Fast neutron incineration in the energy amplifier as alternative to geologic storage: the case of Spain

In previous reports [1][2] we have presented the conceptual design of a fast neutron driven sub-critical device (Energy Amplifier) designed both for energy amplification (production) and for the incineration of unwanted ³waste² from Nuclear Light Water Reactors (LWR). The latter scheme is here applied to the specific case of Spain, where 9 large LWR¹s are presently in operation. It is shown that a cluster of 5 EA¹s is a very effective and realistic solution to the elimination (in 37 years) of the present and foreseen (till 2029) LWR-Waste stockpiles of Spain, but with major improvements over Geologic Storage, since: (1) only a Low Level Waste (LLW) surface repository of reasonable size is ultimately required; (2) the large amount of energy stored in the trans-Uranics is recovered, amounting for each of the 37 years of incineration to a saving of about 8% of the present primary energy demand of Spain (100 MTep/y); (3) the slightly enriched (1.1%) Uranium, unburned by LWR¹s, can be recovered for further use; (4)Trans-Uranic waste is transformed into fissile ${^233}U, which can be used to make +20% of LWR fuel without isotopic separation and (5) the capital cost of the complete facility, including reprocessing is convincingly lower than the one of the Geologic Storage. The volume of the ultimately Class A LLW can be further reduced by about an order of magnitude transmuting parasitically in the EA¹s into stable nuclear species also the two most offending long-lived isotopes, ${^99}Tc$ and ${^128}I$. The total LLW volume ultimately required (60¹000 m3) will then be roughly about 1% of the present LLW storage in the USA and comparable to the present capacity of the now operational ³El Cabril² in Spain (50¹000 $m{^3}$). We conclude that EA-driven incineration when compared to direct Geological Disposal is environmentally more acceptable and economically more advantageous. Finally, no major technical barriers hinder its realisation.