Prospect of Nuclear Waste Transmutation and Power Production in Fusion Reactors

A small tokamak-based fusion reactor can be attractive for actinide waste transmutation. Equilibrium concentrations of transuranium isotopes were estimated in a molten-salt based fusion transmutation reactor. Nuclear performance parameters were derived for two types of fusion-driven transmutation reactors: Pu-assisted and minor actinides-only systems. The minor actinide-only burning system appears to be the ultimate fusion transmutation reactor. Because such a transmutation system can destroy the minor actinides generated in 35 LWRs, each of which produces the same thermal power as the transmutation reactor. However, a Pu-assisted transmutation reactor may achieve the same thermal power at a lower fusion power because of the higher energy multiplication in the blanket. It can therefore be developed as a shorter-term technology to demonstrate the viable long-term solution to nuclear waste.