[en] 'COSI', a software developed by the Nuclear Energy Direction at CEA, the French Atomic Energy Commission, is a code simulating a pool of nuclear electricity generating plants with its associated fuel cycle facilities. This code has been designed to study short, medium and long term options for the introduction of various types of nuclear reactors and for the usage of associated nuclear materials. It permits to study transition scenarios and gives due consideration to isotopic composition essentially of uranium, plutonium, minor actinides and some fission products. (authors)

[en] In this study it is demonstrated that it is theoretically possible to obtain different minor actinide transmutation scenarios with a significant gain on the waste radio-toxicity inventory using current technologies. The handling of materials containing Am + Cm entails a significant increase of penetrating radiation sources (neutron and γ) whatever mixed reactor scenario is envisioned: The PWR and fast reactor scenario involving the recycling of Am + Cm in the form of targets results in the lowest mass flow. In the light of these outcomes, the detailed studies has allowed to: - Design a target sub-assembly with a high fission rate (90%). - Define a reprocessing scheme for the plant head and the minor actinide separation processes (PUREX, DIAMEX and SANEX). Some technological difficulties appear in manipulating curium, principally in manufacturing, where the wet process ('sol-gel') is not well suited for (Am + Cm)

[en] In the frame of the French law for the waste management, we have studied different dynamic scenarios from the present fleet which consists in a single stage of Plutonium recycling in PWRs to the future generation systems taking into account different possible solutions to transmute the minor actinides. This paper presents a synthesis of the different solutions with the accessible technologies (PWRs or SFRs) or with the innovative concepts (ADT, GFRs), analyses the impact on the fuel cycle and on the characteristics of the different waste packages and defines an optimised scenario for managing the actinides in the French fleet. The results presented in this paper give the impact on: The natural uranium resources, The inventory function of time, of different elements (Pu, Np, Am, Cm) at each stage of the fuel cycle and in the wastes, The physic characteristics (thermal power, radiation sources) of the fuel and of the wastes. The fast reactor systems are the more efficiency to manage minor actinides and present less impacts in the fuel cycle. (author)

[en] Summary and future prospects for incorporating Am in ASTRID: → Potential to demonstrate the minor actinide transmutation on an industrial scale in the CFV V1 core of ASTRID: • Homogeneous concept: 2% of Am in a standard fuel; • Heterogeneous concept: 10% on UO₂ in the radial blanket. • The objective of ensuring a balance in the Am (and total minor actinides) flow in the ASTRID fuel cycle may be obtained without any impact on the design of the core and handling systems for the management of the new and spent fuel subassemblies. • Several experimental phases in ASTRID to implement different transmutation scenarios using homogeneous and heterogeneous concepts. ⇒ the availability of facilities involved in the ASTRID material cycles

[en] The insertion of a new concept (fuel, reactor, process) must be evaluated in the global electronuclear system with an analysis of the impact on the fuel cycle (Enrichment, Fuel Fabrication, Reactor, Processing, Interim Storage, Waste storage). An approach of scenario studies is used to evaluate different solutions to manage nuclear materials (uranium, plutonium) and wastes (minor actinides and fission products), from the present situation (partially closed cycle) until the total closed cycle with GEN IV systems, in calculating the fluxes and the inventories of these elements in each step of the fuel cycle and to treat the transient period to pass from one situation to the others. For some interesting scenarios, the approach consists on a simulation of transient scenarios from the present situation to the equilibrium situation with a COSI code. The results given at each point of the fuel cycle and for each year permit to demonstrate the technological feasibility and to evaluate the impacts on environmental, economical, proliferation and waste storage aspects. After a presentation of the operational approach, this paper gives an example for a French transient scenario between the present situation and the end of the 21. century with the introduction of GEN IV fast reactors. The results presented in this paper give the impacts on: - The natural uranium resources, - The capacity of different plants (enrichment, fabrication, reprocessing) and interim storages for spent fuels, - The inventory, function of time, of different elements (Pu, Np, Am, Cm) at each stage of the fuel cycle and in the wastes, - The thermal power the high level wastes. (authors)

[en] Among the ASTRID’s main goals is the demonstration of a closed fuel cycle at industrial scale, in particular with the recycling of plutonium coming from the reprocessing of PWR-UOX and MOX fuels and also the MOX coming from ASTRID itself. Associated with the fuel cycle facilities, fabrication and reprocessing, the lessons learned from this industrial demonstration will be transposable to a commercial Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR) and the associated fuel cycle. The paper presents the capability of the ASTRID reactor with its innovative CFV core (low sodium void coefficient), to recycle Pu from the reprocessing of PWR-MOX fuels. The safety and performances goals assigned to the CFV core by the ASTRID project are maintained. The impacts on the physic aspects linked to various initial characteristics (initial Pu content, decay heat), fuel subassemblies (fresh and spent) has been evaluated to identify the plutonium needs and the impact on the fuel management (interim storage, handling) and on its associated fuel cycle (transport, facilities). (author)

[en] Among the ASTRID's main goals is the demonstration of a closed fuel cycle at industrial scale, in particular with the recycling of plutonium coming from the reprocessing of PWR-UOX and MOX fuels and also the MOX coming from ASTRID itself. Associated with the fuel cycle facilities, fabrication and reprocessing, the lessons learned from this industrial demonstration will be transposable to a commercial Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR) and the associated fuel cycle. The paper presents the capability of the ASTRID reactor with its innovative CFV core (low sodium void coefficient), to recycle Pu from the reprocessing of PWR-MOX fuels. The safety and performances goals assigned to the CFV core by the ASTRID project are maintained. The impacts on the physic aspects linked to various initial characteristics (initial Pu content, decay heat), fuel subassemblies (fresh and spent) has been evaluated to identify the plutonium needs and the impact on the fuel management (interim storage, handling) and on its associated fuel cycle (transport, facilities). (author)

[en] In the frame of the French law for the researches about waste management, different dynamic scenarios have been studied. These scenarios are considering the French case and start from the present situation, which consists in a single stage of Plutonium recycling in PWRs. The scenarios described in this paper take into account two main options: Continuation of nuclear energy or phase out option. (authors)

[en] French Industrial Companies: EDF, AREVA (COGEMA and FRAMATOME-ANP), associated with ANDRA, the organization in charge of the waste management in France, and Public Research Institute CEA and IRSN, involved in the nuclear waste management, have developed in collaboration a methodology intended to assess the environmental and health impact of the nuclear fuel cycle. This methodology, based on fuel cycle simulation, Life Cycle Analysis, and Impact Studies of each fuel cycle facilities, has been applied to a set of nuclear scenarios covering a very contrasted range of waste management options, in order to characterize the effect of High Level Waste transmutation, and to estimate to what extent it could contribute to reduce their overall impact on health and environment. The main conclusion we could draw from this study is that it is not possible to discriminate, as far as health and environmental impacts are concerned, nuclear scenarios implementing very different levels of HLW transmutation, representative of the whole range of available options. The main limitation of this work is due to the hypothesis of normal behavior of all fuel cycle facilities: main future improvement of the methodology would be to take the accidental risk into account. (author)

[en] The French nuclear park with an installed electricity power capability of 60 GWe produces about 11 to 12 metric tons of plutonium per year. With the La Hague plant, 850 metric tons of UOX spent fuel are currently reprocessed, which allow to recover around 8.5 tons of plutonium for the fabrication of 100 tons of MOX fuel at the MELOX plant. This MOX fuel is loaded in 20 PWRs (900 Mwe), using 30% MOX loading in the core. In the coming years, one of the objectives of the French national utility EDF is to achieve a full equilibrium between plutonium produced in UOX fuels of its nuclear park and plutonium used in MOX fuels. On the basis of this recycling strategy, and taking into account a possible development of HTRs, it is interesting to study what would be the performances of a nuclear park composed of LWRs and HTRs with regard to the plutonium management. In this frame, a common program study between the CEA and AREVA-NC has been carried out, in order to assess the capability of a modular HTR (GTMHR type) to stabilize the total Plutonium inventory in the case of the French nuclear park. The HTRs are fed out with fuel assemblies containing coated particles with Plutonium oxide. This concept of fuel allows, through a very high burnup and a high efficiency for the consumption of Plutonium.