-Safety features in design and operation of fast reactors are mostly similar to those of thermal reactors. Differences are relatively small, tend to favor fast reactors and the engineering solutions are in hand.Waste management is much easier with fast reactors because almost all of the long-lived nuclear waste products associated with thermal reactors are split by the fast neutrons. The radioactive materials remaining are of concern for less than 500 years.In fission reactors using uranium, the process of “burning” nuclear fuel involves production and consumption of plutonium. In a thermal reactor, perhaps 30% of the useful energy comes from fissioning of plutonium. A fast reactor, on the other hand, derives almost all of its energy from plutonium.If fast reactors have such a large fuel economy advantage over thermal reactors, why are there not more fast reactors in use today. First, uranium is so inexpensive today that there is little incentive to use it more fuel efficiently, and storage of the unused uranium and other nuclear waste is manageable in the short term. Second, thermal reactors were first to be introduced commercially and have been continually improved
Categories:
Posts
