Continuous removal of fission products from molten-salt-fueled reactors
- Muons, Inc., 45 Jonquil Ln, Newport News, VA 23606 (United States)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA (United States)
- Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA (United States)
A method based on separation of volatilized molten salt (MS) components, including by mass, is being developed to extract fission products (FPs) from operating molten-salt reactors. The initial application of this method is for accelerator-driven subcritical reactors fueled by (fluorinated molten salt) spent nuclear fuel (UNF) from any past, present, or future reactor. The actinides remain in the subcritical reactor to produce profitable energy and be transmuted while the extracted FPs can be buried without long-lived actinides such that a geologic repository is not necessarily needed to close the nuclear fuel cycle. By removing neutron-absorbing FPs and operating sub-critically, where the restrictive link between operation and criticality is broken, it is possible to envision complete burnup of the UNF fuel. The game-changing feature of continuously processing the molten salt inside the reactor while the reactor operates eliminates the need for a separate reprocessing plant. This feature also simultaneously improves the neutronics of the reactor, increasing the burnup of the fuel and extending its useful life for generating energy. Nuclear nonproliferation and need for geologic repositories are addressed by keeping actinides inside the reactor containment until they are consumed. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society - ANS, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 23203906
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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