Thorium salt reactors in emergencies

[Mike_In_Plano]

Now that we've had another cooling incident / incidents, I'm curious how the Thorium fluoride reactor would have faired. I've read that continuous reprocessing of the salt would likely be part of the process. Does this imply that there would be less lag in the system should cooling become an issue?

- Mike

 

[What_Is_X?]

IIRC the thorium fuel cycle cannot "meltdown". Could be wrong though.

 

[sanman]

My understanding of the molten salt reactor is that there is a meltable plug that melts if the temperature gets too high, so that all the molten fuel material then drains out of the reactor core through that plug. This then averts any further reaction or heat buildup.

Thorium itself cannot sustain any runaway reaction, because its nuclear cross-section is too low. It has to be exposed to a more potent neutron source, such as uranium or plutonium.

 

[minerva]

Thorium itself cannot sustain any runaway reaction, because its nuclear cross-section is too low. It has to be exposed to a more potent neutron source, such as uranium or plutonium.

Well, what they're really talking about is a ²³²Th --> ²³³U fuel cycle.