There is a Molten Salt Reactor Review by Energy Process Developments
Terrestrial Energy – Integrated MSR (IMSR)
The Integral MSR is also based on the MSR Experiment but has been modified to have a more sealed, passive approach. The design team is based in Canada with international involvement and support. An 80 MWth prototype reactor is proposed.
Operating in the thermal spectrum with a graphite moderator inside the sealed unit, it can fit on the back of an articulated truck. This unit contains the fuel salt, moderator, heat exchangers and pumps. The plant is fuelled with 5% low enriched uranium where the U-235 is denatured with U-238. This core is modular, designed for a high power density and replacement after a seven year cycle in a plant with an overall lifetime of over thirty years. This ‘seal and swap’ approach reduces on site complications and risks. Using low enriched uranium, it has a fuel cycle with which regulators are familiar. This proposal is suitable for developing fully and launching commercially immediately.
Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR features self-contained reactor Core-unit, where all key components are permanently sealed for operating lifetime. At the end of 7-year design life, the IMSR Core-unit is shut down to cool. Power is switched to a new IMSR Core-unit, in an adjacent silo within the facility. Once sufficiently cool, the spent IMSR Core-unit is removed and prepared for long-term storage, a process similar to existing industry protocols for long-term nuclear waste containment. The sealed nature of the IMSR Core-unit offers low-cost operational safety and simplicity.
Dr. David LeBlanc presented for Terrestrial Energy at TEAC7 (Thorium Energy Alliance Conference #7), held in 2015 Palo Alto.
Flibe Energy - Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR)
Flibe Energy, one of the first to resurrect the molten salt reactor concept, and based in the USA, proposes a 2MWth two fluid breeder design. It is based on work carried out by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory team in the 1970’s. It operates in the thermal spectrum moderated by graphite. Its fissile element is uranium-233 which is bred from thorium in a blanket salt at the outer edge of the reactor core.
Kirk Sorensen estimates that it will cost "several hundred million dollars" to get to the first LFTR
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Reposted via Next Big Future
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