Dynamic assessments on high-level waste and low- and intermediate-level waste generation from open and closed nuclear fuel cycles in Republic of Korea

Abstract

We estimated the generation of low- and intermediate-level waste (LILW) and high-level waste (HLW) from open and closed nuclear fuel cycles. The closed fuel cycle reflects the development and deployment of fast reactors and pyroprocessing from 2013 to 2100, while the open fuel cycle only considers pressurized water reactors. The closed fuel cycle hardly affects short-term spent fuel management but can save nearly 60% space of interim storage compared with the open fuel cycle. Compared with the open fuel cycle, the accumulated volume of HLW can be significantly reduced in the closed fuel cycle up to over 95% in 2100. For this volume reduction, high heat generating fission products should be separated from transuranic waste in pyroprocessing and stored in decay storages for a few hundred years. Mining and milling waste in the closed fuel cycle decreases by about 31%. In contrast, the closed fuel cycle generates 3.0%–4.5% more LILW than the open fuel cycle because fast reactors and pyroprocessing produce more LILW and conversion, enrichment, and fabrication produce less LILW. In the closed fuel cycle, operation and decommissioning wastes from reactor and pyroprocessing, respectively, contribute to 74% and 8% of LILW excluding mining and milling waste.