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To: drmatt
Great, after I reply to billbears, I see a posting that has far better information about what is going to happen with the nuclear material that is being transported. I would ask, seriously, why would nuclear fuel being spent on one pass be better than something that continues to breed fuel?
72 posted on 06/14/2002 8:32:55 PM PDT by stylin_geek
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To: stylin_geek
The current generation of light water reactors (LWRs) use a fuel that is lowly enriched in fissile (vs. fertile) isotopes, and this fuel can only be irradiated to a few percent burnup. Because this fuel is low in fissile content, it is high in fertile content, and the fertile material breeds plutonium. The fertile fuel is required for reactivity control (read SAFETY) reasons. The Modular Helium Reactor can directly utilize highly enriched, almost purely fissile fuel, and burn it down to practically a cinder in one pass without any safety implications. Enormous benefits with regard to fuel-cycle economics (more bang for your buck), proliferation risks (no recycle of fissile material), and as I described in the previous post, the reactor design is passively safe and the final waste form is a fuel particle that is coated with multiple layers of highly inert ceramics. I'm sure you've heard of the containment buildings on the current generation of reactors. Well for the MHR, we have engineered miniature "containment buildings" for each fuel particle. The fuel particles are about the size of a poppy seed, but they are carefully engineered structures. All the parts for this technology are in place. The Department of Energy remains the only obstacle.
78 posted on 06/14/2002 9:51:05 PM PDT by drmatt
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