Molten salt actinide recycler and transforming system without and with Th–U support: Fuel cycle flexibility and key material properties

On the Burning of Plutonium Originating from Light Water Reactor Use in a Fast Molten Salt Reactor—A Neutron Physical Study

“…In Europe interest has been focused in the EURATOM project MOST-review on MSR Technology [17,18]. Following the MOST project, in 2010, two projects on MSR were selected and funded by European and Russian Agencies: the European Project: "Evaluation and Viability of Liquid fuel fast reactor systems" (EVOL) [19][20][21] and the Russian Project: "Minor Actinides Recycling in molten salts" (MARS) [22][23][24]. A three-year Euratom-Rosatom collaboration has been established, through the parallel coordinated projects (MARS-EVOL) on MSR [25].…”

Analysis of minor actinides transmutation for a Molten Salt Fast Reactor

“…Recently, the Th-U fuel cycle feasibility for MOSART was also evaluated. Various fuel cycle programs including the converter, the iso-breeder and the breeder were analyzed (Ignatiev et al, 2014). Under the European Evaluation and Viability of Liquid Fuel Fast Reactor System (EVOL) project, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) proposed another fast MSR concept, the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR) (Merle-Lucotte et al, 2011).…”

Why the molten salt fast reactor (MSFR) is the “best” Gen IV reactor

“…However, ORNL's calculations indicated that this configuration could not achieve break-even fissile regeneration (isobreeding) with a core tank large enough to generate a worthwhile amount of power (>100 MW e ) unless thorium was also present in the fuel-side salt, which, in turn, would raise seemingly insuperable "reprocessing issues" due to its chemical similarities to rare earth element (REE) FP neutron poisons. This, plus the fact that Herbert McPherson, formerly National Carbon's foremost graphite expert, 12 had assumed management of ORNL's molten salt research program [7], shifted emphasis to the graphite moderated 13 two-salt system depicted in Figures 2, 3.…”

“…6) became the EURATOM Consortium's (EVOL's) "reference" MSR. 19 While most of the previous studies of fast-spectrum MSRs had assumed a chloride 20 -based solvent salt in order to facilitate Pu breeding [11], fertile-free TRU burning, or U-supported TRU burning [12], EVOL's leadership assumed a somewhat less fast fluoride salt-based system in order to capitalize upon ORNL's extensive materials science and fuel salt chemistry experience [13].…”

“…12 Dr. McPherson's development of boron-free graphite (boron is a powerful neutron poison) had previously rendered Hanford's warwinning 239 Pu production reactors possible. 13 The technical reason for moderating a MSR's core (with graphite, zirconium hydride or BeO) is that doing so would increase fission cross sections thereby allowing it to operate with a smaller fissile inventory -a characteristic deemed to be of paramount importance when ORNL was pursuing its MSR studies.…”