Yacine KadiThorium Energy Conference 2013

Globe of Innovation, CERN, SwitzerlandOctober 31, 2013

iThEC’s Approach toward Nuclear Waste Transmutation

andEnergy Production with Thorium

Concerns on Conventional Nuclear Power Plants Safety

Accidents & Safety Nuclear Proliferation

Accumulation of Radioactive Wastes Depletion of Uranium Resources

These problems need to be solved in order to be able to deploy nuclear power on a large scale

The path towards sustainability

Nuclearwaste

• 400 – 800 GWe Business as usual Open fuel cycle

• 1200 GWe by 2030 / 7000 GWe by 2050 Accelerated alternative

scenario Only made possible by closing

fuel cycle• Commercial demos

Th-ADS by 2030 International initiative iThEC

Key objective is to encourage• Transmutation of nuclear waste• Thorium power generation Actions : • Organising conferences, addressing political and economic circles, the

media and the public• Fostering links between academia and private sector Concrete steps :• September 2012: iThEC founded as a non-profit organisation in Geneva. • October 2013: Organization of ThEC13• Next step: by 2015 set up an international collaboration on an ADS for Thorium

power and waste transmutation

The role of iThEC

Partitioning &Transmutation

• P/T applies to TRU (Pu and Minor Actinides) and Long Lived Fission Products.

• It should be kept in mind that Plutonium is a special case: it can be considered as a valuable resource or part of the wastes.

• However, P/T technologies must apply to all fuel cycles.

• The objectives of GEN-IV include P/T (waste minimization), as consistent with sustainability and non-proliferation: it is the path towards “Advanced Fuel Cycles”.

• Implementation: currently related to Fast Reactor deployment. However, ADS is the only option for Minor Actinide elimination

Common Deployment Scenario

2020• Implementation of MA

partitioning• Waste minimization

(Vitrified FP)

Typical transmutation rates (~ 50 kg/TWh) using MA based fuels.

Doping with Pu will sensibly decrease the transmutation efficiency of such systems

MA Transmutation

Alternative Deployment Scenario

ADS LWR with reduced waste generation

232Th

Nuclearwaste

232Th+ 233U

STAGE 1 STAGE 2

Transmutation Rates

Reactivity Evolution of ThPu fuel

Three Stage Program in India

Thorium in Centre Stage

Development is Time-Consuming

Fast track by Integration of Consolidated Technologies … by 2030 !

UO2+PuO2

UO22+

PuO22+

Technology of pyrochemical

reprocessing of fuel

Technologies of fast reactors

with lead-bismuth coolant

High power accelerators technology

Liquid metal targets

technology

R&D in Europe

Lead or Lead-Bismuth studies• Eurotrans using the

many loop facilities existing in Europe

• Japan, India and China, all have lead or LBE loops,and are making significantprogress in corrosionissues (new materials, passivation methods, etc.)

STELLA LoopCEA CIRCE LoopENEA

TALL LoopKTH CIRCO LoopCIEMAT

CorrWett LoopPSI

VICE LoopSCK-CEN CHEOPE LoopENEA

J-PARC

China LBE loop: 550˚C, 6m3/h

India

(Shinian Fu, IHEP, Bejing

Worldwide ProgramsProject Neutron Source Core PurposeFEAT(CERN)

Proton (0.6 to 2.75 GeV)(~1010p/s)

Thermal (≈ 1 W) Reactor physics of thermal subcritical system (k≈0.9) with spallation source - done

TARC(CERN)

Proton (0.6 to 2.75 GeV)(~1010p/s)

Fast(≈ 1 W) Lead slowing down spectrometry and transmutation of LLFP - done

MUSE (France) DT (~1010n/s) Fast

(< 1 kW) Reactor physics of fast subcritical system - done

YALINA(Belorus) DT (~1010n/s) Fast

(< 1 kW) Reactor physics of thermal & fast subcritical system - done

MEGAPIE (Switzerland)

Proton (600 Me)+ Pb-Bi (1MW)

----- Demonstration of 1MW target for short period - done

TRADE (Italy)

Proton (140 MeV)+ Ta (40 kW)

Thermal(200 kW) Demonstration of ADS with thermal feedback - cancelled

TEF-P(Japan)

Proton (600 MeV)+ Pb-Bi (10W, ~1012n/s)

Fast(< 1 kW)

Coupling of fast subcritical system with spallation source including MA fuelled configuration - postponed

SAD(Russia)

Proton (660 MeV)+ Pb-Bi (1 kW)

Fast(20 kW) Coupling of fast subcritical system with spallation source - cancelled

TEF-T(Japan)

Proton (600 MeV)+ Pb-Bi (200 kW)

----- Dedicated facility for demonstration and accumulation of material data base for long term - postponed

MYRRHA(Belgium)

Proton (600 MeV)+ Pb-Bi (1.8 MW)

Fast(60 MW) Experimental ADS – under design

Th-ADS Demo Parameters

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Proton Driver Power

250 MeV*3 mA= 0.75 MWth

250 MeV*6 mA= 1.5 MWth

900 MeV*6 mA= 5.4 MWth

Gain G0 0.75 0.75 2.5

Sub-criticality level, k

0.95 0.975 0.975

Gain=Go/(1-k) 15 30 100

Thermal Power Output

11.25 MWth 45 MWth 540 MWth

• By 2015, iThEC aims to set up an international collaboration to build a Thorium ADS

• In the two years to come, iThEC will identify material and financial resources and competencies on a world-wide basis

• iThEC will invite interested parties to join in this common undertaking

The iThEC Initiative

Concluding remarks

• Accelerator-driven systems offers a unique level of safety, which give operational flexibility to future systems for safe and clean energy production and waste transmutation

• Present accelerator technology offers the possibility of closing the thorium fuel cycle. The Energy Amplifier is one of the examples with high potentialiThEC aims to promote the deployment of

these technologies

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Thank YouYacine Kadi

iThEC