Economic Analysis of the One Through Fuel Cycle Based on Equilibrium Mass Flow

Abstract

AbstractIn order to evaluate the cost of each stage of the one through fuel cycle (OTC), the uranium required for each stage of the OTC is calculated in detail based on the equilibrium mass flow. According to the material flow analysis, front-end cost and back-end cost of the nuclear fuel cycle under different discount rates are analyzed according to the material flow. The results show that the front-end cost increases with the discount rate, while the back-end cost decreases with the discount rate, and the front-end cost is higher than the back-end cost. The three stages of natural uranium, uranium enrichment and fuel manufacturing not only account for a large proportion of the total cost, but also have a strong sensitivity. Among them, the cost of uranium enrichment has the greatest impact on LCOE, followed by the cost of natural uranium.