Integral fast reactor news newspapers books scholar jstor march 2014 learn how and when to remove. Brook and other promoters of next generation reactors have another credibility problem. The case for a nearterm commercial demonstration of the integral. The integral fast reactor ifr project in the decade from 1984 to 1994, scientists at argonne national laboratory developed an advanced technology that promised safe nuclear power unlimited by fuel supplies, with a waste product sharply reduced both in radioactive lifetime and amount. The integral fast reactor or advanced liquidmetal reactor is a design for a nuclear fast reactor with a specialized nuclear fuel cycle. The concept is a unitized primary coolant system in which the reactor core, the pressurizer, the reactor coolant pumps. I was honoured to play a small part in its realisation. The new integral design of the pwr did finally confer upon designers an ability to consider a wide range of locations for the reactor. Integral fast reactor ifr, a breeder reactor design long abandoned and which does not exist today anywhere in the world.
Plentiful energy the book that tells the story of the. I have only looked thru the table of contents but i would recommend plentiful energy. The integral fast reactor design uses liquid sodium instead of water as the coolant, is passively safe, and addresses many of the concerns about nuclear proliferation, efficiency, and in part the longterm storage problems that beset nuclear power. The wave doesnt actually move at all, but this is the easiest way. The integral fast reactor ifr is a revolutionary reactor design concept. The satanic suppression of the integral fast reactor ifr. Maritime administration design for its pd108 type cargo ship with the nuclear plant located well forward of amidships. At the same time, the past few decades have seen an everincreasing number of industrial, medical, military, and research applications for nuclear reactors. The integral fast reactor project was shut down by.
Jul 05, 1994 the integral fast reactor is being designed as an advanced source of clean energy that can consume spent reactor fuel as well as weaponsgrade plutonium. The integral fast reactor wind power nuclear power. Opinion reactor was designed to breed plutonium the new. The integral fast reactor ifr is a fast reactor system developed at argonne national laboratory in the decade 1984 to 1994. He is codeveloper of the integral fast reactor, an inherently safe nuclear reactor with a closed fuel cycle. Such a reactor needs no neutron moderator, but requires fuel that is relatively rich in fissile material when compared to that required for a thermalneutron reactor. Its 10 minutes long and shows how the ifr reprocesses nuclear waste for a reburn, but at 7. Physics, design and economics contains the proceedings of the international conference held at atlanta, georgia on september 811, 1974.
Department of energy, and even a prototype called experimental breeder reactor ii was build in argonne national laboratory. The integral fast reactor concept envisioned that pyroprocessing spent fuel would take place in a facility adjacent to a reactor and some radioactive transuranium elements would remain mixed with the plutonium, making the otherwise separated plutonium less vulnerable to theft. The integral fast reactorprism developed at argonne national laboratory, based on ebr ii cancelled by the clinton administrationcongress in 1994 now marketed worldwide by gehitachi as the prism power reactor innovative small module currently considered by uk. Sodiumcooled fast reactor an overview sciencedirect. Part of the advances in nuclear science and technology book series anst. However, amidst some dissention, the us abandoned fast breeder work in 1997, with concerns about plutonium proliferation being cited. The integral fast reactor ifr reactors designedbuilt. Tom blees answers a set of excellent questions posed by a congressional chief of staff. Yesterday the hard copy of the book plentiful energy the story of the integral fast reactor createspace, dec 2011, 404 pages arrived in the post. The ifr started to get wind in its sails with the recent publication of two books by. What is the best book to study the reactor design, foglar. This wonderful book by fast reactor pioneers charles till and yoon chang, two of the foundational developers of the ifr during the fabulously productive years of research and development at the argonne national laboratory from the 1980s to.
View all notes by summer of 1944 he had begun a more detailed investigation of breeder reactor designs. This fact sheet is intended to set the record straight on the ifr. The integral fast reactor ifr an unfulfilled promise. Evaluation of advanced thermohydraulic system codes for. Organized according to the sessions of the conference, this book first describes the national programs for the development of advanced reactors. Jul 05, 2017 the integral fast reactor is a solid fuel design with onsite reprocessing.
In addition to the metal fuel, the ebrii and later fast reactor designs. An introduction to the engineering of fast nuclear. The senators also worry about the impact of cancellation of the integral fast reactor on japan, which plans to produce tons of plutonium over the next decade for its civilian nuclear program. Feb 19, 2008 the integral fast reactor concept envisioned that pyroprocessing spent fuel would take place in a facility adjacent to a reactor and some radioactive transuranium elements would remain mixed with the plutonium, making the otherwise separated plutonium less vulnerable to theft. Water is not used because it would slow down the neutrons and also would need to be. Aug 14, 2019 plus mike ellwood on the integral fast reactor, and john barstow on the case for keeping coal as a backup letters wed 14 aug 2019 12. The design includes both a new reactor and a new nuclear fuel cycle. Molten salt reactor technical working group licensing perspective. A prototype of the reactor was built in the united states, but the project was canceled by the u.
Sodiumcooled fast reactor an overview sciencedirect topics. Nuclear energy and alternatives old and new letters. Why the molten salt fast reactor msfr is the best gen. The ebrii and the integral fast reactor to follow it were a superior design of sodiumcooled fast neutron nuclear reactor that were cancelled. The only currently known concept that can meet all five requirements simultaneously is the advanced fast reactor afr, a system that includes a closed fuel cycle based on pyroprocessing.
The integral fast reactor ifr is a fast reactor system developed at argonne. The books by blees prescription for the planet, 2008. Id say fogler, for problems and easy comprehension of the fundamentals of ideal reactor design chapters 1 9, levenspiel is an excellent book once youve adquired basic knowledge, and it. A separate fact sheet answering the misleading statements made in the. In the nuclear power field, an integral reactor is a nuclear reactor design principle where the reactor core, primary cooling loop, steam generators and any required emergency cooling are contained within a single reactor vessel. The integral fast reactor ifr is an innovative liquid metal reactor concept. The integral fast reactor ifr is a fast nuclear power reactor design developed from 1984 to 1994. Nuclear reactor physics is the core discipline of nuclear engineering.
Integral fast reactor news newspapers books scholar jstor march 2014 learn how and when to remove this. The story of the integral fast reactor by charles e. The concept is a unitized primary coolant system in which the reactor. Jan 19, 2017 the new integral design of the pwr did finally confer upon designers an ability to consider a wide range of locations for the reactor. Between the scientific and engineering papers and reports, and books on the. The integral fast reactor ifr, originally advanced liquidmetal reactor is a design for a nuclear reactor using fast neutrons and no neutron moderator a fast reactor. Nuclear physicist and associate lab director at argonne national laboratory west in idaho. Opinion new reactor solves plutonium problem the new.
It is wonderful to see it in print, and now available for all to enjoy and absorb. The traveling wave that the reactors name references moves through the units core at a rate of only one centimeter per year. The implementation of an icsp usually includes an experimental investigation of interesting phenomena and simulation of the experiment with computer codes. As a fast reactor, the sfr appeals to the gen iv requirements. Apart from a fastbreeder reactor, the main alternative is to blend the plutonium with other fuel to create a mixedoxide fuel mox that will burn in conventional nuclear power plants. While most of the book focuses on sodiumcooled fast reactors which is to be expected, as this is the most mature of the fast reactor concepts currently under development. The fuel elements are submerged in a liquid metal coolant, eg. An optimized source for global energy needs charles archambeau1, randolph ware2,3, tom blees1, barry brook4, yoon chang5, jerry peterson6, robert serafin3, joseph shuster1, evgeny velikhov7,8, tom wigley3 1science council for global initiatives, 2cooperative institute for research in environmental sciences, 3national center for atmospheric research, 4university. The safe integral reactor sir tm is an innovative pressurized water reactor pwr design with enhanced safety which has been developed jointly by abb combustion engineering, inc.
Are fastbreeder reactors the answer to our nuclear waste. The reactor concept had important features and characteristics that were completely. Proliferation resistance assessment of the integral fast reactor. Chang, who were principal designers and engineers on the ifr project, in the authoritative book plentiful energy 15. Opinion reactor was designed to breed plutonium the. An introduction to the engineering of fast nuclear reactors. Ifr would breed more fuel and is distinguished by a nuclear fuel cycle that uses reprocessing via electrorefining at the reactor site.
In the us, experimental breeder reactor i started up in 1951 and, also in idaho, the larger ebrii in 1964, this later being used to test the integral fast reactor concept. The integral fast reactor ifr is a fourth generation nuclear design that provides a clean, inexhaustible source of power, cheap, with virtually no waste, inherently safe if you remove the cooling, it shuts down rather than melts down, and the added benefit that it consumes the nuclear waste from other nuclear plants that we cant figure out how to get rid of. The integral fast reactor is a design for a nuclear reactor using fast. We have about 400 reactoryears of real world data and testing with fastbreeders. Of course, thats the one im working on, but the reason im working on it is that we myself and 20 or so experts from wit. Molten salt reactor technical working group licensing. Plentiful energy science council for global initiatives. The new generation iv nuclear power reactor the ifr, integral fast reactor can provide the. The sodiumcooled fast reactor sfr gen iv system is considered to be the design with the greatest maturity for the burning of minor actinides ma because fast spectrum neutrons generally have a greater probability for the fission of ma than thermal. A fastneutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of nuclear reactor in which the fission chain reaction is sustained by fast neutrons, as opposed to thermal neutrons used in thermalneutron reactors. A more detailed paper on integral fast reactors and weapons proliferation is posted at. This publication presents the outcome of an icsp assessing the capability of system thermohydraulic computer codes for integral reactor system design and safety analysis. Im going to be completely biased and say that the leadcooled fast reactor has the most favorable overall characteristics. Two years ago, a book written by the managers of argonne national laboratorys anls integral fast reactor ifr program reiterated that message and described how the usa had gone about developingpromoting a sustainable nuclear fuel cycle based upon the conversion of 238 u to 239 pu 2.
Jan 10, 2017 the integral fast reactor ifr, originally advanced liquidmetal reactor is a design for a nuclear reactor using fast neutrons and no neutron moderator a fast reactor. In a typical fast reactor, the main fissile element is pu239, often mixed with u238 either in the fuel or in a blanket. The largest portion of the book focuses on reactor physics and fuel design, but there is also a relatively thorough discussion of core design, plant design, and safety. The concept can be applied to any sort of underlying reactor design. The integral fast reactor ifr reactors designedbuilt by. Jun 17, 2014 the ebrii and the integral fast reactor to follow it were a superior design of sodiumcooled fast neutron nuclear reactor that were cancelled for antinuclear political reasons. It ensures that it burns as much of the plutonium as it possibly can before the rest of the material in the spent fuel is separated, the useful materials are sold, and the rest is treated as waste.
This accident inspired the book, we almost lost detroit. Research on fast reactors began at the end of world war ii and. The integral fast reactor was developed at the west campus of the argonne national laboratory in idaho falls, idaho and was the intended successor to the experimental breeder reactor ii. The integral fast reactor ifr is a fast reactor system developed at. It was once a very active research project of the u. The integral fast reactor is being designed as an advanced source of clean energy that can consume spent reactor fuel as well as weaponsgrade plutonium.
The integral fast reactor ifr, also known as advanced liquidmetal reactor, is a fast neutron reactor with a very efficient and clean nuclear fuel cycle. It seeks to specifically exploit the inherent properties of liquid metal cooling and metallic fuel in a way that leads to substantial improvements in the characteristics of the complete reactor system. The reactor is called the advanced liquid metal reactor almr. What is the best book to study the reactor design, foglar or.
The integral fast reactor ifr is a fourth generation nuclear design that provides a clean, inexhaustible source of power, cheap, with virtually no waste, inherently safe if you remove the cooling, it shuts down rather than melts down, and the added benefit that it consumes the nuclear waste from other nuclear plants that we cant figure. A critical technology for controlling climate change. A sodiumcooled fast reactor is a fast neutron reactor cooled by liquid sodium the acronym sfr particularly refers to two generation iv reactor proposals, one based on existing liquid metal cooled reactor lmfr technology using mixed oxide fuel mox, the other based on the metalfueled integral fast reactor several sodiumcooled fast reactors have been built, some still in operation, and. The integral fast reac tor ifr, originally advanced liquid metal re actor is a design for a nuclear rea ctor using fast neutrons and no neutron moderator a fa st reactor. Plus mike ellwood on the integral fast reactor, and john barstow on the case for keeping coal as a backup letters wed 14 aug 2019 12. The integral fast reactor ifr is a fourthgeneration fast nuclear reactor design that offers more efficiency and safety, while generating 1,000 times less waste than current lightwater reactors, the predominant designs used in the us. The integral fast reactor is a solid fuel design with onsite reprocessing. Integral fast reactors for the masses brave new climate. Department of energy, and even a prototype called experimental breeder reactorii was build in argonne national laboratory. Reactor vessel shielded by thorium blanket and graphite reflector materials and fluids. Integral pressurized water reactor ans nuclear cafe. Opinion new reactor solves plutonium problem the new york.
Plentiful energy the book that tells the story of the integral fast. A sodiumcooled fast reactor is a fast neutron reactor cooled by liquid sodium the acronym sfr particularly refers to two generation iv reactor proposals, one based on existing liquid metal cooled reactor lmfr technology using mixed oxide fuel mox, the other based on the metalfueled integral fast reactor. It costs about a billion dollars to have a reactor design certified by the nrc, and. It seeks to specifically exploit the inherent properties of liquid metal cooling and metallic fuel in a way that leads to substantial improvements in the. Jan 05, 2012 the integral fast reactor ifr is a fast reactor system developed at argonne national laboratory in the decade 1984 to 1994. Worse still, brook persists with that claim although he knows it has been contradicted by, among others, a scientist with handson experience working on a prototype integral fast reactor in the us. Futurismic nearfuture science fiction and fact since 2001.
Nuclear reactors now account for a significant portion of the electrical power generated worldwide, and new power reactors with improved fuel cycles are being developed. From this interesting faq on ifr by proponent george s. The integral fast reactor ifr is an innovative liquid metal reactor concept being developed at argonne national laboratory. What are the best generation 4 nuclear reactor designs. Reading about an interesting form of nuclear power here, concerning this upcoming book. Jul 30, 2012 apart from a fast breeder reactor, the main alternative is to blend the plutonium with other fuel to create a mixedoxide fuel mox that will burn in conventional nuclear power plants. Jul, 1994 the senators also worry about the impact of cancellation of the integral fast reactor on japan, which plans to produce tons of plutonium over the next decade for its civilian nuclear program.
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