Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs)

For Electricity and Waste Destruction

Dr. Charles Forsberg

Oak Ridge National Laboratory
P.O. Box 2008; Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6180
Tel: (865) 574-6783; E-mail: [email protected]

Presentation of Generation IV Nuclear Energy System Concept

to Office Of Nuclear Energy (DOE/NE-1)
U.S. Department of Energy
Washington, D.C.
June 7, 2002

The submitted manuscript has been authored by a contractor of the U.S. Government under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, royalty-free
license to publish or reproduce the published form of this contribution, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. File name: MSR.NCTWG.March.2000
Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) Use a Molten
Salt Coolant Containing Dissolved Fuel
• Thermal Neutron Reactor
− Molten salt (71.6% 7LiF, 16% BeF2, 12% ThF4, 0.4% UF4)
− Fuel and fission products dissolved in fluoride salt
− Graphite moderator
• The Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (MSBR) was the
backup for the LMFBR (1960s)
− 1000-MW(e) conceptual design developed
− Lower breeding ratio (1.033) compared with the LMFBR
• Fuel cycle (primarily at reactor site)
− 233U–Thorium fuel cycle (breeder fuel cycle)
− Other possible fuel cycles (actinide burner, once-through)
− Batch or on-line removal of selected fission products
− No fuel fabrication, qualification, or irradiation damage
 Traditional Molten Salt Reactor
Off-gas
System
Primary Secondary
Salt Pump NaBF4 _ NaF Salt Pump
Coolant Salt

454 C
o

621 C
o
704 C
o
Purified
Salt
Graphite
Moderator
Reactor
Heat
Exchanger
566 C
o

Chemical 7
LiF _ BeF2 _ ThF4 _ UF4
Processing Fuel Salt Steam Generator
Plant
538 C
o

Freeze
Plug

Turbo-
Generator

Critically Safe, Passively Cooled Dump Tanks

(Emergency Cooling and Shutdown)

ORNL DWG 99C-6888R

 The Molten Salt Reactor Experiment
Demonstrated the Concept

Hours critical 17,655

Circulating fuel loop time hours 21,788

Equiv. full power hrs w/ 235U fuel 9,005

Equiv. full power hrs w/ 233U fuel 4,167

U-235 fuel operation

• Critical June 1, 1965
• Full power May 23, 1966
• End operation Mar 26, 1968
U-233 fuel operation
• Critical Oct 2, 1968
• Full power Jan 28, 1969
• Reactor shutdown Dec 12, 1969 MSRE power = 8 MW thermal
Core volume < 2 cubic meters
Molten Salt Reactors Have a Different Safety Approach
that Allows Passive Safety in Large Reactors

704 C
o
Purified
Salt
Graphite
Low pressure (molten salt Moderator
boiling point ~1400oC) Reactor

Low chemical reactivity

Low accident source term with 566 C

o

Fuel
continuous removal of mobile Chemical Salt
fission products Processing
Plant
Passive cooling by dumping Freeze
fuel to cooled tanks Plug

Critically Safe, Passively

Cooled Dump Tanks
(Emergency Cooling and
Shutdown)

02-069
 MSRs Have Advantages For Waste Burning:
No Fuel Fabrication, Multiple Target/Fuel Recycle
Avoided, And Low Actinide Inventories
Ongoing Molten-Salt Fuel Cycle Advocated in Kurchatov Study
Transmutation Programs
Mining
Mining
Russia
EC (CEA-France) Enrichment
Enrichment

Edf (France)
Enriched Uranium Depleted Uranium
Korea
Czech Republic Thermal
Thermal Reactors
Reactors Fast
Fast Reactors
Reactors
Pu
(with
(with Pu
Pu recycle)
recycle) (with
(with Pu
Pu recycle)
recycle)
U.S. (Academic)
Pu,
Pu, MA,
MA, Th
Th
I-129,
I-129, Tc-99
Tc-99

Molten Salt
Burner Reactor

Final
Final Form
Form Product
Product Disposal
Disposal

02-070
Extended Molten Salt Reactor Family

Molten Salt Fueled Molten Salt Cooled

• Aircraft Nuclear • Advanced High-

Propulsion Program Temperature Reactor
(1950s) • Special reactors
• Molten Salt Breeder • Fusion reactors (Tritium
Reactor Program production with 6Li)
(1960s) − Inertial
• Molten salt burner − Magnetic
(Russia, France, etc.)
• Molten salt space
reactor (ORNL and
MSFC)
Fluoride Molten Salt R&D Activities
in the United States
• Basic Energy Sciences (ORNL)
• Fuel processing (ORNL, ANL, INEEL)
− Ongoing fluoride salt processing programs at ORNL
• Materials (ORNL)
− Hastelloy N (1970s)
− Chemical redox control (1980s)
− High-temperature test loops (current)
• Space reactors (ORNL)
• Advanced High-Temperature Reactor (ORNL, SNL)
• Actinide burning (University of California)
• Fusion (University of California, LLNL, etc.)
• Special reactors
 Areas for R&D
• Major areas for R&D
− Actinide solubility limits in multi-component systems
• Higher actinide concentrations in burner MSRs
• Alternative fluoride salts (Be or Li free)
− Fission-gas control (tritium, etc.)
− Waste processing and waste form
• Other areas
− Accident evaluations
− Higher-temperature materials
− Nonproliferation analysis
− Alternative power cycles (gas turbines, etc.)
− New separations technologies
− Understanding graphite limitations
 Conclusions

• Molten salt test reactor built in the 1960s

• GIF interest in molten-salt-fueled reactors
− Efficient fuel resources
− Waste burners (Primary interest)
• Growing programs in Europe and Russia
• Base technology used by multiple programs
• R&D issues reasonably well understood
Backup Information
 Molten Salt Characteristics

• Molten fluoride salts preferred

− Low nuclear cross section
− Chemical stability
• Choice of salt depends upon mission
− Breeder (low absorption cross section: Li, Be
fluorides
− Waste burner (high solubility: all actinides)
− Hydrogen production (low tritium production: Zr,
Na fluorides)
• Extensive industrial experience
− Aluminum metal made using molten fluoride salt
 ORNL Molten Salt Loop Evaluates
High-Temperature Material/Salt
Performance
ƒ Hastelloy N loop material
– Compatible with salts
– Stable to 1255°K
ƒ Maximum temperature 1073°K

ƒ Temperature differential: 50 to
100°K

ƒ Molten salt flow due to

differences in densities with
temperature

ƒ ~2 liters total volume

 Thermal Convection Loop
Establishes Compatibility for the
Most Realistic Conditions

Insert line
drawing A and
Picture B
Rationale for Using MSRs for Waste
Burning Is Based on Engineering,
Cost, and Operational Issues
• Recycle and fabrication of minor-actinide solid fuels are
very expensive and difficult
• Waste burning has excessive impacts on conventional
reactors (high actinide inventory to destruction rate)
• Molten Salt Reactors
− Add actinides to salt
− Actinides remain in salt until full burnout
− Fission products removed from salt
− For waste burner applications, ~10% of nuclear
electricity from MSRs used for waste destruction
• R&D is required to define the best waste burning strategy
 MSR Fuel Cycles

• Thermal neutron (233U/Th) breeder reactor

• Denatured low-conversion breeder reactor
• Denatured once-through fuel cycle
• Actinide burning (intrinsic to concept)
 The Proliferation-Resistant
Characteristics of the MSR Are
Different Than Those of Other Systems

• Low total fissile inventory

• With added 238U, 233U made non-weapons-
usable
• Very poor plutonium isotopics (primarily
242Pu)
 Advanced High-Temperature Reactor (AHTR):
(Solid Fuel and Salt Coolant for Hydrogen Production)

• Goals
− Hydrogen production
− Efficient electricity production
• Requirements for hydrogen production define reactor design
− Low pressure
− Heat delivered at a high, almost-constant temperature
− No tritium
− Isolation of reactor from chemical facility
• AHTR design characteristics
− Solid coated-particle fuel (similar to gas-cooled reactors)
− Molten salt coolant (Na/Zr fluoride, etc.)
The AHTR Uses a Multi-Reheat Brayton Cycle for
High-Efficiency Electricity Production

Passive Decay Electric Power Cycle

Heat Removal Reactor Multi-Reheat Helium Brayton Cycle
Hot Air Out
Control
Hot Molten Salt
Rods

Generator
Air
Inlet
Fuel Recuperator
(Similar to
MHTGR)
Gas
Reactor Compressor
Vessel
Guard
Vessel
Cooling Water

01-038
AHTR Liquid Cooling Allows All the Heat to Be
Delivered at Near Reactor Exit Temperatures
(Match Thermochemical Hydrogen Production Requirements)
1000 AHTR
1000°C
850°C 925°C
Hydrogen Production
800 750°C

665°C AHTR
Temperature (°C)

675°C
600 545°C HTGR-GT 491°C
(General Atomics)

LMFBR 395°C
(Super Phenix)
400 310°C
319°C
AGR
(Hinkley Point B)

PWR 299°C
200 (Point Beach)
Liquid
Gas
0
Inlet Outlet
Delivered Heat

01-031