Feasibility study of transmutation of minor actinides in PWR fuel assembly

Majority of fission power reactors in the world are pressurized water reactor (PWR) type. Burning UO2 fuel in PWR produces long lived radioactive isotopes like minor actinides. The characteristics of minor actinide transmutation in specific PWR fuel assembly are studied. The feasibility of using minor actinides as burnable absorber for transmutation and reactivity compensation is studied. The fuel assemblies with conventional burnable absorber rods are replaced with minor actinides rods. Selected assemblies are burnt for 720 full power days, having same initial reactivity for both burnable poison and minor actinide cases. The calculated results indicated that the assemblies with minor actinides yield less cycle length as compared to assembly with conventional burnable poison rods. However a significant transmutation of minor actinides reduces the radiotoxicity of spent fuel to considerable magnitude.