NRG is conducting research into a new type of nuclear power plant
HIDES – NRG in Petten started in August with a radiation that must provide new data on the operation and safe use of a molten salt reactor. This type of reactor has good maps in the area of safety and reduced waste production.
Existing nuclear power stations use enriched uranium as fuel and high pressure water as refrigerant. A molten salt reactor is suitable for thorium as a fuel. It is in a liquid salt mixture that also acts as a coolant. The design of a molten salt reactor eliminates the risk of melting the core. Such a meltdown occurs when all the coolant is evaporated, as happened in Japanese Fukushima in 2011. That a meltdown in principle is not possible with a molten salt reactor is because the molten salt in the reactor is pressurized because the splitting reaction stops when the temperature increases and the salt flows itself to safe locations in the reactor as needed. Furthermore, there is a molten salt reactor that uses thorium, after the nuclear process, less long-lived radioactive waste. An additional advantage is that much more thorium than uranium occurs on Earth. There is therefore growing interest in this form of nuclear energy worldwide, which in the longer term can contribute to a CO2-free energy supply. As part of the government’s intention to reduce CO2 emissions by 90%, NRG is commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to investigate a molten salt reactor.
NRG began on August 10 in the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten with the irradiation of a salt mixture of lithium and thorium fluoride placed in a specially designed irradiation facility in the reactor core. During the investigation, it is investigated how stable the salt mixture is, which gases are released and the effect of salt on materials that are in contact with the salt. This provides important data for the designers of future molten salt reactors. The data will help answer questions such as: What materials can be used and which ones? What is a suitable composition of the salt mixture?
The original plan was to start the experiment last year, but because the irradiation of molten salt was completely new to NRG, additional research was carried out to make the experiment safe under all circumstances. “At NRG, safety rule is number one. We took an extra year to find out what could happen under different scenarios that could adversely affect the safety or quality of the experiment. Now that we are sure that the radiation facility meets, we can start the experiment, “says project manager Irene Bobeldijk.
The molten salt reactor is an invention by the American nuclear physicist Alvin Weinberg. In the sixties, an experimental reactor ran for five years at the American government laboratory in Oak Ridge, but that’s been a long time. According to Bobeldijk, there is a need for new and more detailed knowledge in the present time, especially in order to assess whether this technology has a good chance of success. “It’s been a long time since such a salt mixture has been irradiated. Our research can therefore help to support the renewed interest with well-founded data, “she says.
NRG works together with the European Commission Joint Research Center in Karlsruhe, which has made the salt blend and will investigate after irradiation, together with NRG in Petten. All research results will be shared with the international community after the experiment and will be available to everyone.
Image Source: NRG