Thorium Fuel Cycle in BWR with Free 233U

Abstract

Study on thorium fuel cycle with free ²³³U in boiling water reactor (BWR) has been carried out. In this study we have utilized plutonium and minor actinides (MA) as fissile nuclides instead of ²³³U as one of the main scenario to obtain the
²³³U free BWR core with thorium. Beside that, the void-fraction of the reactor is modified from 20% up to 70%. The results show that the standard BWR core can maintain its criticality when the loaded fuel is thorium with 11.16% and 1.24 % of plutonium and MA, respectively. The use of 11.16% of Pu and 1.24 % of MA is more than enough to substitute the 1% of
²³³U to obtain thorium fuel cycle in the standard BWR with free ²³³U. Moreover, the lesser amount of plutonium and minor actinides in the fuel will results in the great degradation on the safety of reactor