MIT control#3418-1521 nuclear energy waste transmutation optimized now (newton), DE-FOA-0003418 title: liquid lead suspended fuel subcritical fission blanket for nuclear waste transmutation a…

MIT control#3418-1521 nuclear energy waste transmutation optimized now (newton), DE-FOA-0003418 title: liquid lead suspended fuel subcritical fission blanket for nuclear waste transmutation a transformational transmutation technology is proposed for transmuting the entire U.S. Minor actinides (MAS) stockpile and selected intermediate- and long-lived fission products (FPS). The transmutation system consists of a proton accelerator, a subcritical fission blanket containing liquid lead and nanometer-size suspended MA transmutation targets, and an innovative separation system based on centrifugal force. The fission blanket system uses liquid-lead-based nanofluid as a carrier of the transmutation targets, a coolant for heat transfer, and a spallation target. The nanofluid can substantially simplify the spallation target design and improve material resilience from frequent beam trips and temperature variations. The MA transmutation targets are irradiated in the form of nanometer-sized particles, aiming at homogenous suspension in the liquid lead, improvement of heat transfer capability, and emission of FPS from transmutation targets due to their recoil distance larger than the nanoparticle size. An innovative online separation technology is proposed to separate nanoparticles and FPS suspended in the liquid lead. Gaseous FPS bubble out, and other FPS in liquid lead are separated using a centrifugal force based separation system such as a centrifugal contactor or centrifuge. The proposed transmutation technologies will be demonstrated through numerical simulations and experiments utilizing the nanoparticle manufacture and irradiation capabilities of national labs and universities. The proposed experiments include the measurements of FP emission from nanoparticles by recoil separation and FP separations in the centrifugal separation system. Techno-economic, life-cycle, and market analysis are planned with the category c team.