The liquid-salt reactors of IV generation

The Melted Salt Reactors (MSRs) occupy a distinguished place in the six families of the IV Generation systems due to their unusual characteristics which made them classified among the non-classical concepts and also in the category of the closed cycle systems which use an optimal of the natural resources. The MSR fuel appears in the form of liquid mixture of fluorides salts of lithium, beryllium, possibly sodium and zirconium, in which the actinides are dissolved. In the scheme suggested by the Oak Ridge Laboratory, this fuel, in the origin of the concept, enters the reactor from the bottom of the core toward the top at a temperature of about 550 degree centigrade, circulating in canals of graphite, where its moderating effect permitted to reach the criticality and productivity of the fission energy, At the same time, the salt plays the role of heat carrier, and springs from the core at a temperature of about 700 degree centigrade before passing through the heat exchangers. The thermal energy is so transferred to a secondary heat carrier salt, then through a generator of supercritical vapor until it reaches the energy conversion system, with a high yield (44%) considering the high temperature of the primary salt. (Author)