Resource-Efficient Nuclear Scenarios

Spinrad, B.I. (1979). Resource-Efficient Nuclear Scenarios. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-79-062

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Abstract

Most studies of uranium use in nuclear build-up strategies consider early build-up of light-water reactors (LWR). Then, the plutonium produced in them is used to fuel fast breeder reactors (FBR). This method has been described as the "classical" reactor strategy.

LWRs are not resource-efficient reactors. Strategies which substitute reactors of higher fissile-material "conversion" for them are known to require less uranium. However, most qualitative studies incorporating high-conversion reactors still begin with a high deployment rate of LWRs, and the improved resource-efficiency is not very noticeable.

Some illustrative cases of the more efficient strategies became desirable, so as to make the presentation more general, in the chapter on nuclear power of the forthcoming IIASA book "Energy in a Finite World". This working paper documents the material that was generated for that purpose.

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