A Model Study of a Homogeneous Light-Water Thorium Reactor

Abstract

This work presents a computational study of a 232 Th -based homogeneous light-water reactor. Thorium reactors have been proposed as an alternative to the uranium fuel cycle since they exploit both the availability of thorium and its ability to afford fissile uranium isotopes by a sequence of neutron captures. Besides 233 U , as a result of the neutron captures, a significant amount of 234 U (36.3%) and 6.46% of 235 U are formed in the reactor under study. More importantly, the proposed simulation points out the possibility of a continuous withdrawal of the uranium isotopes without compromising the criticality and the power output of the reactor. This withdrawal affords the fissile material for the startup of reactors other than the first one, which requires a one-time only limited amount of fissile material. The significant molar fraction of the 234 U (0.17) in the extracted fuel does not pose a limitation on weapon proliferation, as a consequence of its high fission cross section for high-energy neutrons.