The fast breeder or fast breeder reactor (FBR) is a type of fast neutron reactor that produces more fissile material than it consumes. The FBR is one possible type of breeder reactor. As announced thus far, uranium-238 has been used as the substrate. Alternative fast and thermal breeder reactors are possible using thorium. A fast neutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of nuclear reactor in which the fission chain reaction is sustained by fast neutrons. ... This article or section should include material from Fissile material In nuclear engineering, a fissile material is one that is capable of sustaining a chain reaction of nuclear fission. ... General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Atomic mass 238. ... General Name, Symbol, Number thorium, Th, 90 Chemical series Actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 232. ...

Because India has large thorium reserves, it is aggressively pursuing development of the thorium-based fuel cycle.

A fast neutron reactor, commonly called simply fast reactor, is a nuclear reactor design that uses no moderator but instead relies on fast neutrons to sustain its chain reaction. Achieving this requires high-grade fuel such as enriched uranium or plutonium, but once this has been provided for the initial startup the reactor produces its own fuel and a surplus that can then be used to start other FBRs, hence the concept of a breeder. Core of a nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate (as opposed to a nuclear explosion, where the chain reaction occurs in a split second). ... In nuclear engineering, a neutron moderator is a medium which reduces the velocity of fast neutrons, thereby turning them into thermal neutrons capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction. ... A fast neutron is a free neutron with a kinetic energy level close to 1 MeV (10 TJ/kg, hence a speed of 14,000 km/s. ... A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions. ... Enriched uranium is uranium whose uranium-235 content has been increased through the process of isotope separation. ... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ...

Technical

Schematic diagram showing the operation of the DFR, a liquid-sodium cooled FBR. Note the breeder blanket of U around the fissile core of Pu, the lack of a neutron-slowing moderator and the two-stage Na coolant loops.

FBRs usually use a mixed oxide fuel core of up to 20% plutonium dioxide (PuO₂) and at least 80% uranium dioxide (UO₂). The plutonium used can be from reprocessed civil or dismantled nuclear weapons sources. Surrounding the reactor core is a blanket of tubes containing non-fissile uranium-238 which, by capturing fast neutrons from the reaction in the core, is partially converted to fissile plutonium 239 (as is some of the uranium in the core), which can then be reprocessed for use as nuclear fuel. There is no moderator as this would slow the neutrons leaving the core. Early FBRs used metallic fuel, either highly enriched uranium or plutonium. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (948x613, 45 KB) Summary Schematic diagram showing the operation of the DFR (Dounreay Fast Reactor), a liquid-sodium cooled fast-breeder type nuclear reactor. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (948x613, 45 KB) Summary Schematic diagram showing the operation of the DFR (Dounreay Fast Reactor), a liquid-sodium cooled fast-breeder type nuclear reactor. ... Nuclear reprocessing ... Prepared during the reprocessing of nuclear fuel by calcination of plutonium(IV) oxalate, Pu(C2O4)2. ... UO2 A black, radioactive, crystalline powder, once used in the late 1800s to mid-1900s in ceramic glazes. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ... This article or section should include material from Fissile material In nuclear engineering, a fissile material is one that is capable of sustaining a chain reaction of nuclear fission. ... There are two objects with this name: Unterseeboot 238 Uranium-238, the most common isotope of uranium This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block ?, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... Enriched uranium is uranium whose uranium-235 content has been increased through the process of isotope separation. ... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ...

Fast reactors typically use liquid metal as the primary coolant, to cool the core and heat the water used to power the electricity generating turbines. Sodium is the normal coolant for large power stations, but lead and NaK have both been used successfully for smaller generating rigs. Some early FBRs used mercury. One advantage of mercury and NaK is that they are both liquids at room temperature, which is convenient for experimental rigs but less important for pilot or full scale power stations. Liquid sodium leaving the core will contain radioactive sodium 24. General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 22. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish white Atomic mass 207. ... NaK is an alloy of sodium and potassium, and particularly one that is liquid at room temperatures. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 200. ...

Water cannot be used as the primary coolant since it would act as a moderator, however a heavy water moderated thermal breeder reactor using thorium to produce uranium-233 is theoretically possible, see below. Moderator can refer to one of the following: neutron moderator moderator (communications) - Message Board Moderator The chairperson of a church court in Presbyterian churches (see Moderator of the General Assembly). ... Heavy water is dideuterium oxide, or D2O or 2H2O. It is chemically the same as normal water, H2O, but the hydrogen atoms are of the heavy isotope deuterium, in which the nucleus contains a neutron in addition to the proton found in the nucleus of any hydrogen atom. ...

FBR generating plants

FBRs have been built and operated in the USA, the UK, France, the former USSR, India and Japan. One of the plants in the USSR was also previously used for desalination in addition to power generation. As of 2004, a prototype FBR was under construction in China, while another experimental FBR in Germany was built but never operated. Desalination refers to any of several processes that remove the excess salt and other minerals from water in order to obtain fresh water suitable for animal consumption or irrigation, and if almost all of the salt is removed, for human consumption, sometimes producing table salt as a by-product. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On December 20, 1951, the fast reactor EBR-I (Experimental Breeder Reactor-1) at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho produced enough electricity to power four light bulbs, and the next day produced enough power to run the entire EBR-I building. This was a milestone in the development of nuclear power reactors. December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Experimental Breeder Reactor Number 1 in Idaho, the birthplace of atomic energy. ... The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is an 890 square mile (2,300 km²) complex located in the Idaho desert between the towns of Arco and Idaho Falls. ... Idaho Falls is a city located in Bonneville County, Idaho. ...

The next generation experimental breeder was EBR-II (Experimental Breeder Reactor-2), which went into service at the INEEL in 1964 and operated until 1994. It was designed to be an "integral" nuclear plant, equipped to handle fuel recycling onsite. It typically operated at 20 megawatts out of its 62.5 megawatt maximum design power, and provided the bulk of heat and electricity to the surrounding facilities.

Another early FBR was the experimental Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) which started operating in 1959 at Dounreay, Scotland, using a sodium-potassium coolant, and producing 14MW of electricity. This was followed by a larger 250 MW Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) on the same site in the 1970s until it was closed down in 1994 as the British government withdrew major financial support for nuclear energy development (DFR having previously been closed). 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dounreay (Ordnance Survey grid reference NC982669) is primarily a ruinous castle on the coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the UK Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 22. ... General Name, Symbol, Number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 39. ... Electricity is a property of matter that results from the presence of electric charge. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

The world's first commercial liquid-metal-cooled FBR, and the only such plant in the US, was the 200 megawatt Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant, commonly known as "Fermi 1." Designed in a joint effort between Dow Chemical and Detroit Edison as part of the Atomic Power Development Association consortium, groundbreaking in Lagoona Beach, Michigan (near Monroe, Michigan) took place in 1956. The plant went into operation in 1963. It shut down on October 5, 1966 due to high temperatures caused by a loose piece of zirconium which was blocking the molten sodium coolant nozzles. Partial melting damage to six subassemblies within the core was eventually found. (This incident was the basis for a controversial book by investigative reporter John G. Fuller titled We Almost Lost Detroit.) The zirconium blockage was removed in April of 1968, and the plant was ready to resume operation by May of 1970, but a sodium coolant fire delayed its restart until July. It subsequently ran until August of 1972 when its operating license renewal was denied. Enrico Fermi in the 1940s. ... The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, USA. In terms of market capitalization, it is the second-largest chemical company in the world, smaller than only DuPont. ... Detroit Edison (DTE Energy) is a utility company serving most of Southeast Michigan. ... Monroe is a city located in Monroe County, Michigan. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 22. ...

The largest fast breeder reactor to date, Superphénix, entered service in France in 1984, producing 1,200 MW of electricity, and used a liquid sodium heat transfer medium. Its predecessor, Phénix is currently the centre of work on destruction of nuclear waste by transmutation. However, Superphénix was shut down in 1997 due to high costs of operation, and various incidents; the liquid sodium cooling system proved largely unwieldy. Superphénix was also the focus point of various groups hostile to nuclear energy. Superphoenix (French: Superphénix or SPX) is a nuclear power station on the Rhône River at Creys-Malville in France, close to the border with Switzerland. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 22. ... This article is in the process of being merged into Heat, and may be outdated. ... Phénix is a small-scale (233 MWe) prototype fast breeder reactor in France. ... Political Punk band from Victorville, Ca WWW.MYSPACE.COM/NUCLEARWASTEX ... Transmutation is the conversion of one object into another. ...

The Soviet Union constructed a series of fast reactors, the first being mercury cooled and fueled with plutonium metal, and the later plants sodium cooled and fueled with plutonium oxide. BN-350 on the Caspian Sea produced 130 MWe plus 80,000 metric tons of fresh water per day. BN-600 commenced operation in 1980 and produced 600 MWe. Plans for larger plants were cancelled by the breakup of the Soviet Union. The BN-600 (Beloyarsk NNP in the town of Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Oblast) is still operational. A second reactor (BN-800) is scheduled to be constructed before 2015 [1]. A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... Sverdlovsk Oblast (Russian: , tr. ...

On December 8, 1995 the 300 MWe Monju reactor in Japan was put out of service after a sodium leak. The reactor has received approval to restart, which is planned for 2008. December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Monju reactor is an experimental fast breeder reactor located in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture in Japan. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will a Leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Future plants

As of 2003 one FBR was planned for India, and another for China using Soviet technology. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

South Korea is developing a design for a standardised modular FBR for export, to complement the standardised PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) and CANDU designs they have already developed and built, but has not yet committed to building a prototype. A pressurised water reactor (PWR) is a type of nuclear power reactor that uses ordinary light water for both coolant and for neutron moderation. ... The CANDU reactor is a pressurized-heavy water,(PHWR) natural uranium (i. ...

The FBR program of India includes the concept of using fertile thorium-232 to breed fissile uranium-233. India is also pursuing the thermal breeder reactor again using thorium. A thermal breeder is not possible with purely uranium/plutonium based technology. Thorium fuel is the strategic direction of the power program of India, owing to their large reserves of thorium, but worldwide known reserves of thorium are also some three times those of uranium. General Name, Symbol, Number thorium, Th, 90 Chemical series Actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 232. ...

Economics

The breeding of plutonium fuel in FBRs, known as the plutonium economy, was for a time believed to be the future of nuclear power. It remains the strategic direction of the power program of Japan. However, cheap supplies of uranium and especially of enriched uranium have made current FBR technology uncompetitive with PWR and other thermal reactor designs. PWR designs remain the most common existing power reactor type and also represent most current proposals for new nuclear power stations. Enriched uranium is uranium whose uranium-235 content has been increased through the process of isotope separation. ... A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of nuclear power reactor that uses ordinary (light) water for both coolant and for neutron moderator. ... A thermal reactor is the most common category of nuclear reactor. ...

Proliferation

It is generally agreed that—if designed incorrectly—the FBR poses a greater risk of proliferation of nuclear weapons than the PWR. Unlike a PWR, an FBR can in theory produce weapons grade material. However, to date all known weapons programs have used far more easily built thermal reactors to produce plutonium, and there are some designs such as the SSTAR which avoid proliferation risks by both producing low amounts of plutonium at any given time from the U-238, and by producing three different isotopes of plutonium (Pu-239, Pu-240, and Pu-242) making the plutonium used infeasible for atomic bomb use (dirty bomb use still being a possibility, although ordinary high-level radiation waste can be used for this purpose as well). The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ... SSTAR is an acronym for the small, sealed, transportable, autonomous reactor - being primarily researched and developed in the US by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. ... The term dirty bomb is most often used to refer to a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD), a radiological weapon which combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. ...

Thorium reactors may pose a slightly higher proliferation risk than Uranium based reactors, if improperly operated. The reason for this is that Pu-239 will fairly often fail to fission up on neutron capture, producing Pu-240, which contaminates the fuel, making it difficult to use in nuclear weapons. Thorium 232, however, converts to U-233, which will almost always fission successfully, meaning that there will be very little U-234, or higher actinides mixed with the reactor's thorium/U-233 breeder blanket, and the resulting pure U-233 will be comparatively easy to extract and use for weapons. Uranium-238 can be mixed with this blanket to make the resulting material less useful for weapons purposes (as then the U-233 would require isotopic separation), so properly operated, a thorium reactor should be less suceptable to proliferation.

Associated reactor types

One design of fast neutron reactor, specifically designed to address the waste disposal and plutonium issues, was the Integral Fast Reactor (a.k.a. Integral Fast Breeder Reactor, although the original reactor was designed to not breed a net surplus of fissile material) [2] [3]. The Integral Fast Reactor or Advanced Liquid-Metal Reactor was a design for a nuclear reactor with a specialized nuclear fuel cycle. ...

To solve the waste disposal problem, the IFR had an on-site electrowinning fuel reprocessing unit that recycled the uranium and all the transuranics (not just plutonium) via electroplating, leaving just short half-life fission products in the waste. Some of these fission products could later be separated for industrial or medical uses and the rest sent to a waste repository (where they would not have to be stored for anywhere near as long as wastes containing long half-life transuranics). It is thought that it would not be possible to divert fuel from this reactor to make bombs, as several of the transuranics spontaneously fission so rapidly that any assembly would melt before it could be completed. The project was canceled in 1994, at the behest of then-Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... In chemistry, transuranium elements (also known as transuranic elements) are the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 92, the atomic number of Uranium. ... Electroplating is the coating of an electrically conductive item with a layer of metal using electrical current. ... Half-Life For a quantity subject to exponential decay, the half-life is the time required for the quantity to fall to half of its initial value. ... Fission products are the residues of fission processes. ... The United States Secretary of Energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, concerned as the name suggests, with The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. ... Hazel OLeary Hazel Rollins OLeary (born May 17, 1937) was the seventh United States Secretary of Energy from 1993 to 1997. ...

See also

• LMFBR

• Fast reactor

LMFBR (Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor) is a type of nuclear reactor that uses liquid sodium as its coolant and Uranium-238 to absorb neutrons, which in turn will breed Plutonium-239, an element which can be used in nuclear fissions. ... A fast neutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of nuclear reactor in which the fission chain reaction is sustained by fast neutrons. ...

External links

• US Nuclear Program
• Monju survey of world FBR development
• IAEA Fast Reactors Database
• IAEA Technical Documents on Fast Reactors
• Atomic Heritage Foundation - EBR-I
• The Changing Need for a Breeder Reactor by Richard Wilson at The Uranium Institute 24th Annual Symposium, September 1999