Boiling Water Reactor with a Combined Moderator for Utilization of Reactor Grade Plutonium

The article presents the concept of a channel-type reactor with a combined cooled moderator. The moderator consists of ceramic beryllium oxide and a liquid moderator—water with a possible variation in its composition due to the ratio between light water and heavy water components. Variants of fuel cycles based on the combination of “power” plutonium with depleted uranium, regenerated uranium, and thorium are analyzed. Quantitative estimates of the consumption of raw materials and the transformation of the isotopic composition of the irradiated fuel components are presented. The issues of safety and the possibility of controlling the reactivity coefficient by the density of the boiling coolant when changing the fuel cycle are discussed.