Google Tech Talk by Dr. David LeBlanc about Liquid Fluoride Reactors. These are a class of nuclear reactor invented in the 1950s, abandoned in the 1970s, and becoming more interesting today.

1. Liquid Fluoride Reactors: A New Beginning for an Old Idea Feb 19 th 2009 Google Tech Talk Dr. David LeBlanc Physics Dept, Carleton University, Ottawa & Ottawa Valley Research Associates Ltd. [email_address]

9. The Single Fluid, Graphite Moderated Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (MSBR)

13. Radiotoxicity PWR vs FBR * vs LFR * * Assuming 0.1% Loss During Processing Data and graph from Sylvain David, Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay PWR Ore Levels Turns waste management into 500 year job, not million year FPs Fission Products

16. Quality of Produced Plutonium 7.4% 24.3% 5.2% fertile 242 Pu 4.8% 13.6% 5.6% Fissile and adds hard gamma rays 241 Pu 4.4% 18.1% 24.3% Spontaneous fissions high 240 Pu 9.5% 31.1% 60.3% Main fissile Component 239 Pu 73% 12.6% 1.3% Generates heat from alpha emission 238 Pu MSBR Pure Th – 233 U cycle DMSR 30 Year Once Through PWR Reactor Grade Proliferation properties Isotope

27. A Strange Beginning An Aircraft Reactor?

30. Homogenous Molten Salt Reactor Late 50s ORNL

39. The French TMSR Thorium Molten Salt Reactor Design has a thorium blanket but only radial, not axially (which would be very difficult)

40. Russian MOlten Salt Actinide Recycler and Transmuter MOSART

45. What is the solution? Here’s a hint… 0.5 Infinite Slab If H = 10 R 0.772 + Finite Cylinder 0.766 Infinite Cylinder 1 Sphere Ratio to B sphere Buckling 2 Geometry

46. Modified Geometry 2 Fluid Reactor* “Tube-Within-Shell” *Patent Pending Expands power producing volume while maintaining the small inner core needed for a simple 2 Fluid design

48. Cross Section Graphite Free

53. Fusion Structural Materials Studied “ Operating Temperature Windows for Fusion Reactor structural Materials” Zinkle and Ghoniem, 2000

58. Power Distribution With and Without Graphite Reflector Reproduced from “Transmutation Capability of Molten Salt Reactors Feed with TRUs from LWR” M. Frantoni and E. Greenspan, AWRIF 2005

66. Based on 0.2% tails, 75% capacity factor, 30 year lifetime LWR data from “A Guidebook to Nuclear Reactors” A. Nero 1979 3.9 million$ annual enrichment costs for DMSR at 110$/SWU, Total Fuel Costs <0.001$/kwh At $5000/kg, uranium from sea water potentially feasible and unlimited resource 200 2.0 47 2140 0.74 DMSR alternate salt, triple the neutron losses 150 1.5 35 1000 0.8 DMSR single U recycle 150 0.02$/kwh 1.5 35 1820 0.8 DMSR Converter 1 2400 If start up on 235 U 1.3 Sodium Fast Breeder 530 5.3 125 4080 0.5-0.6 LWR with U-Pu Recycle 850 million 8.5 million 200 6400 0.5-0.6 LWR Annual Ore Costs 5000$/kg Annual Ore Costs 50$/kg U Annual Uranium Ore (t) Lifetime Uranium Ore (t) Conversion Ratio Reactor

73. EXTRA SLIDES…

74. Two Region Homogeneous Reactor Projected breeding ratios assume thicker blanket and alternate barrier. From ORNL 2751, 1958 1.112 1.066 1.054 1.105 Projected B.R. (carbon wall) 1.091 1.004 0.977 1.055 Projected B.R. (thinner wall) 1.078 0.929 0.856 0.972 Breeding ratio (Clean Core) 2.20 2.175 2.185 2.193 Neutron Yield 0.009 0.031 0.031 0.048 Leakage 0.025 0.109 0.140 0.090 Core Vessel 0.087 0.106 0.129 0.087 Salt Losses 0.603% 0.233% 0.158% 0.592% 233 U in fuel salt mole % 7 0.25 0 0 ThF 4 in fuel salt mole % 8 feet 4 feet 4 feet 3 feet Core Diameter