What is a fast breeder reactor?
In the 1940s and 1950s, the type of uranium that could be used for nuclear fuel was very scarce. In the UK, the priority use for this type of material was in nuclear weapons. Britain needed electricity, too, and scientists persuaded the Government to invest in research and development of the fast breeder system. In a fast breeder reactor, an otherwise unusable form of uranium is packed in a blanket around the core. The reaction that occurs in the core changes this into a blanket of plutonium. The blanket is removed and undergos chemical separation to extract the plutonium, which can be used to make new reactor fuel. In the 1950s and 1960s, fast breeders were seen as the solution to Britain’s energy needs.
