Table of Contents
Can molten salt reactors melt down?
MSRs are walk-away safe. They cannot melt down like conventional reactors because they are, by design, already molten. The fuel salts for MSRs work at normal atmospheric pressure, so a breach of the reactor containment vessel would simply leak out the liquid fuel which would then solidify as it cooled.
Can a molten salt reactor explode?
The primary and secondary systems have pressure lower than 5 bar, and do not have the danger of accidents due to high pressure such a system destruction or salt leakage. (2) The fuel and coolant salts are chemically inert, and no firing or explosive with air or water (as occurred in the Fukushima accident).
Why do we not have thorium reactors?
Thorium cannot in itself power a reactor; unlike natural uranium, it does not contain enough fissile material to initiate a nuclear chain reaction. As a result it must first be bombarded with neutrons to produce the highly radioactive isotope uranium-233 – ‘so these are really U-233 reactors,’ says Karamoskos.
Can a Natrium reactor meltdown?
In July 1959, the reactor experienced a partial meltdown where 13 of the reactor’s 43 fuel elements partially melted, and a controlled release of radioactive gas into the atmosphere occurred. The reactor was repaired and restarted in September 1960.
Can thorium be used as a fuel in nuclear reactors?
But in a molten salt reactor one can also use thorium as a fuel and it is estimated that there is a factor 3 more thorium on earth that uranium. Thorium is easily accessible and at this moment is mostly a by-product of rare-earth mining. There is also thorium dissolved in ocean water. Thorium and uranium are a truly sustainable source of energy.
Can thorium be used as a fuel in an MSR?
The fuel in a MSR can be any fissile material but most experiments until now have used uranium. However the special features of the liquid fuel make it possible to also use thorium. Using thorium in an LWR as solid fuel poses many difficulties.
What is a molten salt reactor used for?
What is a molten salt reactor? In essence, a molten salt reactor or MSR is a vessel that contains a hot liquid salt which a nuclear reaction takes place. The salt consists of the nuclear fuel, and several other compounds that optimize the reaction, the heat transfer and the stability of the salt.
What happens to iodine and caesium in molten salt reactors?
In molten salt reactors iodine and caesium – and other fission products – are ionically bound. Ionic binding is an incredibly strong chemical bonding – it’s the reason why you can safely use kitchen salt, without having to worry about poisonous chlorine gas coming out of it, even though roughly half of your kitchen salt is chlorine.