Title | US to Deploy Molten Salt Reactors to Turn Wastewater Into Freshwater | |
Date | Tuesday February 04, @07:41AM | |
Author | hubie | |
Topic | ||
from the better-living-thru-nuclear-chemistry dept. |
US to deploy molten salt reactors to turn wastewater into freshwater:
A novel nuclear reactor currently under construction at the Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Texas will help generate carbon-free energy while also desalinating water, solving two problems at once, a press release said. The nuclear reactor is being built by Natura Resources, a company specializing in developing small modular reactors.
[...] Each module of an SMR can produce up to 300 MWe (megawatt equivalent) of energy and has advanced safety features.
Founded in 2020, Abilene, Texas-based Natura Resources has quickly become a governmentally recognized advanced nuclear reactor developer. In 2023, the company built the Science and Engineering Research Center (SERC) at ACU, the first advanced reactor research facility outside a national lab in the US.
The company uses liquid-fueled molten salt reactor (LF-MSR) technology, allowing molten salts to act as fuel and a coolant. According to its website, a mixture of lithium fluoride (LiF) and beryllium fluoride (BeF2) salts or thorium fluoride (ThF4) salts can be used, which allows the reactor to operate at temperatures higher than solid-fuel reactors.
Since the fuel also works as a coolant, it is removed continuously from the reactor for fissile material to be replaced. This process also makes MSR reactors meltdown safe.
A primary heat removal system in the reactor design also ensures that heat generated during the fission process is removed through a cooling loop. Here, it can be repurposed for other applications. In the case of Natura's upcoming reactor in Texas, it will be used to desalinate water.
[...] Natura Resources conducted a feasibility study at the Texas Produced Water Consortium, based at Texas Tech University. With the MSR operating at 1112 Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius), up to 250 megawatts (MW) of clean energy is generated, which can be used for desalination.
[...] The reactor is currently under construction and is expected to be online by 2026/27. Once the demonstrator is completed, the team will begin work on integrating systems to start desalinating water.
A novel nuclear reactor currently under construction at the Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Texas will help generate carbon-free energy while also desalinating water, solving two problems at once, a press release said. The nuclear reactor is being built by Natura Resources, a company specializing in developing small modular reactors.
Video version of the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KUuUh8uaLo&t=4s
See also:
• Molten-salt reactor - Wikipedia
• Molten Salt Reactor Fundamentals
• Why China Is Building a Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor
• And a counterpoint: Molten salt reactors were trouble in the 1960s—and they remain trouble today
Links |
printed from SoylentNews, US to Deploy Molten Salt Reactors to Turn Wastewater Into Freshwater on 2025-02-10 01:39:23