Molten salt reactor article about molten salt reactor by. Molten salt reactors and thorium energy scitech connect. The key advantage of this geniv reactor design is that it uses molten salt to carry the fuel as well as cool the system. A study of fission products in the moltensalt reactor. Although emphasis was placed on the twofluid concept because. Oct 23, 2015 the company is developing their wasteannihilating molten salt reactor wamsr which is a 520 mw molten salt reactor which uses the waste from traditional reactors as a fuel source. New molten salt thorium reactor powers up for first time. Possible configurations for the thorium molten salt. Msre design and operations report, part i, description of reactor design ornltm728 a description of the molten salt reactor experiment design.
I recommend using 4k video downloader to repurpose my video assets directly off youtube. The heat is quickly transferred to another molten salt that takes it to an electric generator, to power the grid. At transatomic power, we are tackling one of the worlds toughest challenges. If youre after the molten salt reactor experiment, download the pdf and go to page. Beyond that, the fuel pellets used have far too high a melting temperature, the fuel kernel inside cannot achieve these levels of temperatures with decay heat, making it impossible for. Mru on lftr liquid fluoride thorium reactors youtube.
Safety assessment of molten salt reactors in comparison with. Liquid fuel, salt cooled reactors are known as msrs molten salt reactors or lftrs liquid fluoride thorium reactors. A technology called the moltensalt reactor first went online in 1965 at oak ridge national laboratory, but was scrapped in the 1970s because it wasnt good for making nuclear weapons. The molten salt reactor technology comes into two distinct forms that need to be noted. Dewan and massies design is fuelagnostic in the sense that it can run on either uranium or. Remote maintenance of molten salt reactors youtube. National and international efforts to develop new sources of carbonfree energy are exploring a nuclear power concept first introduced in the.
It presents new data, or verifies existing data on, thermophysical properties of liquid metal and molten salt coolants, and describes tools for online monitoring and control of coolant chemistry. A molten salt reactor msr is a class of nuclear fission reactor in which the primary nuclear reactor coolant andor the fuel is a molten salt mixture. Kirk gave a brief overview of molten salt reactors msr and specifically liquid fluoride thorium reactors lftr. Msrs offer multiple advantages over conventional nuclear power plants, although for historical reasons they have not been deployed the concept was first established in the 1950s. An easytodownload copy of this video for recycling purposes can be.
The moltensalt reactor experiment msre was an experimental molten salt reactor at the oak ridge national laboratory ornl researching this technology through the 1960s. Alvin weinbergs molten salt reactor experiment on youtube an account of oak ridge. It operated from january 1965 through december 1969, logging more than,000 hours at full power during its fouryear run. Methods to improve the corrosion resistance between heavy liquid metal coolant and components, structure material and instrumentation are also examined. Samofar safety assessment of the molten salt fast reactor is one of the major research and innovation projects in the horizon 2020 euratom research programme. Pdf molten salt reactors, materials and processes for energy. Molten salt reactors mark ho, nuclear analysis section, centre for nuclear applications, ansto. Thorium salt reactor experiments resume after 40 years. If you remix on youtube, aside from a description hyperlink, please add an. Because of their unprecedented energy efficiency, molten salt reactors extend the uranium scope by a factor 30 to 100, depending on the options compared. The coolant is near atmospheric pressure, not extremelyhigh pressure. Nasa space molten salt reactors for more capable and. If the fuel overheats it expands and the atoms move apart, reducing fission and cooling the reactor.
Nov 10, 2017 the key advantage of this geniv reactor design is that it uses molten salt to carry the fuel as well as cool the system. As a breeder reactor, a modified msr might be able to produce weaponsgrade nuclear material. The design was first proposed as the propulsion system of a nuclearpowered aircraft at the oak ridge national laboratory macpherson, 1985. Oak ridge national laboratorys molten salt reactor experiment was designed to assess the viability of liquid fuel reactor technologies for use.
A pair of mit scientists try to transform nuclear power. Msrs could restart your thinking about nuclear power. Molten salt reactor workshop 2016 oak ridge national. Working to educate public on molten salt reactors, liquid fluoride thorium reactors, and th. A molten salt reactor msr is a type of nuclear reactor that uses liquid fuel instead of the solid fuel rods used in conventional nuclear reactors. The full details are in the patent, but the basic idea is this. The molten salt reactor experiment msre was an experimental molten salt reactor at the oak ridge national laboratory ornl researching this technology through the 1960s. Why are molten salt reactors not used in commercial. Msrs offer multiple advantages over conventional nuclear power plants, although for historical reasons they have not been deployed. Possible configurations for the thorium molten salt reactor. Molten salt reactor experiment, 1965 8 mw thermal u233, u235 fuel dissolved in salt adv. Weve modified this design to make it cleaner, more compact, more affordable, and more powerdense than the original, while retaining its tremendous safety benefits. Superfuel focused on another type of molten salt reactor, a liquid fluoride thorium reactor, or lftr. Dec 07, 2012 short description of msre and thorium power.
Molten salt reactors could soon help power earthand one. Oct 14, 2016 oak ridge national laboratorys molten salt reactor experiment was designed to assess the viability of liquid fuel reactor technologies for use in commercial power generation. Kirk gave a brief overview of molten salt reactors msr and specifically. In the past few years, this concept has once again been studied in order to generalize it and seek. This conserves fuel resources and reduces the volume, radiotoxicity and lifetime of highlevel radioactive waste. Boyd, solid state chemist, and ceo of havelide systems, inc. In recent years, growing interest in this technology has led to renewed development activities. Challenges related to the use of liquid metal and molten. Moltensalt reactorshistory, status, and potential an excellent discussion of the history of msrs. Aug 28, 2017 oak ridge national laboratory ran molten salt thorium reactor experiments from the 1960s until 1976. In the core, fission occurs within the flowing fuel salt, which then flows into a primary heat exchanger, where the heat is transferred to a secondary moltensalt coolant. Initially developed in the 1950s, molten salt reactors have benefits in higher efficiencies and lower waste generation. Nov 15, 2016 molten salt reactor technology has attracted private funding over the last few years, and several reactor concepts are under development.
From the 1960s until 1976, the oak ridge national laboratory in the united states carried out reactor experiments using thorium fluoride dissolved in a molten salt instead of. The history of the molten salt reactor dates back to the 1950s. Ralph hania, troels schonfeldt, lars jorgensen and kirk sorensen discuss challenges, opportunities and their respective companies distinct approaches to moltensalt reactor technology. A successful nuclear step for new molten salt reactors. The design of the moltensalt reactor experiment was begun in 1960. The 1960s oak ridge molten salt reactor was proven to be extremely safe, but it was expensive, required highly enriched fuel, and had a low power density. Oak ridge national laboratory ran molten salt thorium reactor experiments from the 1960s until 1976.
Oak ridge national laboratorys molten salt reactor experiment was designed to assess the viability of liquid fuel reactor technologies for use in commercial power generation. It had been recognized that the technology of moltensalt system was well suited for the development of a commercial thz33u power reactor. Half of the time was spent fielding questions from the calgary students. After the program finished, the emphasis was put on the research of msr running on the thorium fuel cycle. Similar molten salts could cool metal fuel rods more safely than water. The grand objective of the project is to deliver a breakthrough in nuclear safety and nuclear waste management to make nuclear energy truly safe and sustainable.
Amount of thorium, fuel cycle, reactor description, safety and benefits compared to todays reactors. Abstractmolten salt reactors based on the thorium cycle were studied in the 1950 to 1960s to lead to the molten salt breeder reactor concept, which was finally discontinued prior to any industrial development. The moltensalt reactor experiment msre was an experimental molten salt reactor at the. With an appropriate reactorfuel combination, a molten salt reactor can even generate energy while producing no longlasting. While a traditional reactor may use up to 4% of the energy in their uranium fuel, the wamsr utilizes 96% consequently reducing nuclear waste to 2. One area under research is the compatibility between the salt coolant and the structural materials and, for some designs, the chemical processes related to the associated fuel cycle, monti said. From the 1960s until 1976, the oak ridge national laboratory in the united states carried out reactor experiments using thorium fluoride dissolved in a molten salt instead of solid fuel elements. Safety assessment of molten salt reactors in comparison. Video footage courtesy of oak ridge national laboratory ornl from their 2019 molten salt reactor workshop ornl msrw 2019. The reactor core is a vessel filled with salt that is both fuel and coolant. Also, a molten salt reactor requires power to hold the liquid fuel up in the reactor.
They operate at higher temperatures, which lead to increased efficiencies in generating electricity. This setup is the ultimate in safe power outage response. The imsr primary molten salt pump circulates the fuel salt from the reactor graphite core to the primary heat exchangers, and it. There are liquid fuel molten salt fast neutron reactor designs and there are liquid fuel molten salt thermal neutron reactor designs. A singlefluid reactor was selected that in its engineering features resembled a converter, but the fuel salt did not contain thorium and thus was similar to the fuel salt for a twofluid breeder. There is growing awareness that nuclear energy is needed to complement intermittent energy sources and to avoid pollution from fossil fuels. Molten salt reactors australian nuclear association. New molten salt thorium reactor powers up for first time in.
The fuelladen salt flowed from the reactors graphitemoderated core to a heat exchanger that transferred heat to another molten fluoride salt system, which carried the heat to an aircooled radiator. Thorium breeding, and liquid fission, we can transform the abundant resource which is thorium into pollutionfree energy. To exploit the molten salt reactors breeding potential to the fullest, the reactor must be colocated with a reprocessing facility. A real risk is actually the molten salt hardening with loss of reactor poweronsiteoffsite power, but fission release is not possible to the environment. A liquid fuel molten salt reactor msr is a nuclear reactor in which the fissile material is dissolved in a molten salt coolant instead of being rigidly confined inside a metal tube. Now a utah startup is developing a thorium reactor, perhaps the first in the u. This years meeting will again include government representatives, u. Molten salt reactors and thorium energy 1st edition.
Alloys based on nickel and iron are prone to embrittlement under high neutron flux. As it happens, the freezeplug safety feature is as old as alvin weinbergs 1965 molten salt reactor experiment design, yet it meets the nrcs requirement. The company is developing their wasteannihilating molten salt reactor wamsr which is a 520 mw molten salt reactor which uses the waste from traditional reactors as a fuel source. Sep 27, 2012 superfuel focused on another type of molten salt reactor, a liquid fluoride thorium reactor, or lftr.
The labs 2015 workshop took place in conjunction with the commemoration of the 50 th anniversary of the startup of the molten salt reactor experiment at ornl. Gateway for accelerated innovation in nuclear molten salt. Bruce gave a presentation at teac5 on the subject of his bonbon fastmsr. A molten salt reactor msr is a class of nuclear fission reactor in which the primary nuclear. Shus nuclear power device is called a twofluid molten salt reactor.
Molten salt reactors could soon help power earthand one day. Molten salt reactors can run on various types of nuclear fuel and use different fuel cycles. By 1960, more complete conceptual designs of moltensalt reactors had emerged. The reactors use molten salt rather than water as a coolant, allowing them to create temperatures of over 800 degrees celsius, nearly three times the temperature of a commercial pressure water nuclear plant. Sep 16, 20 molten salt reactors msrs are seen in some countries as a promising advanced reactor technology because of the various benefits associated with them. Some designs do not require solid fuel, which eliminates the need for manufacturing and disposing of it. I believe this statement to be somewhat misleading. Molten salt reactors are a very different concept from our existing nuclear reactors. Molten salt reactors is a comprehensive reference on the status of molten salt reactor msr research and thorium fuel utilization. They began with the nuclear navy and then the technology transitioned to civilian power. Nuclear reactor workshop spotlights collaboration, progress experts in advanced nuclear reactors gathered at the us department of energys does oak ridge national laboratory ornl to share progress in molten salt technology with the hope that their work will move molten salt reactors msrs from concept to construction in the coming years. Alternatively, the fuel itself could be dissolved in the molten salt, which would avoid the need for fuel rod. Gateway for accelerated innovation in nuclear molten. Videos pertaining to thorium as an energy source, usually via liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr which is a type of molten salt reactor msr.
Safe, half the price of light water, and shipped to order. Pacific northwest national laboratory molten salt reactor fundamentals youtube. Inspired by the 1950s molten salt reactor design, we have designed a reactor that can generate vast amounts of clear power, is inherently harmless, and is affordable enough to. The coolant is chemically stable, not an easily broken covalent bond. It had been recognized that the technology of molten salt system was well suited for the development of a commercial thz33u power reactor. Molten salt reactors msr if we heat up table salt nacl to high temperatures it becomes a liquid, which can operate at high temperature and low pressure. Molten salt reactor technology has attracted private funding over the last few years, and several reactor concepts are under development. Oct 03, 2016 the labs 2015 workshop took place in conjunction with the commemoration of the 50 th anniversary of the startup of the molten salt reactor experiment at ornl. The msre was designated a nuclear historic landmark in 1994. These youtube videos give you a quick update of the molten salt movement. This is part of a 10part series describing the experience with. One was touched on in a early answer, in that we have always used light water reactors lwr. Oct 15, 2015 the salt that carried the msres fuel was a mixture of the fluorides of lithium7, beryllium and zirconium with a melting point of 840. Molten salt reactors, which control nuclear heat with melted lithium and potassium fluorides instead of water, have a failsafe to prevent meltdowns.
517 1006 1121 1349 673 976 1417 741 979 277 988 1292 1200 928 914 275 1164 957 1534 801 1375 1109 658 1517 1132 696 103 705 678 50 470 706 346 173 263 1084 249 85 802 356 513 781 1191 470