TMSR Fuel Cycle Evaluation Under a Screening and Decision-Making Framework

MSR (Molten salt reactor) is a reactor with the fission material dissolved in the fluoride salt as the fuel, which continuously circulates through the primary loop. The liquid fuel makes the online refueling and reprocessing be possible, consequently, more fuel cycle options would be presented due to the introduction of various refueling fuel type and reprocessing mode (continuous / batch reprocessing) comparing with that of the solid fuel reactor systems. It is important to evaluate all the possible fuel cycle options and screen out the promising ones to narrow the R&D activities of TMSR (Thorium-based Molten-Salt Reactor nuclear energy system) program. In this study, we firstly established a screening and decision-making framework, then conducted an initial evaluation work and identified the potential promising fuel cycle options. Synthesizing the goal of TMSR program and technology readiness, we proposed a “Three-steps” fuel cycle development strategy with the aim for gradually increasing the thorium resource utilization while considering the challenges of the reprocessing technology.