MSREs

The metal is a source of nuclear power. There is probably more energy available for use from thorium in the minerals of the earth s crust than from both uranium and fossil fuels. Any sizable demand from thorium as a nuclear fuel is still several years in the future. Work has been done in developing thorium cycle converter-reactor systems. Several prototypes, including the HTGR (high-temperature gas-cooled reactor) and MSRE (molten salt converter reactor experiment), have operated. While the HTGR reactors are efficient, they are not expected to become important commercially for many years because of certain operating difficulties. 

H.Fr. Schroder, Determination of Fluorinated Surfactants and their Metabolites in Sewage Sludge Samples by LC/MS and MSre after Accelerated Solvent Extraction and Separation on Fluorine Modified RP-Phases, J. Chromatogr. A, in press. 

Schapira, F., Dreyfus, J.-C., Schapira, G., and Demos, J., Etude de I aldolase et de la creatine kinase du serum chez les mSres de myopathes. Rev. Franc. Etudes Clin. Biol. 5, 990 (1960). 

L3. Lindauei, R. B. Processing of the MSRE Flush and Fuel Salts, Report ORNL-TM-2578, Aug. 1969. 

Molten Salt Reactor Technology (MSRE/ARE/Industrial to 750°C)... 

Be-containing salts MSRE coolant salt- Li2BeF4... 

Fig. 2 Temperature-dependence of the modulus of elasticity (Young s modulus) of plastics (diagram). As an alternative to this modulus, tension a can also be plotted against constant elongation e or viscosity i), or other properties [2]. MSRe x,d- main softening range of elastomers, thermoplastics, duroplastics, Tgt associated glass transition temperature, Tfi flow point of the amorphous thermoplastic, //////// application range, application range...

LiBe 67-33 460 1.94 Best neutronics. Be toxicity, high Li cost, experience MSRE, no gamma emitters, low density (fuel buoyancy)... 

A 140-page summary report describing the behavior of fission products in the MSRE is the most complete source of information on fission product behavior in molten fluorides. In all instances, the evidence confirms what basic thermodynamics tells us only the noble gases (Xe, Kr) and tritium are released from the salt. All of the alkali (eg., Cs), alkaline earth (e.g., SrX rare earth (e.g., Y, Ln), and most metallic fission products (e g., Zr) are dissolved in the salt as fluorides and are relatively nonvolatile. A few of the metallic fission products (the noble group Ag, Pd, Ru, Mo, Tc, Rh, Sb) are not dissolved (or are partially dissolved), but remain as metallic species and tend to deposit on the colder metallic surfaces. 

The MSRE secondary coolant was kept extremely clean during the 4-year operation of the reactor, and no in-line cleaning was required. It is likely that the AHTR will not require a complex clean-up system for the coolant, but that more extensive cleanup may be needed on a period determined by the release of fission products from the fuel. 

H. E. McCoy and B. McNabb, Postirradiation Examination of the Materials from the MSRE, ORNL/TM-4174, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (December 1972). 

R. B. Lindauer, MSRE Design and Operations Report, Part VII, Handling and Processing Plant, ORNL/TM-907R, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1968). 

MSRE Intermediate Heat Transfer Loop Used Clean Salt... 

Another problem is corrosion due to the hot fluoride melt. Previous experience with the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Weinberg 1970) seem to indicate, however, that these problems can be overcome. 

A representative application of the MSR concept is thorium reactor, and MSRE (Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment) with thermal output of 8 MW was developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA and had been operated from 1966 to 1969. In the thorium reactor, the breeding of fissile nuclide, can be achieved through prevention of parasitic absorption by... 

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