Publication Laka-library:
The Changing need for a Breeder Reactor
Author | Richard Wilson, UI London |
6-01-2-60-30.pdf | |
Date | September 1999 |
Classification | 6.01.2.60/30 (FAST BREEDERS - GENERAL) |
Front |
From the publication:
The Uranium Institute 24th Annual Symposium 8-10 September 1999: London The Changing Need for a Breeder Reactor Richard Wilson When nuclear fission was discovered,1 and the possibility of a neutron chain reaction was demonstrated2 there was euphoria about the possibility for unlocking the energy of the atomic nucleus for peaceful human development. The need to win a terrible war ensured that progress was first made in the field of military explosives, but the scientists continued to ponder the use of nuclear fission as an energy source to fuel mankind. One limitation was evident. Only the rare (0.7%) isotope of uranium, U-235, was fissionable by slow neutrons and would be burnt up in a reactor. Uranium appeared to be a scarce mineral with only three known suppliers: the Joachimstal mine in Czechoslovakia, soon to be overtaken by war; Union Minière d’Haute Katanga in the Congo; and the Eldorado mining company in Canada. It seemed that although the “nuclear age” had come, it was to be short lived. But other fissionable materials (with atomic weights A = 4N-1) were predicted by Bohr and Wheeler3 in 1939, and plutonium-239 was discovered by Seaborg, McMillan, Ramannod and Wahl in 1941. Soon thereafter, Seaborg and collaborators discovered the first (U-233) of many fissionable isotopes not a member of Bohr and Wheeler’s 4N-1 rule. In 1951 McMillan and Seaborg received the Nobel prize in chemistry for their work on the chemistry of the transuranic elements that included this discovery. This immediately led to a possibility which I will call for brevity “Fermi’s dream”. By use of a breeder reactor it is possible to convert the waste U-238 into Pu-239 for burning. By this means 100 times as much energy can be obtained from the same amount of raw fuel. I note that this dream was an endeavour to achieve high efficiency in fuel use — a goal rediscovered by “environmentalists” (but not in the context of a breeder reactor)