Modification of PROMETHEUS Reactor as a Fusion Breeder and Fission Product Transmuter

This study presents the analyses of the fissile breeding and long-lived fission product (LLFP) transmutation potentials of PROMETHEUS reactor. For this purpose, a fissile breeding zone (FBZ) fueled with the ceramic uranium mono-carbide (UC) and a LLFP transmutation zone (TZ) containing the 99TC and 129I and 135Cs isotopes are separately placed into the breeder zone of PROMETHEUS-H design. The neutronic calculations are performed by using two different computer codes, the XSDRNPM/SCALE4.4a neutron transport code and the MCNP4B Monte Carlo code. A range of analyses are examined to determine the effects of the FF, the fraction of 6Li in lithium (Li) and the theoretical density (TD) of Li2O in the tritium breeder zone (TBZ) on the neutronic parameters. It is observed that the numerical results obtained from both codes are consistent with each other. It is carried out that the profiles of fission power density (FPD) are flattened individually for each FF (from 3 to 10%). Only, in the cases of FF ≥ 8%, the system is self sufficient from the point of view of tritium generation. The results bring out that the modified PROMETHEUS fusion reactor has capabilities of effective fissile breeding and LLFP transmutation, as well as the energy generation.