Editing Breeder reactor (section)

=== Burnup ===
"[[Burnup]]" is a measure of how much energy has been extracted from a given mass of heavy metal in fuel, often expressed (for power reactors) in terms of gigawatt-days per ton of heavy metal. Burnup is an important factor in determining the types and abundances of isotopes produced by a fission reactor. Breeder reactors by design have high burnup compared to a conventional reactor, as breeder reactors produce more of their waste in the form of fission products, while most or all of the actinides are meant to be fissioned and destroyed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fast Reactor Systems and Innovative Fuels for Minor Actinides Homogeneous Recycling |url=https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/45/089/45089649.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013023325/https://www.iaea.org/NuclearPower/Downloadable/Meetings/2013/2013-03-04-03-07-CF-NPTD/T8.3/T8.3.calabrese.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2016}}</ref>

In the past, breeder-reactor development focused on reactors with low breeding ratios, from 1.01 for the [[Shippingport Reactor]]<ref>Adams, R. (1995). [http://www.atomicinsights.com/oct95/LWBR_oct95.html Light Water Breeder Reactor] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070915175600/http://www.atomicinsights.com/oct95/LWBR_oct95.html |date=15 September 2007}}), ''Atomic Energy Insights'' '''1'''.</ref><ref>Kasten, P. R. (1998) [http://www.princeton.edu/~globsec/publications/pdf/7_3kasten.pdf Review of the Radkowsky Thorium Reactor Concept] ({{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225154333/http://www.princeton.edu/~globsec/publications/pdf/7_3kasten.pdf |date=25 February 2009}}). ''Science & Global Security'' '''7''', 237–269.</ref> running on thorium fuel and cooled by conventional light water to over 1.2 for the Soviet [[BN-350 reactor|BN-350]] liquid-metal-cooled reactor.<ref>[http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/fasbre.html Fast Breeder Reactors] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060911211311/http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/HBASE//nucene/fasbre.html |date=11 September 2006}}), Department of Physics & Astronomy, [[Georgia State University]]. Retrieved 16 October 2007.</ref> Theoretical models of breeders with liquid sodium coolant flowing through tubes inside fuel elements ("tube-in-shell" construction) suggest breeding ratios of at least 1.8 are possible on an industrial scale.<ref>Hiraoka, T., Sako, K., Takano, H., Ishii, T., and Sato, M. (1991). [http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=5560940 A high-breeding fast reactor with fission product gas purge/tube-in-shell metallic fuel assemblies] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929120507/http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=5560940 |date=29 September 2007}}). ''Nuclear Technology'' '''93''', 305–329.</ref> The Soviet BR-1 test reactor achieved a breeding ratio of 2.5 under non-commercial conditions.<ref name="Korobeinikov_2014"/>