Its objectives for modular reactor design and its plans for manufacturing and deployment of these reactors will be described. Other articles where liquid fluoride thorium reactor is discussed. Thorium molten salt reactors have the potential to offer abundant, affordable, safe and clean energy for thousands of years. A slightly different type of msr can consume the uraniumplutonium waste from solidfueled reactors as fuel. But a small and growing group of thorium fans say that it is the future of power production. A liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr is the optimal approach for harvesting energy from thorium, and has the potential to solve todays energyclimate crisis. There are several pathways for using thorium and technical challenges which will. The liquid fluoride thorium reactor is a type of molten salt reactor. A lftr is a type of molten salt reactor, significantly safer than a typical nuclear reactor. Molten salt reactors are generation iv nuclear fission reactors that use molten salt as either the primary reactor coolant or as the fuel itself. Flibe energy, which is based in huntsville, alabama, recently noted the company is looking to establish a liquid fluoride thorium reactor in the u.
The liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr design by flibe energy is a graphitemoderated, thermalspectrum reactor with solutions of liquid fluoride salts containing both fissile and fertile materials. Our particular emphasis is on the liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr. Semantic scholar extracted view of liquid fluoride thorium reactors. The liquidfluoride thorium reactor lftr design by flibe energy is a graphite moderated, thermalspectrum reactor with solutions of liquid. Researchers at nrg, a dutch firm, have started work on a fission generator that would be the first active thorium salt reactor since the closure of a reactor at oak ridge national laboratory. Lftr is fluoride based liquid fuel that used the thorium dissolved in salt mixture of lithium fluoride lif and beryllium fluoride bef2 called as flibe. Therefore, lftr technology is fundamentally different from the solid fuel technology currently in use. Request pdf liquid fluoride thorium reactors the molten salt reactor experiment msre achieved criticality for the first time at oak ridge national laboratory ornl in tennessee. Liquid fluoride thorium reactors request pdf researchgate.
Uri gat, who introduced me to molten salt reactors in 1993 and dr. Juhaszl nasa glenn research center, cleveland, ohio 445 richard a. High efficiency nuclear power plants using liquid fluoride. Thorium reactors liquid fluoride thorium reactor desings fusion reactors bubble column reactors.
Thorium is an element that is more than 3 times more abundant worldwide and is an alternate source of nuclear power. Future is not looking good for thorium nuclear reactors. Thorium can be used as a nuclear fuel through breeding to uranium233 u233. Reactors containing molten thorium salt are called liquid fluoride thorium reactors lftr. Flibe energy has taken the oak ridge work and enhanced the design into the liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr, a moltensalt reactor design that can utilize thorium more effectively and efficiently than ever before. The major goal of the msrp was to achieve a thorium reactor that could produce power at low cost while simultaneously conserving and.
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. Pdf advantages of liquid fluoride thorium reactor in comparison. Ralph moir, who continues to help and encourage me and many other pilgrims, in our molten salt adventures journey. Thorium becomes earths most abundant stored energy resource when used in the lftr. Nuclear programs across the world are reevaluating regarding their future power source citing valid safety concerns. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the scientists at oak ridge national laboratory in the usa developed the molten salt reactor design a liquid salt fueled and cooled nuclear reactor system. Alternatively, sign the epetition on the hm government website. The liquid flouride thorium reactor lftr solution sam packard. Much of their work culminated with the moltensalt reactor experiment msre. The liquidfluoride thorium reactor lftr design by flibe energy is a graphitemoderated, thermalspectrum reactor with solutions of liquid. Lftr is fluoride based liquid fuel, that use the thorium dissolved in salt mixture of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride. High efficiency nuclear power plants using liquid fluoride thorium. A liquid fluoride reactor, the aircraft reactor experiment, was operated at oak ridge national laboratory in 1954 as part of the anp program. Reprocessing nuclear waste from light water reactors.
The liquid flouride thorium reactor lftr solution youtube. High efficiency nuclear power plants using liquid fluoride thorium reactor technology albert j. A thoriumsalt reactor has fired up for the first time in. 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. For countries with nuclear capabilities, starting or reopening the research into the various methods of fueling a thorium reactor may be somewhat costly, but could also be lifechanging to future generations. Lftrs use a combination of thorium a common element widely found in the earth and fluoride salts to. Thus, thorium is a better fertile material than 238u in thermal reactors but thorium is inferior to depleted uranium as a fertile material in fast reactor. There is a viable option to replace current nuclear technology.
Request pdf liquid fluoride thorium reactors the molten salt reactor experiment msre achieved criticality for the first time at oak ridge national. Proponents of renewable energy concede that thorium is preferable to uranium, but argue that the millions in subsidies thorium will. The first experiment is on a setup called a moltensalt fast reactor, which burns thorium salt and in theory should. Robert hargraves and ralph moirs article liquid fluoride thorium reactors julyaugust 2010 presents a strong case for developing such plants. The team at nrg is testing several reactor designs on a small scale at first. 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. Public utilities, energy, and technology interim committee. This element itself is not fissile but when used in a liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr, it can potentially be a source of nuclear power that is cheaper, cleaner, and safer compared to current uranium power plants. Should we consider using liquid fluoride thorium reactors. These thorium reactor pros and cons prove that there is a lot of potential in this technology. U233 is a superior nuclear fuel, producing enough neutrons through its fission. Thorium fuel cycle potential benefits and challenges. Molten salt reactors msrs papers, books, and reports. Thorium is much more abundant in nature than uranium.
The relative simplicity of their construction and operation, their inherent safety and their lack of plutonium pu production are powerful advantages that should be carefully considered. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr is an innovative design for the thermal breeder reactor that has important potential benefits over the traditional reactor design. To a limited group of technophiles and nuclear technology enthusiasts, thorium has become a unicorn. Molten salt reactors incl liquid fluoride thorium reactor. Some people believe that liquid fluoride thorium reactors, which would use a high. A molten salt reactor msr is a class of generation iv nuclear fission reactor in which the primary nuclear reactor coolant, or even the fuel itself, is a molten salt mixture.
Several thorium fuelled reactor concepts are under consideration. Is thorium the fuel of the future to revitalize nuclear. Lftrs use the thorium fuel cycle with a fluoridebased, molten. Nuclear power generation is under intense scrutiny due to the recent japanese disaster. 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. Reactor vhtr, msrmolten salt reactor, or lftr liquid fluoride thorium reactor refer to indirectly heated. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor nuclear physics britannica. Such reactors do not require fuel rods, and interest in developing the technology has grown in the early 21st century. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor page 3 physics forums. Natural thorium is relatively abundant in many parts of the world, including those lacking uranium resources. Pdf advantages of liquid fluoride thorium reactor in. Flibe energy has worked to advance the technology for liquid fluoride thorium reactors lftrs since its incorporation in april 2011. Realizing thorium s full potential requires research.
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. Thermal power generated from nuclear fission would drive electrical. For the fissile 233u nuclei, the number of neutrons liberated per neutron absorbed represented as. In a conventional pwr the fuel pellets contain uo 2 with fissile u235 content expensively enriched to 3. The lftr is a liquid fueled, graphitemoderated, thermal spectrum breeder reactor optimized for operation on a thorium supported uranium233 th233u fuel cycle. An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined by robert b. These people are pushing the idea of adapting existing nuclear power plants to use thorium as a fuel, or just replacing them entirely with a completely new kind of reactor, called liquid fluoride thorium reactors, or lftr, which they pronounce lifter. First new thorium salt reactor in 40 years comes online.
Nerdfighteria wiki liquid fluoride thorium reactors. Liquid fluoride thorium reactor, no risk of loss of coolant accidents, no longterm nuclear waste can even consume waste from other reactors, excellent. The large expensive breeding blanket of thorium salt was omitted in favor of neutron. Flibe energys liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr. When this thorium fuel cycle is used, much less plutonium and other transuranic elements are produced, compared with uranium fuel cycles. Thorium could be used in a variety of different types of reactors, including conventional lightwater reactors, which are the type used in the united states. Rarick2 and rajmohan rangarajan3 cleveland state university, cleveland, ohio 44115 an overall system analysis approach is used to propose potential conceptual designs of. Lftrs use the thorium fuel cycle with a fluoride based, molten, liquid salt for fuel. June 19, 2019 the gateway for accelerated innovation in nuclear gain announced today that flibe energy will be provided a gain nuclear energy ne voucher with pacific northwest national laboratory pnnl to accelerate the development of the liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr. The liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr consists of a critical core orange containing fissile uranium233 in a.