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Reactivity control in a molten salt reactor

A reactor, reactive technology used in the control of fission reactions to solve problems such as being toxic, complex and expensive, and volatile metals

Active Publication Date: 2017-05-31
伊恩·理查德·斯科特
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  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

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Problems solved by technology

Cadmium is relatively easily reduced to metal, as described in GB2508537, but the resulting metal is volatile and toxic at the temperature of the coolant salt, thus requiring specialized operations, which are complex and expensive in the context of nuclear reactors

Method used

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  • Reactivity control in a molten salt reactor
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Embodiment Construction

[0015] It should be noted that, as stated in this document, the following terms have the following meanings which are standard in the chemical field:

[0016] Element: A single type of atom (when used to describe a component of a compound) or a chemical formed from a single type of atom (when used to describe a substance). Compound: A chemical comprising two or more different elements bonded together by electricity.

[0017] Substance: A chemical product that cannot be separated into its components by physical separation (ie, chemical bonds cannot be broken), such as compounds, alloys, or elemental substances, but does not include mixtures.

[0018] The reduction in reactivity of nuclear reactions may be for the purpose of temporarily controlling reactivity, eg to compensate for the desired reduction in initial high reactivity as fission proceeds, and for the purpose of total cessation of reactivity.

[0019] This can be achieved by adding neutron absorbing material to the co...

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Abstract

Methods of controlling the reactivity of a molten salt fission reactor. The molten salt fission reactor comprises a core and a coolant tank (101), the core comprising fuel tubes (103) containing a molten salt fissile fuel, and the coolant tank containing a molten salt coolant (102), wherein the fuel tubes are immersed in the coolant tank. The methods comprise dissolving a neutron absorbing compound in the molten salt coolant, the neutron absorbing compound comprising a halogen and a neutron absorbing element. The first method further comprises reducing the neutron absorbing compound to a salt of the halogen and an insoluble substance comprising the neutron absorbing element, the halogen being fluorine or chlorine, wherein the insoluble substance is not volatile at a temperature of the coolant during operation of the reactor. In the second method the one or more neutron absorbing compounds are chosen such that reduction of the neutron absorbing capacity of the one or more neutron absorbing compounds due to absorption of neutrons compensates for a fall in reactivity of the core in order to control fission rates in the core. Apparatus for implementing the methods are also provided.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to the control of fission reactions in molten salt fission reactors. In particular, the present invention relates to a reversible approach to controlling neutron absorption rates in reactors. Background technique [0002] Molten salt fission reactors are reactors in which the fissile material is in the form of molten halide salts, usually chloride or acetyl fluoride. A novel design of such a reactor is described in GB2508537 in which molten fuel salt is held in tubes surrounded by a second molten salt acting as coolant. Control of the reactivity of such reactors has been proposed by using neutron-absorbing control rods or by adding neutron-absorbing materials europium fluoride or cadmium fluoride to the coolant salt, using a negative temperature coefficient of reactivity to allow high temperatures, Resulting in a subcritical state of the copper oxide rectifier. [0003] Both europium fluoride and cadmium fluoride have s...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): G21C1/03G21C1/14G21C7/04G21C19/31
CPCG21C1/03G21C1/14G21C7/04G21C19/31Y02E30/30G21C3/54G21C7/22G21C7/24G21C15/247
Inventor 伊恩·理查德·斯科特
Owner 伊恩·理查德·斯科特
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