Effective Utilization of Weapon-Grade Plutonium to Upgrade Repeatedly-Reprocessed Mixed-Oxide Fuel for Use in Pressurized Water Reactors.

A "Multiple Recycling" mode of fuel management is proposed for effectively utilizing weapon-grade plutonium from discarded military material to compensate plutonium degradation in repeatedly-reprocessed mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. Comparative calculations on core performance are undertaken for comparison between the proposed fuel management mode of Multiple Recycling-using recovered depleted plutonium upgraded by admixture with weapon-grade plutonium while retaining unincreased the total plutonium content-and a reference mode of using repeatedly reprocessed spent MOX fuel with plutonium upgraded through increase of the plutonium content. Multiple Recycling proves ail calculated safely parameters to be retained unimpaired through multiple cycles of MOX fuel reprocessing, whereas in the reference mode of refueling with spent MOX fuel reprocessed without upgrading with weapon-grade plutonium, many of the calculated safety parameters come to exceed stipulated limits with repetition of fuel cycles. Moreover: Multiple Recycling mode can be implemented with application solely of techniques already practiced in the fabrication of MOX fuel.