Advanced Nuclear Flashcards
What are the “mainstream” AN concepts?
Among the more “mainstream” advanced fission designs are:
1) sodium-cooled fast reactors, 2) molten salt reactors (uranium or thorium fueled, including some with liquid fuel that can be replenished without removing the reactor from service)
3) lead-cooled “fast” reactors, and gas-cooled reactors, sometimes known by the ominous-sounding name “very high temperature reactor.”
4) Small modular reactiors, designs similar to the light water reactors currently in use, but with improvements or modifications—such as generating plants built out of a number of small modules—that are significant enough that they’re lumped in as “advanced.”
Are there any operating reactors which can use old nuclear waste?
Canada’s tried-and-tested CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) approach, which can run on almost any type of fuel—including waste from other reactors—and is practically immune to major core melt accidents like those at Fukushima and Three Mile Island.
What are some other, more exotic approaches?
The “traveling wave reactor” under development by TerraPower, a for-profit startup whose backers include Bill Gates.
