Conceptual Design Study of an Accelerator-based Actinide Transmutation Plant with Sodium-cooled Solid Target/Core

Research and development ,works on accelerator-based nuclear waste transmutation are carried out at JAERI under the national program OMEGA. The preliminary design of the ~proposed minor actinide transmutation plant with a solid targetkore is described. The plant consists of a high intensity proton accelerator, spallatkm target of solid tungsten, and subcritical core loaded with actinide alloy fuel. “Minor actinides are transmuted by fast fission readlons. The target and core are cooled by the forced flow of liquid sodium coolant. Thermal energy is recovered to supply electricity to power”& own accelerator. The core with an effective multiplication factor of about 0.9 generates. the thermal power of 820 MW by using a 1.5 GeV proton beam with a current of 39 mA. The average burnup is about 8°/0, about 250 kg of actinides, after one year operation at an 80°/0 of load factor. With the conventional steam turbine cycle, electric output of about 246 MW is produced. The design of the transmutation plant with sodium-cooled solid target/core is mostly based on the well-established technology of current LMFRs. Advantages and disadvantages of solid target.kore are discussed. Recent progress in the development of intense proton accelerator, the development of simulation code system, and the spallation integral experiment is also presented.