Trying to create a list of Gen4 Reactors & Status,

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around compiling a comprehensive list of Generation IV reactors, their statuses, and relevant information. Participants explore various reactor types, their development stages, and potential applications, including those in space exploration. The conversation includes both established reactors and those in planning or decommissioned status.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes creating a categorized list of Generation IV reactors, including their status and links for further information.
  • Another participant challenges the classification of CAREM as a Generation IV reactor, suggesting it is more akin to existing light water reactors and fits the definition of small modular reactors.
  • References to various resources, including the World Nuclear Association and Gen IV International Forum, are shared for more accurate and updated information on fast spectrum reactors and Generation IV technologies.
  • A participant mentions NASA's interest in developing next-generation reactors for space applications, specifically molten salt reactors, highlighting their advantages for space missions.
  • Discussion includes the potential for molten salt reactors to address issues such as the Pu-238 shortage and their operational benefits compared to traditional reactors.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the classification of certain reactors, particularly CAREM, indicating a lack of consensus on what constitutes a Generation IV reactor. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the completeness and accuracy of the proposed list.

Contextual Notes

Some limitations include the potential for outdated information in initial posts, the need for further verification of reactor statuses, and the challenge of categorizing reactors accurately based on varying definitions.

Kidphysics
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This comes from the reactors listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_IV_reactor

If more are presented in this format I will edit this post and allow mods to edit this post. I think it is interesting to follow the current progress of fission and hopefully I can get help in creating the list as some of you may also find a complete list interesting and useful. Perhaps we can submit a wikipedia page if we get a respectable list.

If someone knows of a somewhat complete list let me know. My idea is to catagorize them, have a small segment about their status and provide a link for further information. I am submitting this post now so I can get feedback and whatnot. Either way this is my work in progress, I will probably be including interesting reactors like AVR since it has interesting history.

Red=Current Blue=future Black= decommissioned etc

Gen 4 reactors & Status
Thermal reactorsCAREM
-A 25 MW, light water version of CAREM is currently being built near Atucha I Nuclear Power Plant as the first prototype and a second one of 200 MWe is planned to be installed in Formosa Province.
--no working link and I'm not chasing it atm.

Pebble bed reactorsAVR
-High contamination, the reactor vessel was filled in 2008 with light concrete in order to fix the radioactive dust. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVR_reactorHTR-10/ (HTR-PM)(possibly red?)
-In 2005, China announced its intention to scale up HTR-10 for commercial power generation. The first two 250-MWt High Temperature Reactor-Pebblebed Modules (HTR-PM) will be installed at the Shidaowan plant in Shandong Province and together drive a steam turbine generating 200 MWe. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2009 and commissioning in 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTR

THTR-300
-suffered a number of technical difficulties, and owing to these and political events in Germany, was closed after only four years of operation. One cause for the closing was an accident on 4 May 1986 with a limited release of radioactive dust caused by a human error during a blockage of pebbles in a pipe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THTR-300

PBMR
-postponed indefinitely http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBMR
 
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CAREM isn't really a Gen IV reactor -it's just a basic LWR, mostly quite a lot like the hundreds of others already in use in power stations and submarines, although it does fit with most definitions of SMRs (small modular reactors).

The WNA site is a good place to start (and generally more accurate/up to date than Wikipedia) - there's a decent list of the various fast spectrum reactors that have been built/planned over the years http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Current-and-Future-Generation/Fast-Neutron-Reactors/. Also including some Gen IV reactors is the http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Power-Reactors/Advanced-Nuclear-Power-Reactors/ page, and there's some good info on the http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Power-Reactors/Generation-IV-Nuclear-Reactors/ page. The WNA http://www.world-nuclear.org/nucleardatabase/advanced.aspx allows searching by type and is pretty thorough, although it doesn't include all research reactors.

The http://www.gen-4.org/Technology/systems/index.htm site includes brief summaries of the technologies and the work being done on them.
 
what a post zoomstreak! I feel foolish for not being acquainted with that website. I may need to re consider m original post or include the information from those websites, should I have the time. Seems like I cannot edit my first post, so for now it will include a LWR ;(
 
NASA has taken some interests in developing next generation reactors for space.

Ohio State University has performed some computational studies of molten salt reactors for NASA space applications.

They looked at 4 MW thermal and 60 MW thermal reactors and flow dynamics and basic design.

Molten salt reactors are an appealing technology for space because of their high temperature and low pressure operation, controllability, and high fuel burn up, among other features.

The proposed research will investigate how molten salt reactor technology can be used to power sub-100 kWe reactors for science missions and for MWe class reactors for human exploration. Both of these applications are cited as relevant to current US goals in space in NASAs Draft 2010 Space Power and Energy Storage Roadmap, and will greatly assist in space exploration. Specifically, sub-100 kWe reactors are a potential solution to the Pu-238 shortage, and molten salt reactor technology can address the issue of controlling small reactors. MWe class reactors require large amounts of fuel and benefit greatly from operating at high temperatures. A MWe molten salt reactor is capable at operating at high temperatures and would require less fuel than its traditional solid fuel counterpart.
There's a couple of links in that paragraph that weren't included with the quote that lead to some interesting papers and news articles.