Reactors with Molten Salts - Options and Missions [pres. slides]

60 Pages·2004·3.158 MB·English

Reactors with Molten-Salts: Heat Transport
Options and Missions
H
2
Dr. Charles Forsberg AHTR
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
P.O. Box 2008; Oak Ridge, TN 37831
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: [phone]
Frederic Joliot & Otto Han Fusion
Summer School on Nuclear Reactors
Cadarache, France
Off-gas
System
August 25–September 3, 2004
Primary Coolant Salt Secondary
Salt Pump (Clean) Salt Pump
Graphite
Moderator
(Bare) Electricity
Heat
Exchanger
The submitted manuscript has been authored by a contractor of the U.S. Government under Reactor
Fuel Salt
contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive,
- Dissolved Uranium
royalty-free license to publish or reproduce the published form of this contribution, or allow Freeze - Fission Products MSR
Plug
others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. File: France2004.MoltenSaltOptionsView
Critically Safe, Passively Cooled
Dump Tanks (Emergency
Cooling and Shutdown)
1
Contents
• Introduction to molten salts
• Applications
− Heat transport
− Advanced high-temperature reactor
− Molten salt reactor
− Fusion
• Molten salt characteristics
• Power cycles
2
Introduction
Molten Fluoride Salts
A High-Temperature Coolant
There Has Been a Rebirth of Interest in
High-Temperature Nuclear Reactors
Brayton power cycles that
efficiently convert heat to electricity
(vs. steam cycle limits at ~500ºC)
Thermochemical hydrogen production:
H
Requires high temperatures: 700 to 850ºC
2
Increased availability of carbon-
carbon composites and other
high-temperature materials
4
Only Two Coolants Have Been Demonstrated to be
Compatible with High-Temperature Operations
Helium Molten Fluoride Salts
(High Pressure/Transparent) (Low Pressure/Transparent)
5
Mankind has Large-Scale Experience
with Only 3 High-Temperature Liquids
Iron, Glass, and Fluoride Salts)
Molten Fluoride Salts Were Used in
Molten Salt Reactors with Fuel in Coolant
(AHTR Uses Clean Salt and Solid Fuel)
Molten Fluoride Salts Have Been Used
for a Century to Make Aluminum in
Graphite Baths at 1000°C
6
Reactor Peak Temperatures
and Power Outputs
1000
Molten Salt Systems (Low Pressure)
Thermo-
• Heat Transport Systems Brayton
chemical
• Advanced High-Temperature Reactor (Solid Fuel) (Helium or
800 Cycles
• Molten Salt Reactor (Liquid Fuel) Nitrogen)
• Fusion Reactors
)
C
° Helium-Cooled VHTR (High-Pressure)
( 600

e
r
u
t
a Liquid Metal Fast Reactor
r
e (Low Pressure)
p
m 400 Rankine
e
T (Steam)
Light Water Reactor (High Pressure)
200
General Electric ESBWR
European
Range of Hydrogen
Pressurized-Water
Plant Sizes
Reactor Electricity Hydrogen
0
Application
0 1000 2000
Electricity (MW)
03-243R2 7
Molten Salt
Nuclear Applications
Molten-Salt Nuclear Applications
High-temperature heat transport→
from nuclear reactors to
thermochemical hydrogen facilities H
2
←Advanced high-temperature reactor with
solid fuel and a molten-salt coolant
Off-gas
System
Primary Coolant Salt Secondary
Salt Pump (Clean) Salt Pump
Graphite
Molten salt reactor (MSR)→ Moderator
(Bare) Electricity
Heat
with fuel dissolved in a molten salt Exchanger
Reactor
Fuel Salt
- Dissolved Uranium
Freeze - Fission Products
Plug
Critically Safe, Passively Cooled
Dump Tanks (Emergency
Cooling and Shutdown)
←Fusion: Molten salt coolant for heat
transfer and tritium breeding
9
High-Temperature
Heat Transport
Heat Transport From Nuclear Reactors to
Thermochemical Hydrogen Facilities