The GDT Based Neutron Source as a Driver in a Sub-Critical Burner of Radioactive Wastes

Transmutation of long-lived radioactive nuclear waste, including plutonium, minor actinides and fission products, represents a highly important problem of fission reactor technology and is presently studied worldwide in large-scale. Sub-critical systems seem to be a promising option for efficiently burning plutonium and minor actinides provided a sufficiently high-intense neutron source is available. For a number of years the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (Russia) in collaboration with the Russian and European organizations developed the project of a 14 MeV neutron source for fusion material irradiation and other applications. The projected plasma type neutron source is based on the Gas Dynamic Trap (GDT) which is a special magnetic mirror system for the plasma confinement. This poster presents different version of the GDT-based neutron source for hybrid fusion-fission sub-critical system for the transmutation of the long-live radioactive waste in spent nuclear fuel.