High Conversion Th-U233 fuel for current generation of PWRs: fuel cycle considerations

In our previous studies we reported on a high conversion (HC) Th-U233 fuel design for current generation of PWRs (Baldova et al., 2014a, 2014b). In (Baldova et al., 2014a), HC seed-blanket (SB) Th-U233 fuel assembly design options were presented and investigated. In (Baldova et al., 2014b), the overall operational feasibility of the design was assessed based on the 3D coupled neutronic, thermal-hydraulic (T-H), and burnup analysis of a PWR core fully loaded with HC Th-U233 fuel. This included estimation of fuel cycle length, critical boron concentration (CBC), maximum achievable power density levels, conversion performance as well as evaluation of reactivity coefficients and a number of safety related T-H parameters.
The current paper deals with a number of fuel cycle aspects associated with the use of HC Th-U233 fuel in PWRs.