Springer Spent Nuclear Fuel and Accelerator-Driven Subcritical Systems (Green Energy and Technology)

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels, and discusses the applications of radiation, particularly spallation neutrons and gamma rays. The unspent nuclear fuel of a reactor amounts to roughly 95 per cent of the loaded fuel. It contains both fertile and fissile fuels, minor and higher actinides and radioactive fission products. In 2015, out of approximately 4 million metric tons of spent fuel, only 90,000 metric tons was reprocessed worldwide; the rest was either sent to repositories, kept for cooling down, or put on a waiting list for future reprocessing. With regard to the direct  reutilization of spent nuclear fuel, the new technique of ‘Energy Amplifiers’ has attracted considerable attention among the nuclear energy community.  Presenting extensive information on this technique, the book is divided into eight major sections: (i) spent nuclear fuel and alternative transmutation methods, (ii) general concept of accelerator-driven subcritical systems (ADSS), (iii) spallation neutron sources and the possibility of incineration, (iv) requirements for nuclear data, (v) transmutation of spent nuclear fuel and extension of the fuel cycle, (vi) spallation neutron production facilities, (vii) major experimental facilities for ADSS, and (viii) software tools for the design and modelling of ADSS. The book is ideally suited as a textbook for graduate students as well as a reference guide for researchers and practitioners. From the Back Cover This book offers a comprehensive overview of the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels, and discusses the applications of radiation, particularly spallation neutrons and gamma rays. The unspent nuclear fuel of a reactor amounts to roughly 95 per cent of the loaded fuel. It contains both fertile and fissile fuels, minor and higher actinides and radioactive fission products. In 2015, out of approximately 4 million metric tons of spent fuel, only 90,000 metric tons was reprocessed worldwide; the rest was either sent to repositories, kept for cooling down, or put on a waiting list for future reprocessing. With regard to the direct  reutilization of spent nuclear fuel, the new technique of ‘Energy Amplifiers’ has attracted considerable attention among the nuclear energy community.  Presenting extensive information on this technique, the book is divided into eight major sections: (i) spent nuclear fuel and alternative transmutation methods, (ii) general concept of accelerator-driven subcritical systems (ADSS), (iii) spallation neutron sources and the possibility of incineration, (iv) requirements for nuclear data, (v) transmutation of spent nuclear fuel and extension of the fuel cycle, (vi) spallation neutron production facilities, (vii) major experimental facilities for ADSS, and (viii) software tools for the design and modelling of ADSS. The book is ideally suited as a textbook for graduate students as well as a reference guide for researchers and practitioners. About the Author Dr Vinod Kumar Verma was a Professor of Physics at the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur (India) until April 2010 and a Professor of Engineering Physics/Nano Science at GGSIP University, New Delhi until January 2016. In a research career spanning more than 40 years he participated in international collaborations like EMU01, L3, WA93, WA98, GAMMA-2 & 3, E+T & QUINTA at the JINR, Dubna. He has authored or co-authored over 180 research papers and edited the proceedings of the Workshop on Physics of Accelerator Driven Sub-critical Systems (ADSS). In India, he is best known for his pioneering research on ‘spallation neutrons’ in the course of several S&T projects completed for the DST and DAE (Government of India). He has also successfully completed developmental work on two Monte Carlo Codes for the ADSS technology, i.e. the CASCADE 2004 version in collaboration with the JINR (Dubna) and the JA-IPU code for radiation damage with a team