Fast neutron reactor - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A fast neutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of nuclear reactor

Nuclear reactor

A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...

in which the fission chain reaction

Chain reaction

A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events....

is sustained by fast neutrons. Such a reactor needs no neutron moderator

Neutron moderator

In nuclear engineering, a neutron moderator is a medium that reduces the speed of fast neutrons, thereby turning them into thermal neutrons capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction involving uranium-235....

, but must use fuel

Nuclear fuel

Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available...

that is relatively rich in fissile

Fissile

In nuclear engineering, a fissile material is one that is capable of sustaining a chain reaction of nuclear fission. By definition, fissile materials can sustain a chain reaction with neutrons of any energy. The predominant neutron energy may be typified by either slow neutrons or fast neutrons...

material when compared to that required for a thermal reactor

Thermal reactor

A thermal reactor is a nuclear reactor that uses slow or thermal neutrons. Most power reactors are of this type. These type of reactors use a neutron moderator to slow neutrons until they approach the average kinetic energy of the surrounding particles, that is, to reduce the speed of the neutrons...

Advantages

Although it is currently (2010) uneconomic, a fast neutron reactor can reduce the total radiotoxicity of nuclear waste, and dramatically reduce the waste's lifetime. They can also use all or almost all of the fuel in the waste. Fast neutrons have an advantage in the transmutation
Nuclear transmutation
Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one chemical element or isotope into another. In other words, atoms of one element can be changed into atoms of other element by 'transmutation'...

of nuclear waste. With fast neutrons, the ratio between splitting
Nuclear cross section
The nuclear cross section of a nucleus is used to characterize the probability that a nuclear reaction will occur. The concept of a nuclear cross section can be quantified physically in terms of "characteristic area" where a larger area means a larger probability of interaction...

and the capture
Neutron capture
Neutron capture is a kind of nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus collides with one or more neutrons and they merge to form a heavier nucleus. Since neutrons have no electric charge they can enter a nucleus more easily than positively charged protons, which are repelled...

of neutrons
Neutron cross-section
In nuclear and particle physics, the concept of a neutron cross section is used to express the likelihood of interaction between an incident neutron and a target nucleus. In conjunction with the neutron flux, it enables the calculation of the reaction rate, for example to derive the thermal power...

of plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...

or minor actinide is often larger than when the neutrons are slower, at thermal or near-thermal "epithermal" speeds. The transmuted odd-numbered actinides (e.g. from Pu-240 to Pu-241) split more easily. After they split, the actinides become a pair of "fission products." These elements have less total radiotoxicity. Since disposal of the fission products is dominated by the most radiotoxic fission product
Fission product
Nuclear fission products are the atomic fragments left after a large atomic nucleus fissions. Typically, a large nucleus like that of uranium fissions by splitting into two smaller nuclei, along with a few neutrons and a large release of energy in the form of heat , gamma rays and neutrinos. The...

, Cesium 137, which has a half life of 30.1 years, the result is to reduce nuclear waste lifetimes from tens of millennia (from transuranic isotopes) to a few centuries. The processes are not perfect, but the remaining transuranics are reduced from a significant problem to a tiny percentage of the total waste, because most transuranics can be used as fuel.
Fast reactors technically solve the "fuel shortage" argument against uranium-fueled reactors without assuming unexplored reserves, or extraction from dilute sources such as ordinary granite or the ocean. They permit nuclear fuels to be bred from almost all the actinides, including known, abundant sources of depleted uranium and thorium, and light water reactor wastes. On average, more neutrons per fission are produced from fissions caused by fast neutrons than from those caused by thermal neutrons. This results in a larger surplus of neutrons beyond those required to sustain the chain reaction. These neutrons can be used to produce extra fuel, or to transmute long half-life waste to less troublesome isotopes, such as was done at the Phénix
Phénix
Phénix was a small-scale prototype fast breeder reactor, located at the Marcoule nuclear site, near Orange, France. It was a pool-type liquid-metal fast breeder reactor cooled with liquid sodium...

reactor in Marcoule
Marcoule
Marcoule Nuclear Site is a nuclear plant in the Chusclan and Codolet communes, near Bagnols-sur-Cèze in the Gard department of France, which is in the touristic, wine and agricultural Côtes-du-Rhône region...

in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, or some can be used for each purpose. Though conventional thermal reactor
Thermal reactor
A thermal reactor is a nuclear reactor that uses slow or thermal neutrons. Most power reactors are of this type. These type of reactors use a neutron moderator to slow neutrons until they approach the average kinetic energy of the surrounding particles, that is, to reduce the speed of the neutrons...

s also produce excess neutrons, fast reactors can produce enough of them to breed more fuel than they consume. Such designs are known as fast breeder reactors.
The fast reactor doesn't just transmute the inconvenient even-numbered transuranic elements (notably Pu-240 and u-238). It transmutes them, and then fissions them for power, so that these former wastes would actually become valuable.

Disadvantages

The reactor's criticality responds within the flight time of the neutrons across the core. Design of a fast reactor is therefore more demanding, because there is no moderator whose thermal or mechanical behavior can adjust the reactor. Fast reactors cannot be reliably stabilized with control rods, which are too slow. Most designs are stabilized either by doppler broadening
Doppler broadening
In atomic physics, Doppler broadening is the broadening of spectral lines due to the Doppler effect caused by a distribution of velocities of atoms or molecules. Different velocities of the emitting particles result in different shifts, the cumulative effect of which is the line broadening.The...

or by thermal expansion of the fuel, a neutron poison or a neutron reflector
Neutron reflector
A neutron reflector is any material that reflects neutrons. This refers to elastic scattering rather than to a specular reflection. The material may be graphite, beryllium, steel, and tungsten carbide, or other materials...

.
Sodium is often used as a coolant in fast reactors, because it does not moderate neutron speeds much and has a high heat capacity. However, it burns in air, and is very corrosive. It has caused difficulties in reactors (e.g. USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
USS Seawolf , a unique submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the seawolf, the second nuclear submarine, and the only U.S. submarine built with a liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor....

, Monju). Although some sodium-cooled fast reactors have operated safely (notably the Superphénix
Superphénix
Superphénix or SPX was a nuclear power station on the Rhône River at Creys-Malville in France, close to the border with Switzerland. A fast breeder reactor, it halted electricity production in 1996 and was closed as a commercial plant in 1997....

), sodium problems can be prevented by using lead or molten chloride salts as a coolant.

Coolant

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

, the most common coolant

Nuclear reactor coolant

A nuclear reactor coolant is a coolant in a nuclear reactor used to remove heat from the nuclear reactor core and transfer it to electrical generators and the environment....

in thermal reactor

Thermal reactor

s, is generally not a feasible coolant for a fast reactor, because it acts as a neutron moderator

Neutron moderator

. However the Generation IV reactor

Generation IV reactor

Generation IV reactors are a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched. Most of these designs are generally not expected to be available for commercial construction before 2030...

known as the supercritical water reactor

Supercritical water reactor

The supercritical water reactor is a Generation IV reactor concept that uses supercritical water as the working fluid...

with decreased coolant density may reach a hard enough neutron spectrum to be considered a fast reactor.

All current fast reactors are liquid metal cooled reactor

Liquid metal cooled reactor

A liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor, liquid metal fast reactor or LMFR is an advanced type of nuclear reactor where the primary coolant is a liquid metal. Liquid metal cooled reactors were first adapted for nuclear submarine use but have also been extensively studied for power generation...

s. The early Clementine reactor used mercury

Mercury (element)

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

coolant and plutonium

Plutonium

Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...

metal fuel. NaK

NaK

NaK, or sodium-potassium alloy, an alloy, of potassium , and sodium , is usually liquid at room temperature. Various commercial grades are available. NaK is highly reactive with water and may catch fire when exposed to air, so must be handled with special precautions...

coolant is popular in test reactors due to its low melting point

Melting point

The melting point of a solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends on pressure and is usually specified at standard atmospheric pressure...

. Molten lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

cooling has been used in naval propulsion units as well as some other prototype reactors. All large-scale fast reactors have used molten sodium

Sodium

Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...

coolant.

Another proposed fast reactor is a Molten Salt Reactor

Molten salt reactor

A molten salt reactor is a type of nuclear fission reactor in which the primary coolant, or even the fuel itself is a molten salt mixture...

, one in which the molten salt's moderating properties are insignificant. This is typically achieved by replacing the light metal fluorides (e.g. LiF, BeF₂) in the salt carrier with heavier metal chlorides (e.g., KCl, RbCl, ZrCl₄).

Gas-cooled fast reactor

Gas-cooled fast reactor

The Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor system is a nuclear reactor design which is currently in development. Classed as a Generation IV reactor, it features a fast-neutron spectrum and closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of actinides...

s have been the subject of research as well.

Nuclear fuel

In practice, sustaining a fission chain reaction

Chain reaction

with fast neutrons means using relatively highly enriched uranium

Enriched uranium

Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...

or plutonium

Plutonium

. The reason for this is that fissile reactions are favored at thermal energies, since the ratio between the Pu239 fission cross section

Nuclear cross section

The nuclear cross section of a nucleus is used to characterize the probability that a nuclear reaction will occur. The concept of a nuclear cross section can be quantified physically in terms of "characteristic area" where a larger area means a larger probability of interaction...

and U238 absorption cross section

Absorption cross section

Absorption cross section is a measure for the probability of an absorption process. More generally, the term cross section is used in physics to quantify the probability of a certain particle-particle interaction, e.g., scattering, electromagnetic absorption, etc...

is ~100 in a thermal spectrum and 8 in a fast spectrum. Therefore it is impossible to build a fast reactor using only natural uranium

Natural uranium

Natural uranium refers to refined uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature. It contains 0.7 % uranium-235, 99.3 % uranium-238, and a trace of uranium-234 by weight. In terms of the amount of radioactivity, approximately 2.2 % comes from uranium-235, 48.6 % uranium-238, and 49.2 %...

fuel. However, it is possible to build a fast reactor that will breed
Breeder reactor
A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor capable of generating more fissile material than it consumes because its neutron economy is high enough to breed fissile from fertile material like uranium-238 or thorium-232. Breeders were at first considered superior because of their superior fuel economy...

fuel (from fertile material

Fertile material

Fertile material is a term used to describe nuclides which generally themselves do not undergo induced fission but from which fissile material is generated by neutron absorption and subsequent nuclei conversions...

) by producing more fissile material than it consumes. After the initial fuel charge such a reactor can be refueled by reprocessing

Nuclear reprocessing

Nuclear reprocessing technology was developed to chemically separate and recover fissionable plutonium from irradiated nuclear fuel. Reprocessing serves multiple purposes, whose relative importance has changed over time. Originally reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing...

. Fission products can be replaced by adding natural or even depleted uranium with no further enrichment required. This is the concept of the fast breeder reactor or FBR.

So far, most fast neutron reactors have used either MOX

MOX fuel

Mixed oxide fuel, commonly referred to as MOX fuel, is nuclear fuel that contains more than one oxide of fissile material. MOX fuel contains plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. MOX fuel is an alternative to the low-enriched uranium fuel used in the...

(mixed oxide) or metal alloy fuel. Soviet fast neutron reactors have been using (high U-235 enriched) uranium fuel. The Indian prototype reactor has been using uranium-carbide fuel.

Control

Like thermal reactors, fast neutron reactors are controlled by keeping the criticality

Critical mass

A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The...

of the reactor reliant on delayed neutron

Delayed neutron

In nuclear engineering, a delayed neutron is a neutron emitted after a nuclear fission event by one of the fission products anytime from a few milliseconds to a few minutes later....

s, with gross control from neutron-absorbing control rods or blades.

They cannot, however, rely on changes to their moderators because there is no moderator. So Doppler broadening

Doppler broadening

In atomic physics, Doppler broadening is the broadening of spectral lines due to the Doppler effect caused by a distribution of velocities of atoms or molecules. Different velocities of the emitting particles result in different shifts, the cumulative effect of which is the line broadening.The...

in the moderator, which affects thermal neutrons, does not work, nor does a negative void coefficient

Void coefficient

In nuclear engineering, the void coefficient is a number that can be used to estimate how much the reactivity of a nuclear reactor changes as voids form in the reactor moderator or coolant...

of the moderator. Both techniques are very common in ordinary light water reactors.

Doppler broadening from the molecular motion of the fuel, from its heat, can provide rapid negative feedback. The molecular movement of the fissionables themselves can tune the fuel's relative speed away from the optimal neutron speed.
Thermal expansion of the fuel itself can also provide quick negative feedback.
Small reactors such as those used in submarines may use doppler broadening or thermal expansion of neutron reflectors.

History

A 2008 IAEA proposal for a Fast Reactor Knowledge Preservation System notes that:

during the past 15 years there has been stagnation in the development of fast reactors in the industrialized countries that were involved, earlier, in intensive development of this area. All studies on fast reactors have been stopped in countries such as Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the only work being carried out is related to the decommissioning of fast reactors. Many specialists who were involved in the studies and development work in this area in these countries have already retired or are close to retirement. In countries such as France, Japan and the Russian Federation that are still actively pursuing the evolution of fast reactor technology, the situation is aggravated by the lack of young scientists and engineers moving into this branch of nuclear power.

USA

CLEMENTINE
Clementine (nuclear reactor)
Clementine was the code name for the world's first fast neutron nuclear reactor. It was an experimental scale reactor. The maximum output was 25 kW and was fueled by plutonium and cooled by liquid mercury. Clementine was located at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

, the first fast reactor, built in 1946 at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

. Plutonium metal fuel, mercury coolant, power 25 kW thermal, used for research, especially as a fast neutron source.
EBR-I at Idaho Falls, which in 1951 became the first reactor to generate significant amounts of electrical power. Decommissioned 1964.
Fermi 1 near Detroit was a prototype fast breeder reactor that began operating in 1957 and shut down in 1972.
EBR-II
Experimental Breeder Reactor II
Experimental Breeder Reactor-II is a reactor at the Materials and Fuels Complex of the Idaho National Laboratory, formerly the West Campus of Argonne National Laboratory in Idaho....

Prototype for the Integral Fast Reactor, 1965-1995?.
SEFOR
SEFOR
SEFOR is a deactivated experimental fast breeder reactor located in Cove Creek Township, Washington County, near West Fork, in northwest Arkansas...

in Arkansas, a 20 MWt research reactor which operated from 1969 to 1972.
Fast Flux Test Facility
Fast Flux Test Facility
The Fast Flux Test Facility is a 400 MW nuclear test reactor owned by the U.S. Department of Energy.It is situated in the 400 Area of the Hanford Site, which is located in the state of Washington.-History:...

, 400MWt, Operated flawlessly from 1982 to 1992, at Hanford
Hanford Site
The Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works or HEW, Hanford Nuclear Reservation...

Washington, now deactivated, liquid sodium is drained with argon backfill under care and maintenance.

Europe

DFR (Dounreay
Dounreay
Dounreay is the site of several nuclear research establishments located on the north coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland...

Fast Reactor, 1959–1977, 14MWe) and PFR (Prototype Fast Reactor, 1974–1994, 250MWe), in Caithness
Caithness
Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...

, in the Highland
Highland (council area)
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and...

area of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.
Rhapsodie in Cadarache
Cadarache
The CEA Cadarache facility is a French scientific research centre which specialises in nuclear energy research. It is located in the commune of Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, Bouches-du-Rhône, in the southern region of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur...

, France, (20 then 40 MW) between 1967 and 1982.
Superphénix
Superphénix
Superphénix or SPX was a nuclear power station on the Rhône River at Creys-Malville in France, close to the border with Switzerland. A fast breeder reactor, it halted electricity production in 1996 and was closed as a commercial plant in 1997....

, in France, 1200MWe, closed in 1997 due to a political decision and very high costs of operation.
Phénix
Phénix
Phénix was a small-scale prototype fast breeder reactor, located at the Marcoule nuclear site, near Orange, France. It was a pool-type liquid-metal fast breeder reactor cooled with liquid sodium...

, 1973, France, 233 MWe, restarted 2003 at 140 MWe for experiments on transmutation of nuclear waste for six years, ceased power generation in March 2009, though it will continue in test operation and to continue research programs by CEA until the end of 2009. Stopped in 2010.
KNK-II, Germany

USSR

Small lead-cooled fast reactors used for naval propulsion
Nuclear marine propulsion
Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship by a nuclear reactor. Naval nuclear propulsion is propulsion that specifically refers to naval warships...

, particularly by the Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...

.
BN-350, constructed by the Soviet Union in Shevchenko (today's Aqtau) on the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

, 130MWe plus 80,000 tons of fresh water per day.

Never operated

Clinch River Breeder Reactor, USA
Integral Fast Reactor
Integral Fast Reactor
The Integral Fast Reactor is a design for a nuclear reactor using fast neutrons and no neutron moderator . IFR is distinguished by a nuclear fuel cycle that uses reprocessing via electrorefining at the reactor site.The U.S...

, USA. Design emphasized fuel cycle based on on-site electrolytic reprocessing. Cancelled 1994 without construction.
SNR-300
SNR-300
The Fast Breeder nuclear reactor SNR-300 was built near the town of Kalkar, Germany The Fast Breeder nuclear reactor SNR-300 was built near the town of Kalkar, Germany The Fast Breeder nuclear reactor SNR-300 was built near the town of Kalkar, Germany (located in the federal state of North...

, Germany

Currently operating

, 1977–1997 and 2003-, Japan

Monju reactor, 300MWe, in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. was closed in 1995 following a serious sodium leak and fire. It was restarted May 6, 2010
BN-600, 1981, Russia, 600 MWe, scheduled end of life 2010 but still in operation.
FBTR
FBTR
The Fast Breeder Test Reactor is a breeder reactor located at Kalpakkam, India. The Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research and Bhabha Atomic Research Center jointly designed, constructed, and operate the reactor.-History:...

, 1985, India, 10.5 MWt
China Experimental Fast Reactor
China Experimental Fast Reactor
The China Experimental Fast Reactor is China's first fast nuclear reactor, and is located outside Beijing at the China Institute of Atomic Energy. It aims to provide China with fast-reactor design, construction, and operational experience, and will be a key facility for testing and researching...

, 65 MWt, planned 2009, critical 2010

Under construction

PFBR, Kalpakkam, India, 500 MWe. Planned to open 2011
BN-800
Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station
The Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station , was the second of the then Soviet Union's nuclear plants. It is situated by Zarechny in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Zarechny township was created to service the station, which is named after the Beloyarsky District...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, planned operation in 2012

In design phase

BN-1800
Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station
The Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station , was the second of the then Soviet Union's nuclear plants. It is situated by Zarechny in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Zarechny township was created to service the station, which is named after the Beloyarsky District...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, build starting in 2012, operation in 2018-2020
Toshiba 4S
Toshiba 4S
- General description :The plant design is offered by a partnership that includes Toshiba and the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry of Japan.The technical specifications of the 4S reactor are unique in the nuclear industry...

being developed in Japan and is planned to be shipped to Galena, Alaska
Galena, Alaska
Galena is the largest city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 675.-History:...

(USA) in 2012 (see Galena Nuclear Power Plant
Galena Nuclear Power Plant
The Galena Nuclear Power Plant is a proposed nuclear power plant to be constructed in the Yukon River village of Galena in the U.S. state of Alaska...

)
KALIMER, 600 MWe, South Korea, projected 2030
Generation IV reactor
Generation IV reactor
Generation IV reactors are a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched. Most of these designs are generally not expected to be available for commercial construction before 2030...

(Gas
Gas-cooled fast reactor
The Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor system is a nuclear reactor design which is currently in development. Classed as a Generation IV reactor, it features a fast-neutron spectrum and closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of actinides...

·Sodium
Sodium-cooled fast reactor
The sodium-cooled fast reactor or SFR is a Generation IV reactor project to design an advanced fast neutron reactor.It builds on two closely related existing projects, the LMFBR and the Integral Fast Reactor, with the objective of producing a fast-spectrum, sodium-cooled reactor.The reactors are...

·Lead
Lead cooled fast reactor
The lead-cooled fast reactor is a nuclear power Generation IV reactor that features a fast neutron spectrum, molten lead or lead-bismuth eutectic coolant. Options include a range of plant ratings, including a number of 50 to 150 MWe units featuring long-life, pre-manufactured cores...

cooled) US-proposed international effort, after 2030
JSFR, Japan, project for a 1500 MWe reactor begin in 1998->2010
ASTRID, France, project for a 600 MWe sodium-cooled reactor. Planned experimental operation in 2020.

Chart

Fast reactors
	U.S.	Russia	Europe	Asia
Past	Clementine Clementine (nuclear reactor) Clementine was the code name for the world's first fast neutron nuclear reactor. It was an experimental scale reactor. The maximum output was 25 kW and was fueled by plutonium and cooled by liquid mercury. Clementine was located at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico... , EBR-I/II, SEFOR SEFOR SEFOR is a deactivated experimental fast breeder reactor located in Cove Creek Township, Washington County, near West Fork, in northwest Arkansas... , FFTF	BN-350	Dounreay Dounreay Dounreay is the site of several nuclear research establishments located on the north coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland... , Rhapsodie, Superphénix Superphénix Superphénix or SPX was a nuclear power station on the Rhône River at Creys-Malville in France, close to the border with Switzerland. A fast breeder reactor, it halted electricity production in 1996 and was closed as a commercial plant in 1997.... , Phénix (stopped in 2010) Phénix Phénix was a small-scale prototype fast breeder reactor, located at the Marcoule nuclear site, near Orange, France. It was a pool-type liquid-metal fast breeder reactor cooled with liquid sodium...
Cancelled	Clinch River, IFR Integral Fast Reactor The Integral Fast Reactor is a design for a nuclear reactor using fast neutrons and no neutron moderator . IFR is distinguished by a nuclear fuel cycle that uses reprocessing via electrorefining at the reactor site.The U.S...		SNR-300 SNR-300 The Fast Breeder nuclear reactor SNR-300 was built near the town of Kalkar, Germany The Fast Breeder nuclear reactor SNR-300 was built near the town of Kalkar, Germany The Fast Breeder nuclear reactor SNR-300 was built near the town of Kalkar, Germany (located in the federal state of North...
Operating		BN-600	Jōyō Joyo (nuclear reactor) is a test sodium-cooled fast reactor located in Ōarai, Ibaraki, Japan, operated by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The name comes from the previous country name of the area around Ibaraki.... , FBTR FBTR The Fast Breeder Test Reactor is a breeder reactor located at Kalpakkam, India. The Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research and Bhabha Atomic Research Center jointly designed, constructed, and operate the reactor.-History:... , CEFR China Experimental Fast Reactor The China Experimental Fast Reactor is China's first fast nuclear reactor, and is located outside Beijing at the China Institute of Atomic Energy. It aims to provide China with fast-reactor design, construction, and operational experience, and will be a key facility for testing and researching...
Under construction		BN-800 Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station The Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station , was the second of the then Soviet Union's nuclear plants. It is situated by Zarechny in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Zarechny township was created to service the station, which is named after the Beloyarsky District...		Monju, PFBR,
Planned	Gen IV Generation IV reactor Generation IV reactors are a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched. Most of these designs are generally not expected to be available for commercial construction before 2030... (Gas Gas-cooled fast reactor The Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor system is a nuclear reactor design which is currently in development. Classed as a Generation IV reactor, it features a fast-neutron spectrum and closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of actinides... ·Sodium Sodium-cooled fast reactor The sodium-cooled fast reactor or SFR is a Generation IV reactor project to design an advanced fast neutron reactor.It builds on two closely related existing projects, the LMFBR and the Integral Fast Reactor, with the objective of producing a fast-spectrum, sodium-cooled reactor.The reactors are... ·Lead Lead cooled fast reactor The lead-cooled fast reactor is a nuclear power Generation IV reactor that features a fast neutron spectrum, molten lead or lead-bismuth eutectic coolant. Options include a range of plant ratings, including a number of 50 to 150 MWe units featuring long-life, pre-manufactured cores... )	BN-1800 Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station The Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station , was the second of the then Soviet Union's nuclear plants. It is situated by Zarechny in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Zarechny township was created to service the station, which is named after the Beloyarsky District...		4S Toshiba 4S - General description :The plant design is offered by a partnership that includes Toshiba and the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry of Japan.The technical specifications of the 4S reactor are unique in the nuclear industry... , JSFR, KALIMER

External links and references

ANL report on EARLY SOVIET FAST REACTORS
Article on recent work on fast neutron reactors in Scientific American, December, 2005
IAEA Fast Reactor Database
Fast Reactor Data Retrieval and Knowledge Preservation seeks to establish a comprehensive, international inventory of fast reactor data and knowledge, which would be sufficient to form the basis for fast reactor development in 30 to 40 years from now.
World Nuclear Association: Fast Neutron Reactors

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External links and references