Fuel burnup calculation of Ghana MNSR using ORIGEN2 and REBUS3 codes

• The U-235 burnup weight percent was approximately 2.90%.
• The estimated core life of 750FPEDs is equivalent to 46.88 years.
• The concentration of Pu-239 in spent fuel is not significant.
• Inventory of halogens, noble gases, alkaline metals, and actinides are obtained.
• The GHARR-1 can be operated longer than the 10 years stated in its design specification.

Ghana Research Reactor-1 core is to be converted from HEU fuel to LEU fuel in the near future and managing the spent nuclear fuel is very important. A fuel depletion analysis of the GHARR-1 core was performed using ORIGEN2 and REBUS3 codes to estimate the isotopic inventory at end-of-cycle in order to help in the design of an appropriate spent fuel cask. The results obtained for both codes were consistent for U-235 burnup weight percent and Pu-239 build up as a result of burnup.