Moltensalt reactorshistory, status, and potential an excellent discussion of the history of msrs. They operate at higher temperatures, which lead to increased efficiencies in generating electricity. Molten salt fuel does not degrade by heat or radiation, so there are effectively no reactor power limits to the fuel. Abstract in the metal transfer process for removal of rareearth fission products from the fuel salt of a molten salt breeder reactor msbr,the rare earths are extracted from the molten fuel salt into a molten bismuth solution containing lithium and. Macpherson consultant, oak ridge, tennessee 37831 accepted march 15, 1985 abstract a personal history of the development of molten salt reactors in the united states is presented. Reports produced after january 1, 1996, are generally available free via us department of energy doe scitech connect.
Sinap is making new plan towards tmsr commercialization, and making effort for industrialization of molten salt related techniques. 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. It employs molten salt reactor technology which is being developed by the canadian company terrestrial energy. The full details are in the patent, but the basic idea is this. Why the molten salt fast reactor msfr is the best gen. Nuclear reactor workshop spotlights collaboration, progress. Molten salt reactor fuel qualification considerations and. We use the molten salt breeder reactor as a proxy for development of ancillary system technology primary system instrumentation flux, flow, temperature, pressure mass accountancy corrosion monitoring and control offgas system functional containment system passive decay heat removal remote systems salt processing. They are seen as a promising technology today principally as a thorium fuel cycle prospect or for using spent lwr fuel. Nuclear power will be used continuously as lowcarbon energy for a sustainable society. Unlike all current reactors, the fuel is in liquid form.
The first research performed to devise a molten salt power electricity. This concept is not new, but includes many advantages of safety, sustainability and nuclear nonproliferation over older legacy designs which utilize water for cooling the reactor. Ornls moltensalt reactor program 19581976 energy from. In terms of nuclear fuel type, the global molten salt reactor market can be divided into thorium, uranium, and plutonium. It is shown how the molten salt reactor msr created and operated at oak ridge national laboratory. Review of hazards associated with molten salt reactor fuel processing operations fuel salt processing hazard tables process identified salt type and process objective refers to relevant report sections for the process important hazards to consider for the process qualitative assessment of maturity of process trl. The fluoride molten salt with dissolved fissile, fertile, and fission isotopes flows through a reactor core moderated by unclad graphite to a primary heat exchanger, where the heat is transferred to a secondary molten salt coolant. A molten salt reactor for potentiostatic electroplating that includes a rtor chamber defined by a peripheral wall, a bottom wall and a top cover. Terrestrial energy is an industryleading technology company committed to delivering reliable, emissionfree, and costcompetitive nuclear energy with a truly innovative advanced reactor design, the integral molten salt reactor imsr. Development of molten salt reactor technology for space.
Sep 27, 2012 superfuel focused on another type of molten salt reactor, a liquid fluoride thorium reactor, or lftr. The thorium segment is expected to hold dominant share of the market during the forecast period. The fuel salt is mobile, so it circulates within the reactor vessel in some designs, and outside the reactor vessel in some designs. Molten salt reactor market global industry analysis and. Pnnl27369 pacific northwest national laboratory capabilities. Abstract in the metal transfer process for removal of rareearth fission products from the fuel salt of a moltensalt breeder reactor msbr,the rare earths are extracted from the molten fuel salt into a molten bismuth solution containing lithium and. This document summarizes the large program of chemical research and development which led to selection of fuel and coolant compositions for the moltensalt reactor experiment msre and for subsequent reactors of this type. A theory and model of molten salt reactor xenon behavior. Oak ridges contaminated molten salt reactor experiment. Availability of thorium is higher than other nuclear fuel types such as uranium. Thorium is an abundant, safe, and cheap fuel source for efficient, proven, and stable molten salt reactors msr an msr operated from 1965 to 1969 without fault at oak ridge national laboratories ornl 1 under alvin weinberg, pioneer of the standard uranium pressurized water reactor pwr, until it was shut down due to its inability to produce weapons grade material for the cold war and.
The fluid fuel in these reactors, consisting of uf4 and thf4 dissolved in fluorides of beryllium and lithium, is circulated through a reactor core moderated by graphite. Concept of european molten salt fast reactor msfr prof elsa merle cnrsin2p3lpsc grenoble institute of technology uga france may 23, 2017 with the support of the national needs program and the in2p3 institute of cnrs, of uga and grenoble institute of technology, and of the evol and samofar euratom projects. Part of the contaminated site of oak ridges old molten salt reactor experiment may be entombed in concrete. In a molten salt reactor, the fissile martial uranium is dissolved in a molten salt. Molten salt reactors updated december 2018 molten salt reactors operated in the 1960s. Molten salt reactors is a comprehensive reference on the status of molten salt reactor msr research and thorium fuel utilization. Dec 18, 2018 these virtues became conflated with the molten salt reactor design.
Contents 2 abstract thorcon is a simple molten salt reactor. Moltensalt breeder reactors msbrs are being developed by the oak ridge national laboratory for generating lowcost power while extending the nations resources of fissionable fuel. Such liquidfueled reactors benefit from some potential advantages over solidfueled systems, among which are the possibility of fuel composition fertilefissile adjustment and fuel reprocessing without shutting down the reactor. Msrs offer multiple advantages over conventional nuclear power plants, although for historical reasons further explanation needed, they have not been deployed the concept was first established in the 1950s. This negative temperature feedback assures reactor safety on overheating, even with loss of all control systems. Terrestrial energy leading the way to a bright energy future. The initial goal was an aircraft propulsion reactor, and a molten fluoridefueled. These virtues became conflated with the molten salt reactor design. Superfuel focused on another type of molten salt reactor, a liquid fluoride thorium reactor, or lftr. Macpherson consultant, oak ridge, tennessee 37831 accepted march 15, 1985 abstract a personal history of the development of moltensalt reactors in the united states is presented. Molten salt reactors and thorium energy 1st edition. On the other hand, prime attention is inclined to thorium molten salt reactor msr in recent years due to necessity for radioactive waste disposal, nuclear. This is part of a 10part series describing the experience with.
Dewan and massies design is fuelagnostic in the sense that it can run on either uranium or. Because the radioactive contaminants are in the salt, removing it risks dispersing it. Molten salt reactors could soon help power earthand one day. Assumptions in msr xenon theories are made explicit. On the other hand, prime attention is inclined to thorium moltensalt reactor msr in recent years due to necessity for radioactive waste disposal, nuclear. Shortcomings of current pwr and bwr, solid uraniumfuel, nuclear power reactors are summarized. For the 22 years prior to joining elysium in december, 2015, dr. Msre design and operations report, part i, description of reactor design ornltm728 a description of the molten salt reactor experiment design. The design is based heavily on the intensive molten salt reactor project of oak ridge national laboratory ornl in the 1950s 1970s. 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. Because of the fact that thorium fuel was used, enthusiasts rediscovering this technology 40 years later have misplaced the rudiments of the innovation. Vrain high temperature gas reactor, and numerous other research and commercial advanced reactors in the us and worldwide.
By 1960, more complete conceptual designs of moltensalt reactors had emerged. This included such items as suitable graphite to act as neutron moderator, drain tanks for. Molten salt reactors msrs are seen in some countries as a promising advanced reactor technology because of the various benefits associated with them. Power molten salt reactor, oak ridge national laboratory report ornltm2016742 2017. The msr has a closed fuel cycle that can be tailored for thefficient burnup of e plutonium and minor. Other liquid fuel msr design variants restrict the fuel salt to natural circulation motion within fuel tubes that are externally cooled. Molten salt reactor fuel qualification considerations and challenges. Moltensalt reactor program progress reports tablesofcontents pdf. Homogeneous reactors in which the entire core is liquid salt were rejected because the limited moderation by the salt constituents did not appear. The integral molten salt reactor imsr is designed for the small modular reactor smr market. Hazards associated with molten salt reactor fuel processing. Shus nuclear power device is called a twofluid molten salt reactor.
The concept of a moltensalt reactor msr itself is not new, although the push toward using an advanced fuelsalt composition is. Technology next generation molten salt reactor msr proprietary msr design the integral molten salt reactor imsr high technology readiness conducting basicpreliminary engineering work concludes with construction and licensing of the first commercial imsr power plant 400 mwth reactor. The bottom wall of the reactor chamber has an opening, to which a first end of a gas inlet conduit is attached so as to be in fluid communication with the reactor chamber. 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. Pdf in the frame of a major reevaluation of the molten salt reactor msr, we have developed a new concept called thorium molten salt reactor tmsr. Our revolutionary design allows us to achieve a high fuel burnup in a compact system, solve the nuclear industrys most pressing problems, and. In the frame of a major reevaluation of the molten salt reactor msr, we have developed a new concept called thorium molten salt reactor tmsr, particularly well suited to fulfill the criteria. A pair of mit scientists try to transform nuclear power forbes. That is clearly not possible with the thousands of fuel tubes that would be in a fullscale static molten salt reactor.
Throughout the 1960s, oak ridge national laboratory built and experimented with a small msr. Molten salt reactors have tremendous safety, waste and proliferation virtues, which translate into substantial commercial. Pdf molten salt reactor by leslie dewan manuel costa. Molten salt reactors msrs are a family of liquidfueled fission reactor concepts using a fluid molten salt mixture as fuel. It can be moved around with a pump, and passively drained in. Molten salt reactors could soon help power earthand one. When creating the new nuclear navy in the 1950s, thencaptain hyman rickover determined that two types of reactor power plants would be evaluated to power submarines, a water cooled reactor and a molten sodium cooled reactor. Molten salt reactors molten salt reactors are very different from traditional solid fuel reactors. Although emphasis was placed on the twofluid concept because. The concept of a molten salt reactor msr itself is not new, although the push toward using an advanced fuel salt composition is. 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. Hanson was a principal nuclear fuel materials scientist at knolls atomic power laboratory in schenectady, ny, where he helped to develop nuclear fuel for naval propulsion.
Transatomic powers advanced molten salt reactor unlocks clean, safe, and lowcost nuclear energy. In conventional, pumped, molten salt reactors there has to be provision for continuous online monitoring of the redox state of the fuel salt with frequent chemical adjustments to maintain a constant redox state. This document summarizes the large program of chemical research and development which led to selection of fuel and coolant compositions for the molten salt reactor experiment msre and for subsequ. Reactor ebri and ebrii, the molten salt reactor experiment msre, ft. It can be moved around with a pump, and passively drained in the event of a casualty. The results of the moltensalt reactor program were documented in hundreds of papers, and specifically in a series of semiannual progress reports, stretching from 1958 to 1967. A crucible support platform is positioned within the reactor chamber.
The tablesofcontents from all of these reports are available in a single, compact pdf document. It is based closely on the denatured molten salt reactor dmsr, a reactor design from oak ridge national laboratory. Thorium is an abundant, safe, and cheap fuel source for efficient, proven, and stable molten salt reactors msr an msr operated from 1965 to 1969 without fault at oak ridge national laboratories ornl 1 under alvin weinberg, pioneer of the standard uranium pressurized water reactor pwr, until it was shut down due to its inability to produce weapons grade material. An advanced molten salt reactor using hightemperature.