1

SuperphénixSHAWN ROBINSONNUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE

2What was it

239Pu Breeder core 5,780 kg of plutonium (4,054 kg of Pu- 239) 1200 MWe Sodium cooled Produce 239Pu 200Kg/yr Online 1986-1997

31960’s

1962-1967 Rapsodie 20MWth Sodium cooled (30% PuO2 and 70% UO2) 1968-69 Phénix 250MWe (563MWth) (931 kg plutonium containing 77% Pu-239)

41970’s

1972 – France, Germany, Italy 1973 - Smaller Phoenix went online 90 day cycle (150,000

MWd/t) 1976 – Sodium fire at Small Phénix heat exchanger 1976 - France broke ground on the Superphénix 1977 50,000 Protest (1 death)

51980’s

1980 Level 4 accident at St. Laurent 1982 Protest 5 RPGs (2 hit) 1985-86 Super Phoenix goes online 1986 Novatome laid off 430 of 750 1987 Major sodium leak fuel transfer tank Loss of Nuclear Enthusiasm

61990’s

July 1990 defective compressor leaks air into coolant Dec 1990-92 Heavy Snow collapse turbine room 1994 sodium explosion at Rapsodie 1997 Superphénix produced 7494.72 GWH of electricity before it

was decommissioned

7Lessons Learned

7494.72 GWH of 105,120 GWH (7.1%) $10 billion for 7500 GWH ($1.33/KwH) Lower Uranium Prices ($40-$15/lb)

8Impact on Nuclear Development

1982, Jean-Louis Fensch, a CEA engineer, produced a 250-page report on fast breeders for the Superior Council on Nuclear Safety

 Superphénix would have created energy which costs $0.1/KwH

9Summary

10Refrences

https://www.princeton.edu/sgs/publications/sgs/archive/17-1-Schneider-FBR-France.pdf

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-A-F/France/

http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2011/ph241/abdul-kafi1/

11Thank You!

Questions?