchangers external to the reactor tank (but within the biological shield owing to the presence of radioactive sodium-24 in the primary coolant). Radiation protection, sometimes known as radiological protection, is the science of protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of Ionizing radiation
- Pool type, in which the primary heat exchangers and circulators are immersed in the reactor tank.
Prototype FBRs have also been built cooled by other liquid metals such as mercury, lead and NaK (an alloy of sodium (Na) and potassium (K)), and one generation IV reactor proposal is for a helium cooled FBR. Mercury (ˈmɜrkjʊri also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum, is a Chemical element with the symbol Hg ( Latinized hydrargyrum Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly NaK (næk rhyming with "sack" is an alloy of Sodium (Na and Potassium (K and particularly one that is liquid at room temperatures Sodium (ˈsoʊdiəm is an element which has the symbol Na( Latin natrium, from Arabic natrun) atomic number 11 atomic mass 22 Potassium (pəˈtæsiəm is a Chemical element. It has the symbol K (kalium from qalīy Atomic number 19 and Atomic mass 39 Generation IV reactors (Gen IV are a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched Helium ( He) is a colorless odorless tasteless non-toxic Inert Monatomic Chemical
FBRs usually use a mixed oxide fuel core of up to 20% plutonium dioxide (PuO2) and at least 80% uranium dioxide (UO2). Mixed oxide, or MOX fuel, is a blend of oxides of Plutonium and Natural uranium, Reprocessed uranium, or Depleted uranium which behaves Plutonium(IV oxide is the Chemical compound with the formula PuO2 Uranium dioxide (2 an Oxide of Uranium, also known as urania or uranic oxide is a black radioactive crystalline powder Another fuel option is metal alloys, typically a blend of uranium, plutonium, and zirconium. Nuclear fuel is any material that can be consumed to derive Nuclear energy, by analogy to chemical Fuel that is burned to derive energy Uranium (jʊˈreɪniəm is a silvery-gray Metallic Chemical element in the Zirconium (zɚˈkoʊniəm /ˌzɝˈkoʊniəm/ is a Chemical element with the symbol Zr and Atomic number 40 The plutonium used can be supplied by the reprocessing from reactor outputs or 'off the shelf' dismantled nuclear weapons. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion.
In many FBR designs, the reactor core is surrounded in a blanket of tubes containing non-fissile uranium-238 which, by capturing fast neutrons from the reaction in the core, is partially converted to fissile plutonium-239 (as is some of the uranium in the core), which can then be reprocessed for use as nuclear fuel. In Nuclear engineering, a fissile material is one that is capable of sustaining a Chain reaction of Nuclear fission. Uranium-238 (U-238 is the most common isotope of Uranium found in nature Plutonium-239 is an Isotope of Plutonium. Plutonium-239 is the primary Fissile isotope used for the production of Nuclear weapons although Other FBR designs rely on the geometry of the fuel itself (which also contains uranium-238) to attain sufficient fast neutron capture.
The ratio between the Pu239 (or U235) fission cross-section and the U238 absorption cross-section is much higher in a thermal spectrum than in a fast spectrum. Therefore a higher enrichment of the fuel is needed in a fast reactor in order to reach a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. A nuclear chain reaction occurs when one Nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more nuclear reactions thus leading to a self-propagating number of these reactions
Since a fast reactor uses a fast spectrum no moderator is required to thermalize the fast neutrons.
All current fast reactor designs use liquid metal as the primary coolant, to transfer heat from the core to steam used to power the electricity generating turbines. Some early FBRs used mercury, and other experimental reactors have used NaK. Both of these choices have the advantage that they are liquids at room temperature, which is convenient for experimental rigs but less important for pilot or full scale power stations.
Sodium is the normal coolant for large power stations, but lead has been used successfully for smaller generating rigs. Both coolant choices are being studied as possible Generation IV reactors, and each presents some advantages. Generation IV reactors (Gen IV are a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched [1] A gas-cooled option is also being studied, although no gas-cooled fast reactor has reached criticality. The Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR system is a nuclear reactor design which is currently in development
Water cannot be used as the primary coolant since it acts as a moderator, slowing neutrons to thermal levels and preventing the breeding of uranium-238 into plutonium-239. However a heavy water moderated thermal breeder reactor, using thorium to produce uranium-233, is theoretically possible (see Advanced Heavy Water Reactor). Heavy water is water which contains a higher proportion than normal of the Isotope Deuterium, as deuterium oxide, D2O or ²H2O The Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR is the latest Indian design for a next generation nuclear reactor that will burn Thorium in its fuel core
Economics
The breeding of plutonium fuel in FBRs, known as the plutonium economy, was for a time believed to be the future of nuclear power. It remains the strategic direction of the power program of Japan. However, cheap supplies of 'off the shelf' uranium and especially of enriched uranium have made current FBR technology uncompetitive with PWR and other thermal reactor designs. Enriched uranium is a kind of Uranium in which the percent composition of Uranium-235 has been increased through the process of Isotope separation. Pressurized water reactor ( PWR s (also VVER if of Russian design are generation II nuclear power reactors that use ordinary Water A thermal reactor has moderating materials to reduce the speed of Neutrons to low velocity Thermal neutrons so that Uranium-235 will be more likely PWR designs remain the most common existing power reactor type and also represent most current proposals for new nuclear power stations.
Possible technology risks
Fission of the nuclear fuel in any reactor produces neutron-absorbing fission products, and because of this it is necessary to reprocess the fuel and breeder blanket from a breeder reactor if one is to fully utilise its ability to breed more fuel than it consumes. Nuclear reprocessing separates components of Spent nuclear fuel such as Reprocessed uranium Plutonium Minor The most common reprocessing technique, PUREX, is generally considered a large proliferation concern because such reprocessing technologies can be used to extract weapons grade plutonium from a reactor operated on a short refuelling cycle. Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of Nuclear weapons, fissile material and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations Weapons-grade means that a substance is pure enough to be used to make a Weapon or has properties that make it suitable for weapons use For this reason, the FBR closed fuel cycle is often seen as a greater proliferation concern than a once-through thermal fuel cycle. The nuclear fuel cycle, also called nuclear fuel chain, is the progression of Nuclear fuel through a series of differing stages The nuclear fuel cycle, also called nuclear fuel chain, is the progression of Nuclear fuel through a series of differing stages
However, to date all known weapons programs have used far more easily built thermal reactors to produce plutonium, and there are some designs such as the SSTAR which avoid proliferation risks by both producing low amounts of plutonium at any given time from the U-238, and by producing three different isotopes of plutonium (Pu-239, Pu-240, and Pu-242) making the plutonium used infeasible for atomic bomb use. A thermal reactor has moderating materials to reduce the speed of Neutrons to low velocity Thermal neutrons so that Uranium-235 will be more likely SSTAR is an acronym for the "small sealed transportable autonomous reactor " - being primarily researched and developed in the USA by Lawrence Livermore
Furthermore, several countries are developing more proliferation resistant reprocessing methods that don't separate the plutonium from the other actinides. For instance, the pyrometallurgical process when used to reprocess fuel from the Integral Fast Reactor leaves large amounts of radioactive actinides in the reactor fuel. Pyrometallurgy is a branch of Extractive metallurgy. It consists of the thermal treatment of minerals and metallurgical ores and concentrates to bring about physical and chemical The Integral Fast Reactor or Advanced Liquid-Metal Reactor is a design for a nuclear Fast reactor with a specialized Nuclear fuel cycle. Removing these transuranics in a conventional reprocessing plant would be extremely difficult as many of the actinides emit strong neutron radiation, requiring all handling of the material to be done remotely, thus preventing the plutonium from being used for bombs while still being usable as reactor fuel.
Thorium fueled reactors may pose a slightly higher proliferation risk than uranium based reactors. Thorium (ˈθɔːriəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Th and Atomic number 90 The reason for this is that while Pu-239 will fairly often fail to undergo fission on neutron capture, producing Pu-240, the corresponding process in the thorium cycle is relatively rare. Neutron capture is a kind of Nuclear reaction in which an Atomic nucleus collides with one or more Neutrons and they merge to form a heavier nucleus Thorium-232 converts to U-233, which will almost always undergo fission successfully, meaning that there will be very little U-234 produced in the reactor's thorium/U-233 breeder blanket, and the resulting pure U-233 will be comparatively easy to extract and use for weapons. One proposed solution to this is to mix a small amount of natural or depleted uranium into the thorium breeder blanket. The irradiated material will then be useless for weapons purposes as then the U-233 would require isotopic separation from the U-238. Isotope separation is the process of concentrating specific Isotopes of a Chemical element by removing other isotopes for example separating Natural uranium A small amount of plutonium would be present but will also be low-grade.
Associated reactor types
One design of fast neutron reactor, specifically designed to address the waste disposal and plutonium issues, was the Integral Fast Reactor (also known as an Integral Fast Breeder Reactor, although the original reactor was designed to not breed a net surplus of fissile material). The Integral Fast Reactor or Advanced Liquid-Metal Reactor is a design for a nuclear Fast reactor with a specialized Nuclear fuel cycle. [2][3]
To solve the waste disposal problem, the IFR had an on-site electrowinning fuel reprocessing unit that recycled the uranium and all the transuranics (not just plutonium) via electroplating, leaving just short half-life fission products in the waste. Electrowinning, also called electroextraction, is the Electrodeposition of Metals from their Ores that have been put in solution or liquefied In Chemistry, transuranium elements (also known as transuranic elements) are the Chemical elements with Atomic numbers greater than 92 (the atomic Electroplating is the process of using electrical current to reduce Cations of a desired material from a solution and coat a conductive object Half-Life (computer-game page here It's already listed in the disambiguation page Fission products are the atomic fragments left after a large nucleus fissions. Some of these fission products could later be separated for industrial or medical uses and the rest sent to a waste repository (where they would not have to be stored for anywhere near as long as wastes containing long half-life transuranics). It is thought that it would not be possible to divert fuel from this reactor to make bombs, as several of the transuranics spontaneously undergo fission so rapidly that any assembly would melt before it could be completed. The project was canceled in 1994, at the behest of then-Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary. The United States Secretary of Energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the President's Cabinet, and fifteenth in the Hazel Reid O'Leary (born May 17, 1937) was the seventh United States Secretary of Energy from 1993 to 1997
FBR generating plants
History
FBRs have been built and operated in the USA, the UK, France, the former USSR, India and Japan. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. An experimental FBR in Germany was built but never operated. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. As of 2004, a prototype FBR was under construction in China. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES
USA
On December 20, 1951, the fast reactor EBR-I (Experimental Breeder Reactor-1) at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho produced enough electricity to power four light bulbs, and the next day produced enough power to run the entire EBR-I building. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I is a Decommissioned Research reactor and U The Idaho National Laboratory ( INL) is an 890-square-mile (2300-km² complex located in the Idaho desert between the town of Arco and the city of Idaho Falls is the County seat and largest city of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. This was a milestone in the development of nuclear power reactors.
The next generation experimental breeder was EBR-II (Experimental Breeder Reactor-2), which went into service at the INEEL in 1964 and operated until 1994. There is also a separate closed unrelated facility called Experimental Breeder Reactor I. It was designed to be an "integral" nuclear plant, equipped to handle fuel recycling onsite. It typically operated at 20 megawatts out of its 62. 5 megawatt maximum design power, and provided the bulk of heat and electricity to the surrounding facilities.
The world's first commercial LMFBR, and the only one yet built in the USA, was the 94MWe Unit 1 at Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station. The watt (symbol W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one Joule of energy per Second. The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station is a Nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe in Frenchtown Charter Township, Monroe Designed in a joint effort between Dow Chemical and Detroit Edison as part of the Atomic Power Development Association consortium, groundbreaking in Lagoona Beach, Michigan (near Monroe, Michigan) took place in 1956. The Dow Chemical Company () is an American Multinational corporation headquartered in Midland Michigan. Detroit Edison, founded in 1903 is an investor-owned electric utility which serves most of Southeast Michigan. Monroe is a city in the US state of Michigan. In the 2000 census, the city population was 22076 The plant went into operation in 1963. It shut down on October 5, 1966 due to high temperatures caused by a loose piece of zirconium which was blocking the molten sodium coolant nozzles. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Sodium (ˈsoʊdiəm is an element which has the symbol Na( Latin natrium, from Arabic natrun) atomic number 11 atomic mass 22 Partial melting damage to six subassemblies within the core was eventually found. (This incident was the basis for a controversial book by investigative reporter John G. Fuller titled We Almost Lost Detroit. ) The zirconium blockage was removed in April 1968, and the plant was ready to resume operation by May 1970, but a sodium coolant fire delayed its restart until July. It subsequently ran until August 1972 when its operating license renewal was denied.
The Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project was announced in January, 1972. The Clinch River Breeder Reactor (CRBRP Project was a joint effort of the U A government/business cooperative effort, construction proceeded fitfully. Funding for this project was halted by Congress on October 26, 1983. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar)
The Fast Flux Test Facility, first critical in 1980, is not a breeder but is a sodium-cooled fast reactor. The Fast Flux Test Facility is a 400 MW nuclear test reactor owned by the U It is in cold standby.
India
India has an active development programme featuring both fast and thermal breeder reactors. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A breeder reactor is a Nuclear reactor that generates new Fissile or fissionable material at a greater rate than it consumes such material
India’s first 40 MWt Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) attained criticality on 18 October 1985. The Fast Breeder Test Reactor ( FBTR) is a Breeder reactor located in India Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Thus, India became the sixth nation to have the technology to build and operate an FBTR after US, UK, France, Japan and the former USSR. India has developed the technology to produce the plutonium rich U-Pu mixed carbide fuel. This can be used in the Fast Breeder Reactor.
At present the scientists of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), one of the nuclear R & D institutions of India, are engaged in the construction of another FBR - the 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor - at Kalpakkam, near Chennai. The Reactor Research Centre set up at Kalpakkam, India, 80 km south of Chennai in 1971 under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE was renamed Indira The Reactor Research Centre set up at Kalpakkam, India, 80 km south of Chennai in 1971 under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE was renamed Indira The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR is a 500MWe Fast breeder nuclear reactor presently being constructed in Kalpakkam, India. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Kalpakkam is a small town in Tamil Nadu, India, situated on the Coromandel Coast
India has the capability to use thorium cycle based processes to extract nuclear fuel. Thorium (ˈθɔːriəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Th and Atomic number 90 This is of special significance to the Indian nuclear power generation strategy as India has large reserves of thorium — about 360,000 tonnes — that can fuel nuclear projects for an estimated 2,500 years. This article is about the tonne or metric ton For other tons see Ton. The higher construction expense of the Fast Breeder Reactor in comparison with the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) in use is one of the main reasons why India is looking at the cheaper option - uranium fuel. A pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR is a nuclear power reactor, commonly using unenriched Natural uranium as its fuel that uses Heavy water ( A pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR is a nuclear power reactor, commonly using unenriched Natural uranium as its fuel that uses Heavy water (
France
France's first fast reactor, Rapsodie first achieved criticality in 1967. A fast neutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of Nuclear reactor in which the fission Chain reaction is sustained by Fast neutrons Rapsodie is an experimental Nuclear reactor built in Cadarache in France. Built at Cadarache near Aix-en-Provence, Rapsodie was a loop-type reactor with a thermal output of 40MW and no electrical generation facilities, and closed in 1983. Cadarache in Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, France is a Research center for Nuclear energy created in 1959
This was followed by the 233 MWe Phénix, grid connected since 1973 and still operating, both as a power reactor and more importantly as the center of work on reprocessing of nuclear waste by transmutation. Phénix (French for phoenix in all the meanings is a small-scale (233 MWe prototype Fast breeder reactor in France, located in the Marcoule Radioactive wastes are Waste types containing radioactive Chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one Chemical element or Isotope into another which occurs through Nuclear reactions Natural transmutation occurs
Superphénix, 1200 MWe, entered service in 1984 and as of 2006 remains the largest FBR yet built. Superphénix ( English: Superphoenix) or SPX is a Nuclear power station on the Rhône River at Creys-Malville in France, It was shut down in 1997 due to political commitment of the left-wing government to competitive market forces. The power plant had not produced electricity for most of the preceding ten years prior to its closure.
The plant was also a focus point of anti-nuclear political activity by the Green party and other groups. Right wing groups claim the plant was shut down for political reasons and not lack of power generation.
UK
The UK fast reactor programme was conducted at Dounreay, Scotland, from 1957 until the programme was cancelled in 1994. Dounreay ( Ordnance Survey) is the name of a now ruinous Castle on the north Coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Dounreay ( Ordnance Survey) is the name of a now ruinous Castle on the north Coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Three reactors were constructed, two of them fast neutron power reactors, and the third, DMTR, being a heavy water moderated research reactor used to test materials for the program. Fabrication and reprocessing facilities for fuel for the two fast reactors and for the test rigs for DMTR were also constructed onsite.
Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) achieved its first criticality in 1959. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It used NaK coolant and produced 14MW of electricity. NaK (næk rhyming with "sack" is an alloy of Sodium (Na and Potassium (K and particularly one that is liquid at room temperatures This was followed by the sodium-cooled 250 MWe Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) in the 1970s. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. PFR was closed down in 1994 as the British government withdrew major financial support for nuclear energy development, DFR and DMTR both having previously been closed. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar)
Germany
Germany has built two FBRs, but both were closed in 1991 without the larger ever having achieved criticality.
KNK-II was converted from a thermal reactor, KNK-I, which had been used to study sodium cooling. KNK-II first achieved criticality as a fast reactor in 1977, and produced 20MWe.
Construction of the 300MWe SNR-300 at Kalkar in North Rhine-Westphalia was completed in 1985, but owing to political pressure it was never operated. The Fast Breeder Nuclear reactor SNR-300 was built near the town of Kalkar, Germany (located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Kalkar is a municipality in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW is the westernmost and - in terms of population and economic output - the The plant was maintained and staffed until a decision to close it was finally made in 1990, and has since been decommissioned. Today it houses an amusement park (Wunderland Kalkar).
USSR
The Soviet Union constructed a series of fast reactors, the first being mercury cooled and fueled with plutonium metal, and the later plants sodium cooled and fueled with plutonium oxide.
BR-1 (1955) was 100W (thermal) was followed by BR-2 at 100 kW and then the 5MW BR-5.
BOR-60 (first criticality 1969) was 60 MW, with construction started in 1965.
BN-350 (1973) was the first full-scale Soviet FBR. The BN-350 was a sodium-cooled Fast reactor Nuclear power plant located at Aktau (formally known as Shevchenko from 1964-1992 Constructed on the Mangyshlak Peninsula in Kazakhstan and on the shore of the Caspian Sea, it supplied 130MW of electricity plus 80,000 tonnes per day of desalinated fresh water to the city of Aktau. Mangyshlak or Mangghyshlaq Peninsula is located in western Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove excess salt and other Minerals from Water Aktau (Ақтау Aqtaw; Актау Aktau) until 1992 Shevchenko (Шевченко is a city in Kazakhstan 's Mangyshlak Its total output was regarded as the equivalent of 350MWe, hence the designation.
BN-600 (1986) is 1470MWth / 600MWe. The BN-600 reactor is a sodium-cooled Fast breeder reactor built at the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station, in Zarechny Sverdlovsk Oblast,
At the time of the break up of the Soviet Union, plans were well underway for the construction of two larger plants, BN-800 (800 MWe) at Beloyarsk and BN-1600 (1600 MWe). Beloyarsk may refer to Beloyarsk Altai Krai, a former urban-type settlement in Altai Krai, Russia since 2005&mdasha (rural settlement
Japan
Japan has built one demonstration FBR, Monju, in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, adding on to the research base developed by its older research FBR, the Joyo reactor. is Japan 's only Fast breeder reactor. Located in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture in Japan, the reactor began construction in 1985 and first achieved is a city located in southern Fukui Prefecture, Japan. Outline One of city of Wakasa Area, present southern Fukui Prececture WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū Monju is a sodium-cooled, MOX-fueled loop type reactor with 3 primary coolant loops, producing 714 MWt / 280 MWe.
Monju began construction in 1985 and was completed in 1991. It first achieved criticality on 5 April 1994. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) It was closed in December 1995 following a sodium leak and fire in a secondary cooling circuit, and is expected to restart in 2008.
In April 2007, the Japanese Government selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the "core company in FBR development in Japan". Shortly thereafter, MHI started a new company, Mitsubishi Fast Breeder Reactor Systems (MFBR), with the explicit purpose of developing and eventually selling FBR technology. [4]
Future plants
As of 2003 one indigenous FBR was planned for India, and another for China using Soviet technology. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES
South Korea is developing a design for a standardised modular FBR for export, to complement the standardised PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) and CANDU designs they have already developed and built, but has not yet committed to building a prototype. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː Pressurized water reactor ( PWR s (also VVER if of Russian design are generation II nuclear power reactors that use ordinary Water The CANDU reactor is a Canadian-invented Pressurized heavy water reactor developed initially in the late 1950s and 1960s by a partnership between Atomic Energy of
The FBR program of India includes the concept of using fertile thorium-232 to breed fissile uranium-233. Thorium (ˈθɔːriəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Th and Atomic number 90 India is also pursuing the thermal breeder reactor again using thorium. A breeder reactor is a Nuclear reactor that generates new Fissile or fissionable material at a greater rate than it consumes such material A thermal breeder is not possible with purely uranium/plutonium based technology. Thorium fuel is the strategic direction of the power program of India, owing to their large reserves of thorium, but worldwide known reserves of thorium are also some three times those of uranium.
The BN-600 (Beloyarsk NNP in the town of Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Oblast) is still operational. Zarechny (Заре́чный is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Pyshma River east of Yekaterinburg at. Sverdlovsk Oblast (Свердло́вская о́бласть Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an Oblast) located A second reactor (BN-800) is scheduled to be constructed before 2015. [5]
On February 16, 2006 the U. Events 1249 - Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khan of the Mongols Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. S. , France and Japan signed an "arrangement" to research and develop sodium-cooled fast reactors in support of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP began as a US proposal announced by United States Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman on February 6 2006 to form an [6]
India's Department of Atomic Energy(DAE) says that it will simultaneously construct four more breeder reactors of 500 MWe each including two at Kalpakkam. [7]
See also
- Breeder reactor
- Fast neutron reactor
- Sodium-cooled fast reactor
- Integral Fast Reactor
- Lead-cooled fast reactor
- Gas-cooled fast reactor
References
- ^ Comparison of sodium and lead-cooled fast reactors regarding reactor physics aspects, severe safety and economical issues
- ^ http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/designs/ifr/
- ^ National Policy Analysis #378: Integral Fast Reactors: Source of Safe, Abundant, Non-Polluting Power - December 2001
- ^ Nuclear Engineering International
- ^ Russian parliament and Kremlin party defends fast-breeder reactors - Bellona
- ^ Department of Energy - Generation IV International Forum Signs Agreement to Collaborate on Sodium Cooled Fast Reactors
- ^ Home | India Defence
External links
- US Nuclear Program
- IAEA Fast Reactors Database
- IAEA Technical Documents on Fast Reactors
- Atomic Heritage Foundation - EBR-I
- The Changing Need for a Breeder Reactor by Richard Wilson at The Uranium Institute 24th Annual Symposium, September 1999
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