Russia's Rosatom has successfully developed production process for sulithium-7 fluoride, which will be used in the molten salt reactor.
A Russian company has developed a production process for lithium-7 fluoride . Lithium-7 fluoride, to be used in the molten salt reactor, is produced by solid-phase synthesis.The development is crucial for Russia, where the industrial production of lithium-7 fluoride hasn’t been possible to date.
Rosatom claims that the production process for lithium-7 fluoride is environmentally friendly, as it eliminates the loss of the valuable lithium isotope and minimizes fluorine-containing waste.Key for molten salt reactor“Developing the technology was an important step toward addressing the industry’s ambitious goal of creating molten salt reactors and a significant milestone on the path to a sustainable and secure energy future,” said Mikhail Metelkin, Director General of Rosatom Chemistry. “In the future, our research and development centre can scale up the technology to create a facility with a capacity of up to a tonne per year.”Reports indicate that lithium-7 fluoride will be used as a coolant in molten salt reactors.Molten salt reactors use molten fluoride salts as primary coolant, at low pressure. This itself is not a radical departure when the fuel is solid and fixed. But extending the concept to dissolving the fissile and fertile fuel in the salt certainly represents a leap in lateral thinking relative to nearly every reactor operated so far. However, the concept is not new, as outlined by the World Nuclear Association below.Lithium-beryllium fluoride and lithium fluoride can be used in a molten salt reactorThe body also claims that the MSRs may operate with epithermal or fast-neutron spectra and with a variety of fuels. Much of the interest today in reviving the MSR concept centers on using thorium , which requires an initial source of fissile material, such as plutonium-239. There are several different MSR design concepts, and several interesting challenges in the commercialisation of many of them, especially with thorium.In July this year, Rosatom said that the first stage of design work for a molten salt reactor had been completed. It said the design stage was due to last until 2027 – and would include the creation of technical designs for the reactor installation and the initial fuel preparation complex, reported World Nuclear News.The salts used as primary coolant, mostly lithium-beryllium fluoride and lithium fluoride, remain liquid without pressurization from about 500°C to about 1400°C, in marked contrast to a PWR, which operates at about 315°C under 150 atmospheres of pressure.Reports have revealed that lithium-7 has two important uses in nuclear power due to its relative transparency to neutrons.As hydroxide, it is necessary in small quantities for safe operation in pressurised water reactor cooling systems as a pH stabilizer, to reduce corrosion in the primary circuit. As a fluoride, it is also expected to come into much greater demand for molten salt reactors . However, for both purposes, it must be very pure Li-7; otherwise, tritium is formed by neutron capture.
Lithium-7 Fluoride Molten Salt Reactors Rosatom
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