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India’s PFBR attains criticality at last
Prime Minister Narendra Modi proclaimed it “a proud moment for India” when on April 6 the 500-MWe, sodium-cooled Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) achieved initial criticality. This milestone, which comes some 22 years after the continually delayed PFBR project began, marks India’s entrance into the second stage of its three-stage nuclear program, which has the ultimate goal of supporting the country’s nuclear power program with its significant thorium reserves.
Levi Gardner, Allison Harward, Jerry Howard, Guy Fredrickson, Tae-Sic Yoo, Michael Simpson, Krista Carlson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 2 | February 2022 | Pages 310-317
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1889923
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Molten eutectic LiCl-KCl salt is a widely used electrolyte for electrorefining uranium from spent nuclear fuel. Due to the hygroscopic nature of this salt, such operations must be performed under controlled atmospheric conditions, and waste salts require careful storage to avoid deliquescence and corrosion of container materials. This study investigated a potential processing path for reducing the degree of deliquescence through dilution to varying extents with NaCl. The hydration behavior of LiCl-KCl salts diluted with NaCl was evaluated in terms of mass gain due to water absorption, degree of deliquescence (including first appearances of standing water), and evidence of corrosion to stainless steel containers in a humid air environment (40°C, 20% relative humidity). In this humid air environment, pure eutectic LiCl-KCl exhibited a 50 mass % increase due to water absorption and showed evidence of standing water after 24 h. Waste salt diluted with NaCl required loadings of 89 mass % NaCl in order to prevent deliquescence and exhibited a 3 mass % increase due to water absorption. After periodic observation for 48 h, standing water was observed near all ingots with the exception of the 89 mass % NaCl samples. Dilution with 89% NaCl was also found to reduce evidence of corrosion when stored in stainless steel crucibles. While dilution with NaCl greatly decreases steady-state hydration, the storage volume is increased ~10× through this procedure.