Kalpakkam fast breeder reactor attains criticality; defining step: PM, Pg1

Key Highlights:

• India's first indigenous Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, achieved criticality on Monday.
• The 500 MWe FBR is a crucial step in India's three-stage nuclear power programme.
• This reactor is designed to utilize India's abundant thorium reserves.

Detailed Insights:

• Achieving criticality means the reactor core is functioning as designed, sustaining a continuous series of nuclear fission reactions.
• The FBR is the second stage of the Department of Atomic Energy's (DAE) three-stage program, aiming to use thorium for electricity generation.
• India has significant thorium reserves in coastal and inland regions of several states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Jharkhand.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Criticality: The point at which a nuclear reactor becomes self-sustaining.
• Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR): A nuclear reactor that breeds more fissile material than it consumes while generating power.
• Thorium: A naturally occurring radioactive metal that can be converted into fissile uranium-233 in a nuclear reactor.

India's Three Stage Nuclear Power Program