This paper will focus on the liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr design, an implementation of one such gen iv idea, the molten salt reactor. A liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr is a type of molten salt reactor msr that can use inexpensive thorium for fuel thorium becomes. Now what with ryan duffy covers some of the innovative things people are doing about some of the worlds largest problems. Thorium reactor liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr. The combination of these two technologies is known as the liquid fluoride thorium reactor or lftr, because the fuel is in form of a molten fluoride salt of thorium and other elements. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor page 3 physics forums. Molten salt reactors incl liquid fluoride thorium reactor. Liquid fluoride thorium reactors an old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined robert hargraves and ralph moir what if we could turn back the clock to 1965 and have an energy doover. Lftr is fluoride based liquid fuel, that use the thorium dissolved in salt mixture of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride. Lessons for the liquidfluoride thorium reactor pdf.
Liquid fluoride thorium reactors are seen as the future of energy. Oak ridge national laboratory ornl took the lead in researching msrs through the 1960s. On page 9 it states that the high temperature of operation of the liquid fluoride thorium reactor enables electrolysis of hydrogen. The liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr is a promising, innovative reactor design that uses liquid instead of solid fuel, and thorium instead of uranium, giving it considerable benefits over traditional uraniumfuelled light water reactors lwrs. The drawback is that additional investment in liquid togas heat. Transuranics minimization thoriumfueled sodiumcooled fast reactor westinghouse electric company thoriumfueled reduced moderation boiling water reactor for transuranics minimization thorium fueled bwr flibe energy liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr thoriumfueled liquid salt reactor. Thorium and uranium233 are dissolved in molten lithium fluoride salt in the reactor. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor thorium nuclear energy.
Liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr has 3,776 members. Advantages of liquid fluoride thorium reactor in comparison with light water reactor aip, free pdf access. Therefore, lftr technology is fundamentally different from the solid fuel. Kirk sorensen presented an introduction to flibe energy at the thorium energy conference 2011 55 pages flibe energy will initially design, develop and demonstrate a small modular liquid fluoride thorium reactor smlftr for the us military. Investigation on the liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr. Thorium cant fission it is fertile, not fissile, it must be converted into uranium before it can produce energy. Maybe we can have them become interested in molten salt reactors such as liquid fluoride thorium reactor to provide power all the time, or all the time solarwind are not generating enough, replacing coal and oil.
Traditionally, in lwr, water had to cool down the solid fuel since it couldnt handle the high temperatures because of high pressure, which had always been a fine line behind meltdowns sorensen, 2011. The hanzehogeschool is advised to continue research into this technology. As part of molten salt reactor design, liquid fluoride thorium reactor is one of the many reactors under the generationiv reactors designs but the only rector that will be making a change in the fuel material where thorium 232 will be used to breed uranium233 elements for fuel usage in the reactor. Aim high thorium energy cheaper than from coal solves more. The leading contender among geniv reactors is the molten salt reactor msr. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr public group facebook. Aim high thorium energy cheaper than from coal solves.
Liquid fluoride thorium reactor, no risk of loss of coolant accidents, no longterm nuclear waste can even consume waste from. You can safely hold in your hand enough thorium to generate all the electricity youll use in your entire life. The liquidfluoride thorium reactor fluoride action network. Vhtr, msrmolten salt reactor, or lftr liquid fluoride thorium reactor refer to indirectly heated cycles. The liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr, a possible contendor for nuclear propulsion systems the liquid fluoride thorium reactors lftr are purportedly safer no harmful radioactive wastes produced, less expensive, smaller in size, does not use weaponsgrade radioactive fuels and run on thorium232, which is apparently an abundant heavy metal. Many of these documents came from a set of 6 cdroms, which were created. Our vision therefore is a world based on a much greater sense of equality and we are convinced that this will be a safer and happier habitat for ourselves and for generations to come. The liquid flouride thorium reactor lftr solution sam packard. Oct 18, 2014 a liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr is the optimal approach for harvesting energy from thorium, and has the potential to solve todays energyclimate crisis. Pdf advantages of liquid fluoride thorium reactor in comparison. Molten salt reactors are generation iv nuclear fission reactors that use molten salt as either the primary reactor coolant or as the fuel itself. Lftr lftr or liquid fluoride thorium reactor is a safer, cleaner, and more efficient nuclear reactor.
Why didnt this happen and why is now the right time. I have no qualms in trying to campaign for uk manufacture of lftrs and if any of you feel so inclined, make it happen here by voting on 38degrees, the campaigning website and search for uk manufacture of liquid fluoride thorium reactors. A significant advantage of using thorium to breed u233 is that relatively little plutonium is produced from the th232 because six more neutron absorptions are required than is the case with u238. Kirk sorensen presented an introduction to flibe energy at the thorium energy conference 2011 55 pages flibe energy will initially design, develop and demonstrate a small modular liquidfluoride thorium reactor smlftr for the us military. The liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr consists of a critical core orange containing fissile uranium233 in a. The concept is simple, yet thoroughly investigated. October 8, 2018, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the operation of the moltensalt reactor experiment msre using uranium233 as a fuel. Alternatively, sign the epetition on the hm government website. The liquid fluoride thorium reactor is a type of molten salt reactor.
Advantages of liquid fluoride thorium reactor in comparison with light water reactor conference paper pdf available november 2014 with 1,333 reads how we measure reads. To view or download each speakers presentation in pdf format, please click on any of the titles below. There is a great deal of useful information in this document. Our experience with smallscale wind power has shown us the limitations of renewable energy, often hailed as the solution to the. Natural thorium is relatively abundant in many parts of the world, including those lacking uranium resources. Fbr fast breeder reactor fbrone type among 6 families of generation iv reactors.
When people started to do research in the field of nuclear energy in the midnineties, the molten salt reactors were soon invented. Wyoming lftr energy alliance a nonprofit association. At the dawn of the nuclear industry, the united states manhattan project developed the atomic bomb, or real two models of atomic bombs, one using uranium 235 and one using plutonium 239. First, i think he means electrolysis of water in order to produce hydrogen, and second the availability of electricity from any source would permit electrolysis, and at more or less any temperature you wished. The drawback is that additional investment in liquidtogas heat. The liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr offers promise for the future. Flibe energy liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr thoriumfueled liquid salt reactor. Perhaps these technical problems can be overcome, but why would anyone bother to try, knowing in advance that the msr plant will be uneconomic due to huge construction costs and operating costs, plus will explode and rain radioactive molten salt when not if the steam. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor page 4 physics forums. I would like to have some idea of how the system would react to such changes in nuclear geometry.
Andrew yang, an entrepreneur and democratic candidate for the 2020 presidential election, promises to make thorium molten salt reactors as part of his climate plan for achieving netzero emissions by 2050. Weve been mainly using the light water reactor, lwr, with solid fuel cooled by highpressure water. Much of their work culminated with the moltensalt reactor experiment msre. Perhaps these technical problems can be overcome, but why would anyone bother to try, knowing in advance that the msr plant will be uneconomic due to huge construction costs and operating costs, plus will explode and rain radioactive molten salt when not if the steam generator tubes leak. Unlike conventional light water reactor designs, the liquid. Heat from the reactor is transferred to another loop of molten salt not containing nuclear materials. Pdf liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr is an innovative design for the thermal breeder reactor that has important potential benefits over the. It is a completely different nuclear reactor than we have been using, with molten fuel cooled by stable salts. Note that, due to the much higher heat transfer capability of liquid molten salt or metal, a vhtr can operate at higher outlet temperatures than the htgr. Update on the liquid fluoride thorium reactor projects in. The initial enthusiasm on thorium fuels and fuel cycles was not sustained among the developing countries later, due to new discovery of uranium deposits and their improved availability.
Some people believe that liquid fluoride thorium reactors, which would use a high temperature liquid fuel made of molten salt, would be. In a typical design, the liquid is pumped between a critical core and an external heat exchanger where the heat is transferred to a nonradioactive secondary salt. A liquidfluoride nuclear reactor is different than conventional nuclear reactors that. Core of crocus, a small nuclear reactor used for research at the epfl in. As part of molten salt reactor design, liquid fluoride thorium reactor is one of the many reactors under the generationiv reactors designs but the only rector that will be making a change in the fuel material where thorium232 will be used to breed uranium233. The lftr is unique, having a hot liquid core thus eliminating fuel fabrication costs and the. It is generally considered inherently safer, cleaner and more economically viable than conventional reactors, but was not chosen by doe as the technology of choice. Nuclear power plants using liquid fluoride thorium reactor technology pdf. With thorium, we are thus complementing our work with small wind power in providing universal electricity for communication and access to information. Aka molten salt reactors msr, or liquid fluoride thorium. Flibe energy liquid flouride thorium reactor company. Aug 08, 2011 in a large pool of thorium fluoride gradually transmuting to u233, it seems at least possible for gradients to form with potentially quite different fuel concentrations and compositions. Advantages of liquid fluoride thorium reactor in comparison with light water reactor. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr is an innovative design for the thermal breeder reactor that has important potential benefits over the traditional reactor design.
Thorium th232 is among the least radioactive materials halflife 14 billion years. They should not be confused with molten saltcooled high temperature reactors fluoride high. Reactor vhtr, msrmolten salt reactor, or lftr liquid fluoride thorium reactor refer to indirectly heated cycles. Liquidfluoride thorium reactor development strategy. A slightly different type of msr can consume the uraniumplutonium waste from solidfueled reactors as fuel. Moltensaltfueled reactors msrs supply the nuclear fuel in the form of a molten salt mixture. Flibe energy with its liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr concept, is one of the three companies that was today awarded a gain nuclear energy ne voucher to accelerate the innovation and application of its technology. The joint evaluated fission and fusion file jeff, version 3. Thorium fuel cycle potential benefits and challenges. Lftrs use the thorium fuel cycle with a fluoride based, molten, liquid salt for fuel. The goal here is to present the basics of a lftr design and the inherent advantages and problems with such a design.
Thorium is special because it is easier to extract this energy completely than uranium due to some of the chemical and nuclear properties of thorium. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr simply too dangerous. The following thesis on the subject of liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr. In june of that year, the mol ten salt reactor experiment msre achieved criticality for the first time at oak ridge national laboratory ornl in tennessee. Pdf advantages of liquid fluoride thorium reactor in. A liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr is a type of molten salt reactor msr that can use inexpensive thorium for fuel thorium becomes uranium inside the reactor. U233 is a superior nuclear fuel, producing enough neutrons through its fission. High efficiency nuclear power plants using liquid fluoride. Why the molten salt reactor msr was not developed by the usa, by bruce hoglund.
Lftrs use the thorium fuel cycle with a fluoridebased, molten, liquid salt for fuel moltensaltfueled reactors msrs supply the nuclear fuel in the form of a molten salt mixture. Desired first demonstration at a military site to be determined. Since the carrier of thorium is a liquid, liquid fluoride, it allows standard pressure at igh temperatures. The liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr, a possible contendor for nuclear propulsion systems the liquid fluoride thorium reactors lftr are purportedly safer no harmful radioactive wastes produced, less expensive, smaller in size, does not use weaponsgrade radioactive fuels and run on thorium 232, which is apparently an abundant heavy metal. Energy provision has now become a live issue with the consequences posed by carbon emissions, climate change and the shortage of fuel. In a large pool of thorium fluoride gradually transmuting to u233, it seems at least possible for gradients to form with potentially quite different fuel concentrations and compositions. We propose the burning of thorium dissolved as a fluoride in molten salt in the minimum viscosity mixture of lithium fluoride lif and beryllium fluoride bef 2 together with a small amount of uranium235 235u or plutonium fluoride to initiate the process to be located at least 10 meters underground. The liquid flouride thorium reactor lftr solution youtube. Msr fuels are uranium andor thorium, as liquid fluoride salts. Engineering database of liquid salt thermophysical and thermochemical properties 1. A liquidfluoride thorium reactor lftr is the optimal approach for harvesting energy from thorium, and has the potential to solve todays energyclimate crisis. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr simply too dangerous thats why it was stopped.
May 25, 2016 the liquid flouride thorium reactor lftr solution sam packard. The lftr is a liquidfueled, graphitemoderated, thermal spectrum breeder reactor optimized for operation on a thoriumsupported uranium233 th233u fuel cycle. The first fuel was a highenriched 33% u235 uranium dissolved as uf4 in a lifbef2zrf4 salt. The mosel reactor concept no ocr, 300 dpi image, 10. Engineering database of liquid salt thermophysical and. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor indian defence forum. Some people believe that liquid fluoride thorium reactors, which would use a high. Thorium converts to uranium inside the reactor molten.
Temperature gas reactor htgr or gas turbine modular helium reactor gtmhr baxi, 2006, 2009 refer to the directly cbc systems, while cbc energy conversion via the very high temperature reactor vhtr, msrmolten salt reactor, or lftr liquid fluoride thorium reactor refer to indirectly heated cycles. The generation iv reactor designs are attempts to do just that. Barriers and drivers to liquid fluoride thorium reactor technology. Lftr or liquid fluoride thorium reactor is a safer, cleaner, and more efficient nuclear reactor. As fission radioactive decay occurs, heat is released and free neutrons start changing more thorium into uranium233.
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