The promise of Molten Salt has launched dozens of startups in the US without splitting a single atom. A new experimental reactor licensed by the NRC is looking to accelerate the progress.
"The Chinese have been building a Thorium molten salt reactor in the Gobi desert that looks to operate by 2025." ...I'm not sure we don't know TMSR-LF1 isn't already fissioning. SINAP does not issue regular updates. At least not on any websites we can see.
I have in fact heard from more than one source — including Chinese nuclear professionals — that it is in fact running and running very well. But that isn’t reported anywhere that I can find from an official source so I have left it off my main article.
Angelica - If you have more than one Chinese source in a position to know, can’t you write about the project’s status and quote unnamed sources? You are the trained journalist, but my understanding is that confirming, but anonymous sources can be as good as an “official source”.
Then you could be the source that the rest of us can reference.
In this situation, I agree. I don't like anonymous sources in politics, because they're not trustworthy, but in scientific matters I don't see why we can't trust them, except in hugely theoretical stuff like nuclear fusion where there have been some frauds.
Hi Rod and Al…the reason I don’t feel comfortable quoting the unnamed source is I didn’t go an interview them on this topic. This just came up in conversation.
However, if this is of interest, please check out the twitter post where I recorded the interaction.
It's not easy to obtain reliable information from unnamed sources, but sometimes the effort is worthwhile. There might be no other way to obtain valuable insights.
Angelica, are you aware that Kairos Power has also received a construction permit and has started building their Hermes reactor? It will use new FLiBe salt and pebble bed fuel. https://kairospower.com/media/
Jon, the Kairos Power reactor is very promising but it is not a molten salt reactor the way I think of it. While molten salt is involved, it is kind of used as a bath where TRISO fuel pebbles float. All the reaction is in the fuel pebbles and the salt just takes the heat away.
Yes, Kairos is different, but they use pebbles to contain reaction products rather than let them spread through the salt, where they could potentially cause unanticipated corrosion (and deposition) problems. Use of pebbles also helps keep the salt much less radioactive.
The point of all reactors is create heat which can then be used elsewhere to either create electricity or for industrial/chemical purposes
Part of the reason the NRC was willing to provide a construction license for 35 MW_thermal Hermes is that is is essentially a tenth scale prototype, to allow Kairos to validate their design and find/fix problems. So the fact that it only produces heat is because it a test device. The full-scale Kairos FHR, building on learnings from Hermes, is planned to be built in the early 2030s to produce either electricity or industrial heat.
Al, yes, this uses the same type of FLiBe salt as used in the Oak Ridge MSRE (and will be reused by Abilene Christian) except that it doesn't have the fuel mixed with the salt.
Thanks for the link. I see they will build nuclear for heat only, not to generate electricity. Is this flouride salt different from the salt Christian Abilene will use?
"The Chinese have been building a Thorium molten salt reactor in the Gobi desert that looks to operate by 2025." ...I'm not sure we don't know TMSR-LF1 isn't already fissioning. SINAP does not issue regular updates. At least not on any websites we can see.
I have in fact heard from more than one source — including Chinese nuclear professionals — that it is in fact running and running very well. But that isn’t reported anywhere that I can find from an official source so I have left it off my main article.
Angelica - If you have more than one Chinese source in a position to know, can’t you write about the project’s status and quote unnamed sources? You are the trained journalist, but my understanding is that confirming, but anonymous sources can be as good as an “official source”.
Then you could be the source that the rest of us can reference.
In this situation, I agree. I don't like anonymous sources in politics, because they're not trustworthy, but in scientific matters I don't see why we can't trust them, except in hugely theoretical stuff like nuclear fusion where there have been some frauds.
Hi Rod and Al…the reason I don’t feel comfortable quoting the unnamed source is I didn’t go an interview them on this topic. This just came up in conversation.
However, if this is of interest, please check out the twitter post where I recorded the interaction.
https://x.com/AngelicaOung/status/1796812322541085072
Thanks
It's not easy to obtain reliable information from unnamed sources, but sometimes the effort is worthwhile. There might be no other way to obtain valuable insights.
Confirmation is useful.
Wonderful news. Some progress, finally.
3 cheers for Abilene Christian U!
Angelica, are you aware that Kairos Power has also received a construction permit and has started building their Hermes reactor? It will use new FLiBe salt and pebble bed fuel. https://kairospower.com/media/
Jon, the Kairos Power reactor is very promising but it is not a molten salt reactor the way I think of it. While molten salt is involved, it is kind of used as a bath where TRISO fuel pebbles float. All the reaction is in the fuel pebbles and the salt just takes the heat away.
Angelica,
Yes, Kairos is different, but they use pebbles to contain reaction products rather than let them spread through the salt, where they could potentially cause unanticipated corrosion (and deposition) problems. Use of pebbles also helps keep the salt much less radioactive.
The point of all reactors is create heat which can then be used elsewhere to either create electricity or for industrial/chemical purposes
Part of the reason the NRC was willing to provide a construction license for 35 MW_thermal Hermes is that is is essentially a tenth scale prototype, to allow Kairos to validate their design and find/fix problems. So the fact that it only produces heat is because it a test device. The full-scale Kairos FHR, building on learnings from Hermes, is planned to be built in the early 2030s to produce either electricity or industrial heat.
Al, yes, this uses the same type of FLiBe salt as used in the Oak Ridge MSRE (and will be reused by Abilene Christian) except that it doesn't have the fuel mixed with the salt.
It’s quite a bit different than the MSRR outlined here, but that is also a promising path forward.
Thanks for the link. I see they will build nuclear for heat only, not to generate electricity. Is this flouride salt different from the salt Christian Abilene will use?
Any idea as to target power level, enrichment levels, and other such specs?
Democratic party of freedom wants CAGW denial to be a crime (Walz).
Real criminals are the bellicose, screeching, fearmongers and their bogus GHE.
Believe = religion
Think = opinion
Know = science
Here’s what I know.
You??
Water vapor, clouds, ice, snow create 30% albedo which makes the Earth cooler not warmer.
W/o GHE there is no water and Earth goes lunarific, a barren rock ball, 400 K lit side, 100 K dark refuting a warming GHE.
“TFK_bams09” GHE heat balance graphic and ubiquitous clones don’t balance plus violate LoT.
Kinetic heat transfer processes of contiguous atmospheric molecules render a surface black body and it’s “extra” upwelling GHE energy impossible.
GHE is bogus and CAGW a scam so alarmists must resort to fear mongering, lies, lawsuits, censorship and violence.