Liquid lead as heat transfer medium for the use of atomic heat

The use in the chemical industry of process heat from HTGR type reactors will require higher temperatures, which create problems concerning heat transfer. Liquid lead was investigated as an intermediate heat carrying medium using graphite heat exchanger. It was concluded that much more research and development would be required particularly on the graphite heat exchanger and on prevention of lead vapor sublimation in cold zones of the reactor. However, successful experiments on gasification of brown coal in a lead bath, and on the use of lead for industrial scale ethylene production, justified further work on the suitability of lead as an intermediate heat transfer medium. (U.K.)