Technology Development Roadmap for the Advanced High Temperature Reactor Secondary Heat Exchanger

Abstract

This Technology Development Roadmap (TDRM) presents the path forward for deploying large-scale molten salt secondary heat exchangers (MS-SHX) and recognizing the benefits of using molten salt as the heat transport medium for advanced high temperature reactors (AHTR). This TDRM will aid in the development and selection of the required heat exchanger for: power production (the first anticipated process heat application), hydrogen production, steam methane reforming, methanol to gasoline production, or ammonia production. This TDRM (a) establishes the current state of molten salt SHX technology readiness, (b) defines a path forward that systematically and effectively tests this technology to overcome areas of uncertainty, (c) demonstrates the achievement of an appropriate level of maturity prior to construction and plant operation, and (d) identifies issues and prioritizes future work for maturing the state of SHX technology. This study discusses the results of a preliminary design analysis of the SHX and explains the evaluation and selection methodology. An important engineering challenge will be to prevent the molten salt from freezing during normal and off-normal operations because of its high melting temperature (390°C for KF ZrF4). The efficient transfer of energy for industrial applications depends on the ability to incorporate cost-effective heat exchangers between the nuclear heat transport system and industrial process heat transport system. The need for efficiency, compactness, and safety challenge the capabilities of existing heat exchanger technology. The description of potential heat exchanger configurations or designs (such as printed circuit, spiral or helical coiled, ceramic, plate and fin, and plate type) were covered in an earlier report (Sabharwall et al. 2011). Significant future work, much of which is suggested in this report, is needed before the benefits and full potential of the AHTR can be realized. The execution of this TDRM will focuses research efforts on the near-term qualification, selection, or maturation strategy as detailed in this report. Development of the integration methodology feasibility study, along with research and development (R&D) needs, are ongoing tasks that will be covered in the future reports as work progresses. Section 2 briefly presents the integration of AHTR technology with conventional chemical industrial processes., See Idaho National Laboratory (INL) TEV-1160 (2011) for further details