Sodium-cooled fast reactor

  The Sodium-cooled fast reactor or SFR is a Generation IV reactor project to design an advanced fast neutron reactor.

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It builds on two closely related existing projects, the LMFBR and the Integral Fast Reactor, with the objective of producing a fast-spectrum, sodium-cooled reactor and a closed fuel cycle for efficient management of actinides and conversion of fertile uranium.

Fuel Cycle

The fuel cycle employs a full actinide recycle with two major options: One is an intermediate size (150 to 600 MWe) sodium-cooled reactor with uranium-plutonium-minor-actinide-zirconium metal alloy fuel, supported by a fuel cycle based on pyrometallurgical reprocessing in facilities integrated with the reactor. The second is a medium to large (500 to 1,500 MWe) sodium-cooled reactor with mixed uranium-plutonium oxide fuel, supported by a fuel cycle based upon advanced aqueous processing at a central location serving a number of reactors. The outlet temperature is approximately 550 degrees Celsius for both.

Design Goals

The SFR is designed for management of high-level wastes and, in particular, management of plutonium and other actinides. Important safety features of the system include a long thermal response time, a large margin to coolant boiling, a primary system that operates near atmospheric pressure, and intermediate sodium system between the radioactive sodium in the primary system and the water and steam in the power plant. With innovations to reduce capital cost, the SFR can serve markets for electricity.

The SFR's fast spectrum also makes it possible to use available fissile and fertile materials (including depleted uranium) considerably more efficiently than thermal spectrum reactors with once-through fuel cycles.

See also

• Fast breeder reactor
• Fast neutron reactor
• Integral Fast Reactor
• Lead-cooled fast reactor
• Gas-cooled fast reactor
• Generation IV reactor