Brigham Young University professor and nuclear engineering expert Matthew Memmott has unveiled what he considers a nuclear reactor that is cheaper, smaller, and safer than the reactors currently used to produce power.
The nuclear energy drags behind it a very negative image for public opinion, mainly generated by catastrophes such as Chernobyl in 1986. However, this type of energy source can be very respectful of the environment and also effective if the right circumstances are given .
In any case, it is clear that for nuclear energy to establish itself as a widely accepted energy option, advances in cost and safety. And that is precisely what Matthew Memmott and his team of BYU researchers claim to have achieved.
“People have a gut reaction that nuclear power is bad, dangerous. That perception is based on potential problems for the first generation.
Molten Salt Nuclear Microreactor
The most widespread nuclear reactors are light water reactors. In them, uranium atoms are split to create energy, and the leftover products radiate enormous amounts of heat.
These are kept in solid fuel rods and water is circulated through them to keep everything at a controlled temperature. But, if there is not enough flow of cooling water, the rods can overheat and the entire installation is at risk of a nuclear meltdown, triggering a catastrophe.
In addition, nuclear elements have the ability to emit heat or radioactivity for thousands of yearsso they are still dangerous and their storage is very delicate and complex.
According to reports the American Brigham Young UniversityMemmott’s solution is to store these radioactive elements in molten salt instead of fuel rods.
With this system, during and after the nuclear reaction, all radioactive byproducts dissolve in molten salt. Since salt has an extremely high melting temperature (550°C) and it does not take long for the temperature of these elements in salt to drop below the melting point, once the salt crystallizes the radiated heat is absorbed by the salt. salt, negating the danger of a nuclear meltdown at a power plant.
Not only that, but this molten salt nuclear reactor keeps nuclear waste safely inside the salt and there is no need to store them elsewhere. Even so, BYU says, some of those products (for example, molybdenum-99 is used in medical imaging and scanning) are valuable and could later be mined and sold.
“As we were extracting valuable elements, we found that we could also remove oxygen and hydrogen,” says Memmott. “Through this process, we can make the salt completely clean again and reuse it. We can recycle salt indefinitely».
smallest and cheapest nuclear reactor
According to Memmott, the nuclear microreactor demands a installation space of only 1.2 x 2.1 meters, while conventional ones need at least 9 meters. This, together with the absence of a large safety zone due to the non-existent risk of fusion, makes the necessary area much more limited.
The research team notes that everything needed to run this reactor is designed to fit on a 12 meter truck bed. Which means it can make power accessible even in very remote places, as well as cutting costs considerably.
“For the last 60 years, people have had a gut reaction that nuclear power is bad, it’s big, it’s dangerous,” says Memmott.
“Those perceptions are based on potential problems for the first generation, but having the molten salt reactor is the equivalent of having a silicon chip.. We can have smaller, safer and cheaper reactors and get rid of those problems », he concludes, referring to the revolution that the silicon chip brought to computing as a substitute for the enormous vacuum tubes of the first computers.