Prospect and Challenges of DUPIC Development in Korea

Abstract

DUPIC fuel cycle technology is currently under development at KAERI in cooperation with Canada, the USA and the newly joined IAEA. The DUPIC concept is based on the idea that the bulk of spent PWR fuel can be directly refabricated into a reusable fuel for CANDU reactors, of which high efficiency in thermal neutron utilization would burn the fissile remnants in spent PWR fuel. As there is no separation of sensitive materials involved in the direct refabrication, the DUPIC fuel cycle is dubbed proliferation-resistant. The anticipated benefits of the DUPIC fuel cycle are multiple: the removal of spent PWR fuel for reuse in CANDU reactors at doubling burnup, reduces spent CANDU fuel, savings of natural uranium for CANDU fuel, etc. In order for DUPIC fuel to be qualified ultimately as a licensable and proliferation-resistant fuel, the database of the fuel behavior and information on the fabricability, safeguard ability, etc. should be established through the developmental phases. The characteristics of the DUPIC fuel cycle technology, together with its development program at KAERI, are described in this paper.