Southern Company, a leading energy company in the United States, is partnering with TerraPower to develop a molten chloride fast reactor (MCFR) that uses liquid salts as both a coolant and fuel.
The U.S. Department of Energy already invested more than $28 million in cost-shared funds for the project to further identify and test materials used in the reactor.
MCFR Reactor test loop starting in 2019
Southern Company and TerraPower are in the early stages of the design phase. They are working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University and the Electric Power Research Institute to assess the viability of an MCFR as a commercial reactor.
They expect to begin testing in a $20 million test loop facility starting in 2019. The team is also scaling up their salt manufacturing process for testing in the loop. Data generated from the test loop will be used to validate thermal hydraulics and safety analysis codes for licensing of the reactor.
After testing, Southern Company and TerraPower plan to develop and license a test reactor before developing a 1,100-megawatt prototype reactor by 2030.
MCFR will be optimized to operate as a commercial reactor that can produce up to 1,100 megawatts of electricity, with a test reactor demonstrating smaller-scale potential.
The design uses liquid chloride salts as a coolant and fuel that flow through the reactor core—allowing the fission to directly heat the salts. The mixture is then circulated through a heat exchanger in a second loop that can be used for process heat, thermal storage or electricity generation.
Because the reactor operates at a high temperature, the process is more efficient at producing electricity than light water reactors. The reactor would also produce less waste and allow the MCFR to even consume waste from other reactors.
MCFR benefits
MCFRs can enable the transition to a flexible, robust and low-carbon energy infrastructure.
It is a major departure in terms of simplicity, fuel cycle and proliferation characteristics relative to other more-complex nuclear reactor concepts and offers significant safety, performance and economic benefits.
The MCFR has what the industry calls a “walk-away-safe” design that would shut down the reactor without any need for electric pumps to prevent fuel damage. If there is a loss of coolant flow, the fuel salt would expand through the reactor core to passively halt the process and naturally circulate to remove decay heat.
Other benefits include:
No fuel assemblies to fabricate, replace or store
Online refueling for continuous operation to increase profit margins and reliability
Ability to use multiple fuels for operation including depleted and natural uranium, or even spent fuel
Enrichment only needed at startup
Ability to load follow and support other energy sources on the grid.
⚛️⚡Molten salt reactors are getting a reboot. Learn how technologies like this, which use liquid salts as both coolant and fuel, could power America's energy future! https://t.co/ryOLYzHQlG #NewEnergyRealism pic.twitter.com/WdlnY0Pvq8
— Energy Department (@ENERGY) August 23, 2018
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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Rather, plutonium has little use outside of bombs…though an isotope or two which do not lend to bomb generation, are useful as passive, low intensity thermal-electric generators.
To be fair, you should learn how to differentiate between money and resource cost. Monetary costs can vary significantly from man hours and resource availability. Asking yourself, what do people with money think isn’t the right question to ask.
We designed the US Treasury to be subordinate to private enterprise….because we give banks the money to loan as its path into the economy rather than direct spending and distribution. The banks are owned by the rich and exist to generate profits for the rich.
Ah, yes. When I wondered “why chloride” and then found “plutonium” it all made sense.
The rich have the most free cash/resource potential in history today. 1 billionaire exceeds a town of kings and queens in monetary/resource magnitude.
A rich person profits. That is why
Well, we are running out anyways…at least of the useful stuff. We have plenty of arms grade waste apparently
You got it backwards.
Utopia isn’t possible anyways aside from your backwards understanding
Yeah you’re missing some significant factors there. using your method i would still underestimated cost if they build everything of copper.
Reason it has to be fast is because chlorine has a pretty high thermal absorption cross section compared to fluorine which basically doesn’t absorb thermal neutrons at all. If they put moderator graphite in the core the chlorine would eat a big part of the neutron balance. Nothing is a strong absorber of fast neutrons – in a hard enough spectrum you could make the cladding out of hafnium (strong epithermal absorber) and it wouldn’t matter.
If they were going to build anything i would be there.
Southern Company does not have deep pockets or anything insightful to add to the development. It can be quite boring in a corporate nuclear fuels office… involvement is a pleasant distraction for a few engineers. Money is tight there and they had layoffs in 2016… Votgle is taking all the resources.
In any future the military is still going to need Pu for nuclear weapons. Someone is thinking ahead.
Yeah you’re missing some significant factors there. using your method i would still underestimated cost if they build everything of copper.
Reason it has to be fast is because chlorine has a pretty high thermal absorption cross section compared to fluorine which basically doesn’t absorb thermal neutrons at all. If they put moderator graphite in the core the chlorine would eat a big part of the neutron balance. Nothing is a strong absorber of fast neutrons – in a hard enough spectrum you could make the cladding out of hafnium (strong epithermal absorber) and it wouldn’t matter.
If they were going to build anything i would be there.
Southern Company does not have deep pockets or anything insightful to add to the development. It can be quite boring in a corporate nuclear fuels office… involvement is a pleasant distraction for a few engineers. Money is tight there and they had layoffs in 2016… Votgle is taking all the resources.
In any future the military is still going to need Pu for nuclear weapons. Someone is thinking ahead.
Yeah because half life of Pu239 is only 20k years? This material is such an alpha and gamma source that the assemblies have a limited shelf life. Materials swell and denature over decades.
Yeah because half life of Pu239 is only 20k years? This material is such an alpha and gamma source that the assemblies have a limited shelf life. Materials swell and denature over decades.
Yeah, because we won’t need more in the future. Those kind of nuclear isotopes can be used for long lived probes that are so far out solar panels don’t make sense among other things. There is nothing bad about having an excellent stockpile of nuclear isotopes for defense and medical and engineering reasons.
Always 12 to 15 years in the future. The government has the power/money to get prototypes up and running in 7 years. They will not since big oil controls them. Take the money for just one aircraft carrier and 3-5 different designs could be started and developed to prototype stages. Not going to happen until every last drop of oil in the ground owned by big oil is extracted. They will burn the planet to maximize profits.
If it’s not a breeder than why bother?
Yeah because we won’t need more in the future. Those kind of nuclear isotopes can be used for long lived probes that are so far out solar panels don’t make sense among other things. There is nothing bad about having an excellent stockpile of nuclear isotopes for defense and medical and engineering reasons.
Always 12 to 15 years in the future. The government has the power/money to get prototypes up and running in 7 years. They will not since big oil controls them. Take the money for just one aircraft carrier and 3-5 different designs could be started and developed to prototype stages. Not going to happen until every last drop of oil in the ground owned by big oil is extracted. They will burn the planet to maximize profits.
If it’s not a breeder than why bother?
It’s breeders that use up spent fuel from LWRs as wall only producing a fraction of it themselves. If this can use spent fuel than this is also a breeder, though there’s no mention of it here. But looking around a bit it seems like a breeder for exclusively spent fuel. More practical designs can also use thorium and natural uranium and maybe even have enough neutrons to transmute most of the useless radioactive remnants.
It’s breeders that use up spent fuel from LWRs as wall only producing a fraction of it themselves. If this can use spent fuel than this is also a breeder though there’s no mention of it here. But looking around a bit it seems like a breeder for exclusively spent fuel.More practical designs can also use thorium and natural uranium and maybe even have enough neutrons to transmute most of the useless radioactive remnants.
A reactor that destroys”” used LWR fuel is more politically feasable”” and if you consider the cost of disposing the waste”” perhaps more profitable than a breeder. Used fuel disposal certainly will make grant money easier to come by.”””
Gates should work with Ed Pheil of Elysium industries. Below is a link to an interview with Ed.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqVt8cxx-44&t=569s
Actually the swollen pits can simply be recast. I agree there’s nothing wrong with having a stockpile.
It is a breeder. “Enrichment only needed at startup.
Actually they don’t want to build it because it makes a mess, if operated well, and nobody in the know wants to deal with it. none of the processes handling the fuel are satisfactory per modern ALARA principals. You know of some place where we can vent the deadly gases that effervesce? You want to work there? Go troubleshoot and fix that pump for me. It broke last night and we had to shut down. Oh wait. You can’t go in there.
Ed should get a real job. Nobody’s going to build his little science project. I’m surprised Gates is financing any of this. Somebody musta given him quite a powerPower 8 years ago – must have concluded with Gates being a hero in a beautiful utopian future…
Actually they don’t want to build it because it makes a mess if operated well and nobody in the know wants to deal with it. none of the processes handling the fuel are satisfactory per modern ALARA principals. You know of some place where we can vent the deadly gases that effervesce? You want to work there? Go troubleshoot and fix that pump for me. It broke last night and we had to shut down. Oh wait. You can’t go in there.
Ed should get a real job. Nobody’s going to build his little science project. I’m surprised Gates is financing any of this. Somebody musta given him quite a powerPower 8 years ago – must have concluded with Gates being a hero in a beautiful utopian future…
They should calculate the capital cost of building the power plant. If it is as expensive as current nuclear power plant then don’t bother. Design the reactor, determine the volume of its components and the type of material. And price it out from typical construction prices.
Chloride based fast spectrum will process U-238 for Pu-239 fuel production. The fast neutrons will also yield energy through burning of transuranics content of old fuel assemblies. Cannot breed fuel from Thorium-232 with chloride salt..
They should calculate the capital cost of building the power plant. If it is as expensive as current nuclear power plant then don’t bother. Design the reactor determine the volume of its components and the type of material. And price it out from typical construction prices.
Chloride based fast spectrum will process U-238 for Pu-239 fuel production. The fast neutrons will also yield energy through burning of transuranics content of old fuel assemblies. Cannot breed fuel from Thorium-232 with chloride salt..
Yes . Ed Pheil is endeavouring to use proven nuclear tech in his design, to hasten the approval process. These types of reactors look very promising, and if it takes 20 years to get it right, then bravo. No more 1950’s lwr stuff ups please.
Yes . Ed Pheil is endeavouring to use proven nuclear tech in his design
, to hasten the approval process. These types of reactors look very promising, and if it takes 20 years to get it right, then bravo. No more 1950’s lwr stuff ups please.
Actually the swollen pits can simply be recast. I agree there’s nothing wrong with having a stockpile.
It is a breeder. “Enrichment only needed at startup.”
Actually they don’t want to build it because it makes a mess, if operated well, and nobody in the know wants to deal with it. none of the processes handling the fuel are satisfactory per modern ALARA principals. You know of some place where we can vent the deadly gases that effervesce? You want to work there? Go troubleshoot and fix that pump for me. It broke last night and we had to shut down. Oh wait. You can’t go in there.
Ed should get a real job. Nobody’s going to build his little science project. I’m surprised Gates is financing any of this. Somebody musta given him quite a powerPower 8 years ago – must have concluded with Gates being a hero in a beautiful utopian future…
It’s breeders that use up spent fuel from LWRs as wall only producing a fraction of it themselves. If this can use spent fuel than this is also a breeder, though there’s no mention of it here. But looking around a bit it seems like a breeder for exclusively spent fuel.
More practical designs can also use thorium and natural uranium and maybe even have enough neutrons to transmute most of the useless radioactive remnants.
A reactor that “destroys” used LWR fuel is more politically feasable, and if you consider the cost of disposing the waste, perhaps more profitable than a breeder. Used fuel disposal certainly will make grant money easier to come by.
Gates should work with Ed Pheil of Elysium industries. Below is a link to an interview with Ed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqVt8cxx-44&t=569s
Yeah, because we won’t need more in the future. Those kind of nuclear isotopes can be used for long lived probes that are so far out solar panels don’t make sense among other things. There is nothing bad about having an excellent stockpile of nuclear isotopes for defense and medical and engineering reasons.
Always 12 to 15 years in the future. The government has the power/money to get prototypes up and running in 7 years. They will not since big oil controls them.
Take the money for just one aircraft carrier and 3-5 different designs could be started and developed to prototype stages. Not going to happen until every last drop of oil in the ground owned by big oil is extracted. They will burn the planet to maximize profits.
If it’s not a breeder than why bother?
Yeah because half life of Pu239 is only 20k years? This material is such an alpha and gamma source that the assemblies have a limited shelf life. Materials swell and denature over decades.
Yeah you’re missing some significant factors there. using your method i would still underestimated cost if they build everything of copper.
Reason it has to be fast is because chlorine has a pretty high thermal absorption cross section compared to fluorine which basically doesn’t absorb thermal neutrons at all. If they put moderator graphite in the core the chlorine would eat a big part of the neutron balance. Nothing is a strong absorber of fast neutrons – in a hard enough spectrum you could make the cladding out of hafnium (strong epithermal absorber) and it wouldn’t matter.
If they were going to build anything i would be there.
Southern Company does not have deep pockets or anything insightful to add to the development. It can be quite boring in a corporate nuclear fuels office… involvement is a pleasant distraction for a few engineers. Money is tight there and they had layoffs in 2016… Votgle is taking all the resources.
In any future the military is still going to need Pu for nuclear weapons. Someone is thinking ahead.
They should calculate the capital cost of building the power plant. If it is as expensive as current nuclear power plant then don’t bother. Design the reactor, determine the volume of its components and the type of material. And price it out from typical construction prices.
Chloride based fast spectrum will process U-238 for Pu-239 fuel production. The fast neutrons will also yield energy through burning of transuranics content of old fuel assemblies. Cannot breed fuel from Thorium-232 with chloride salt..