A new type of nuclear reactor will work on nuclear waste
Last reviewed: 16.05.2018
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Thanks to nuclear power, carbon-free electricity can be obtained, but this method has its drawbacks. Most people are inclined to alternative sources of energy. Probably, in the world there is no person who would like to have a situation similar to the accident at Fukushima.
In addition, in the United States nuclear power plants have accumulated a huge amount of nuclear waste - more than 60 thousand tons, which the authorities do not know where to put.
The problem of the spread of nuclear weapons, environmental threats, etc., remains urgent.
In America, one of the start-up companies engaged in the development of a new reactor model, capable of solving, if not all, most of the existing problems. According to experts, the liquid-salt reactor can be altered in such a way that it can use nuclear waste in its work. The new reactor will also be able to run on fresh low-enriched fuel.
The idea of creating a liquid-salt reactor appeared long ago, in the 1950s, standard designs for such reactors were developed. But at present, such reactors benefit from light water reactors that can not provide a safe shutdown in the event of a power outage.
But all previous designs of liquid-salt reactors used highly enriched uranium fuel, the new type of Transatomic reactors is capable of operating on low-enriched fuel or simply using radioactive waste. Another difference between the new designs is the production of more than 90% of the energy from the fuel over a longer period of time. In addition, the new reactor efficiency .. The work of the new reactor is much higher used today.
Co-founders of the start-up company, which is developing a new type of reactor - Mark Massey and Leslie Devan - met in 2010 in Massachusetts, one of the universities, even then it was decided to create a joint project.
For the first time, experts presented their project in a year, in 2011, right after the accident at Fukushima, then their project received tremendous success from the audience.
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massey and Devan became the first graduates to select nuclear power for their project.
The financial support of the young company was provided by General Fusion, Bill Gates and other investors.
But the development and construction of a new reactor takes quite a long time. Now the scientists have finished the work on the project and are busy with the experimental part, which will last three years. After receiving the results, specialists will be able to tell about the cost, the ability of parts to work in an aggressive environment or under irradiation and answer a number of other questions. After the end of the experimental part, work will begin on detailed drawings. In the plans of scientists to get land for the construction of a trial model of the reactor (by about 2020).
The company's final goal is to build a 500 megawatt power plant. The Transatomic reactor can be used even in countries where there are not large uranium reserves, in this case, uranium can be enriched from sea water. A new type of reactor will become economically profitable, since its operation requires low levels of enrichment.
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