New reactor design could make nuclear power cheaper, safer
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028639
MIT Technology Review : A startup company, Transatomic Power , is developing a nuclear reactor that instead of using water as a coolant will use a new type of molten salt that will allow the reactor to burn its nuclear waste. Because the molten salt evaporates at a much higher temperature than water, it should also continue to cool the reactor even if the pumps fail, as happened at Fukushima in 2011. Additionally, the reactor will use zirconium hydride rather than graphite to keep the reactions going, since zirconium hydride is more resistant to radiation damage. The company says the reactor, which is based on a design developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the 1960s, will be more compact and cheaper to build than current models. Transatomic is currently testing the design and hopes to have a demonstration model built by 2020.
