|
There were unresolved challenges with the molten fuel reactors of the 70's. Mainly the online reprocessing that the original never attempted. And is still a major technological hurdle. That Thorcon has decided to perform with removable sealed cartridges that transport to a central reprocessing plant every 4 years via barge. And Moltex is using traditional fuel rod sized assemblies to speed acceptance by the regulators. But both of these run at atmospheric and near atmospheric pressure using molten salt coolant which has a 2:1 safety headroom before it even begins to boil. And uses more efficient and cheaper, off the shelf turbines as known from the combined cycle natural gas generation industry that are being cranked out by the hundreds world wide, And can store energy in molten salt so they have a dispatchable output to allow solar and wind to do their thing when they can.
|