Fertile material

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fertile material is a term used to describe nuclides which generally themselves do not undergo induced fission (fissionable by thermal neutrons) but from which fissile material is generated by neutron absorption and subsequent nuclei conversions. Fertile materials that occur naturally which can be converted into a fissile material by irradiation in a reactor include: thorium-232 which can be converted into fissionable uranium-233, uranium-234 which is converted into uranium-235 and uranium-238 which can be converted into fissionable plutonium-239. Artificial isotopes formed in the reactor which can be converted into fissile material include plutonium-238 which converts into plutonium-239 and plutonium-240 which converts into plutonium-241.

A Fast breeder reactor, a reactor with little or no neutron moderator and hence utilising fast neutrons, can be configured to produce more fissile material than it consumes, using fertile material in a blanket around the core, or contained in special fuel rods. Because fast neutrons are more efficient at causing fission plutonium-238, plutonium-240 and plutonium-241 do not accumulate in spent fast reactor fuel as easily as they do in thermal reactor fuel.

v • d • e Nuclear technology
Nuclear engineering	Nuclear physics | Nuclear fission | Nuclear fusion | Radiation | Ionizing radiation | Atomic nucleus | Nuclear reactor | Nuclear safety
Nuclear material	Nuclear fuel | Fertile material | Thorium | Uranium | Enriched uranium | Depleted uranium | Plutonium
Nuclear power	Nuclear power plant | Radioactive waste | Fusion power | Future energy development | Inertial fusion power plant | Pressurized water reactor | Boiling water reactor | Generation IV reactor | Fast breeder reactor | Fast neutron reactor | Magnox reactor | Advanced gas-cooled reactor | Gas cooled fast reactor | Molten salt reactor | Liquid metal cooled reactor | Lead cooled fast reactor | Sodium-cooled fast reactor | Supercritical water reactor | Very high temperature reactor | Pebble bed reactor | Integral Fast Reactor | Nuclear propulsion | Nuclear thermal rocket | Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
Nuclear medicine	PET | Radiation therapy | Tomotherapy | Proton therapy | Brachytherapy
Nuclear weapons	History of nuclear weapons | Nuclear warfare | Nuclear arms race | Nuclear weapon design | Effects of nuclear explosions | Nuclear testing | Nuclear delivery | Nuclear proliferation | List of states with nuclear weapons | List of nuclear tests