Fast Breeder Reactor

A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor capable of generating more fissile material than it consumes.

FBR uses fast (unmoderated) neutrons to breed fissile plutonium from uranium-238. It can also breed fissile uranium-233 from thorium

Fuel: FBRs usually use a mixed oxide fuel core of up to 20% plutonium dioxide (PuO2) and at least 80% uranium (U-238) dioxide (UO2).

Coolantis of 3 typesgas cooled, sodium cooled, lead cooled

Most of the present fast neutron reactor designs use liquid metal as the primary coolant. some experimental reactors use sodium potassium alloy. These are used because they a in liquid form at room temperature.

process of breeding: The core is surrounded in a blanket of tubes containing non-fissile uranium-238 which, by capturing fast neutrons from the reaction in the core, is converted to fissile plutonium-239 (as is some of the uranium in the core), which is then reprocessed and used as nuclear fuel.