Mission MOX Fuel Physics Design--Preliminary Equilibrium MOX Assembly Design and Expected Operating Power for Existing Balakovo Fuel Management Scheme

Among various versions of excess weapons-grade plutonium handling the most preferred in Russia is its burning in power reactors. This is accounted for by the desire to utilize the power value of weapons-grade plutonium and the potentialities of the existing nuclear industry complex. In Russia the versions of burning weapons-grade plutonium in the VVER-, BN-, and HTGR-type power reactors are being developed. However the analysis of the current structure of nuclear power and the energy strategy reveals that in the coming years the VVER-1000-type (designs B-320 and B-392) as well as the VVER-640 reactor (design B-407) now under development appear to be the most promising for this purpose. The experience with the use of mixed uranium/plutonium fuel in the LWR, gained in the West and the preliminary studies carried out in Russia show that weapons-grade plutonium may be actually used as fuel for the Russian VVER reactors. At present Russia has 7 operating VVER-1000 of total installed capacity 7 GWe, 11 reactors of this type are in operation in Ukraine, and 2 in Bulgaria. Before 2003 it is planned to put into operation 2 VVER-1000 units more in Russian and at least 2 units in Ukraine