Since the development of Molten Salt Reactor Experiment in the 1960s at ORNL, Thorium has been investigated as a fertile component of the salt composition. The Thorium-Fueled salt would be heated to its liquid phase (molten) and circulated (naturally or via pumps) through a graphite moderator. Research has expanded greatly since the initial MSRE on the various salt compositions, each presenting unique physical and chemical characteristics.
Kevin Robb, a staff scientist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Kevin Robb, a staff scientist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is taking what he learned from developing the Liquid Salt Test Loop—a key tool in deploying molten salt technology applications—to design a similar facility in support of Generation 3 Concentrating Solar Power Systems program. Credit: Jason Richards/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy
- Thorium Tetrafluoride ThF4 dissolved in Salts
- Alternate Salts besides the famous FLiBe, Flinak, NaFBeF
