Molten salt reactor experiment

Revision as of 01:47, 13 November 2015 by J.williams (talk | contribs) (1 revision imported)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

The Molten Salt Reactor Experiment or MSRE was an unimaginatively named molten salt reactor design that was constructed by Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL). This reactor was constructed as a proof-of-concept and research reactor to begin what they intended to be (at the time) a long line of molten salt reactors. This project was later followed by the proposition of the Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (MSBR), which never became a reality. This project would have converged the benefits of both MSRE and breeder reactor designs (to turn fertile material into fissile material, which any breeder reactor would do) to further encourage nuclear development.

The MSRE went critical in 1965 and successfully operated until the end of the experiment in 1969 when it shut down properly. The experiment was considered a successful first step to molten salt breeder technology.[1][2]

For more information on molten salt reactors and the MSRE specifically please see: What is nuclear? or the World Nuclear Association.

MSRE plant diagram: (1) Reactor vessel, (2) Heat exchanger, (3) Fuel pump, (4) Freeze flange, (5) Thermal shield, (6) Coolant pump, (7) Radiator, (8) Coolant drain tank, (9) Fans, (10) Fuel drain tanks, (11) Flush tank, (12) Containment vessel, (13) Freeze valve.[3]

References

  1. P. G. Boczar and K. Bradley, “Achieving Resource Sustainability in China through the Thorium Fuel Cycle in the CANDU Reactor,” in Proc. 18th Int. Conf. on Nuclear Engineering, 2010, p. 4.
  2. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, “The Development Status of Molten-Salt Breeder Reactors,” 1972, p. 416.
  3. ORNL. (2015, Jan. 4). Safety and Licensing Aspects of the Molten Salt Reactor [Online]. Available: http://web.ornl.gov/~webworks/cppr/y2001/pres/120507.pdf