The application of EPICS in TMSR radiation protection and access control system

To treat technical problems of data acquisition,alarm management, and historical data archiving of radiation protection control system in Thorium Molten Salt Reactor, a network prototype system was designed based on experimental physics and industrial control system.Radiation level of many locations in Jiading campus of Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics is being continuously monitored, and boundaries of accelerator facilities and radiochemical areas are defined by the access control system. In this paper, we introduce the control system design,including human–machine interfaces, alarm system, historical data archiving system, and the software for access control. The software development followed the standard of Capability Maturity Model Integration(CMMIò) Level3, and the software had passed a third-party test, which indicated that the functionality and the reliability could fulfill the requirements of the radiation protection system.     

ICP-MS measurement of uranium and thorium contents in minerals in China

The activity levels of long-lived radionuclides in minerals have received more and more concern for the public health. The inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to measure the content of uranium and thorium in 60 mineral samples collected from 16 mines of seven provinces in China. The contents of uranium and thorium ranged0.17 ± 0.04 lg g~(-1)to 15.3 ± 2.39 lg g~(-1), and 0.19 ± 0.04 lg g~(-1)to 19.6 ± 7.56 lg g~(-1), respectively. The highest levels of U and Th contents were found in aluminum ore,whereas the lowest was found in antimony and copper ores.     

Thorium and rare earth recovery in Canada: the first 30 years

Abstract

Pioneering methods to recover thorium and rare earths as byproducts of uranium recovery were developed and applied in Elliot Lake, Ontario, during the 1960s. The district became a major supplier of these key elements from about 1960 until 1990 and at one stage supplied much of the world’s thorium and perhaps one third of its yttrium. This paper reviews these early thorium rare earth operations.

On a développé et appliqué des méthodes innovatrices pour la récupération du thorium et des terres rares comme sous-produits de la récupération de l’uranium, à Elliot Lake, en Ontario, dans les années 60. Le district devint un fournisseur majeur de ces éléments clés à partir d’environ 1960 jusqu’en 1990 et, à une certaine période, fournissait la plupart du thorium mondial et peut-être un tiers de son yttrium. Cet article examine ces premières opérations de thorium et de terre rare.     

Actinide breeding and reactivity variation in a thermal spectrum ADSR – Part 1: Development of a lumped thermal reactor model

The beneficial properties of fast reactor systems in being able to both burn and breed actinides have led to renewed interest in this technology as a means of providing a more sustainable form of nuclear power production. However, despite significant investment over many years in the development of the technology, fast reactors have never been deployed in significant numbers. In view of the difficulties encountered in fast reactor development, enhancements to the existing, well proven light water reactor (LWR) technology may provide a more accessible path to improved sustainability.     

Optimization of flux distribution in a molten-salt reactor with a 2-region core for plutonium burning

Molten-salt reactors (MSRs) are selected as one of the candidates of Generation IV reactor concepts. In GLOBAL2005 held in Tsukuba, Japan, one paper discussed the flattening of fast neutron flux in the core for a longer life of graphite moderator. In the paper a 3-region reactor concept was presented. The authors tried many cores changing configurations such as volume of each region and fractions of fuel salt in the regions or fuel compositions.

We investigated the other possibility of a 2-region core for the simplicity. Using one energy group neutron diffusion theory and considering extrapolation distance, the optimum selection of region wise neutron multiplication factors can be theoretically and easily obtained. In MSRs, there is no burnup distribution of the fuel. The region wise neutron multiplications can be obtained by adjusting the volume fraction of fuel in a cell with a given composition of the fuel salt. Using the theoretical results, the optimization of the actual core configuration was determined by a nuclear analysis code SRAC2002 with the nuclear data library of JENDL3.3.

In this paper, we considered MSRs using plutonium as a fissile material. Ordinary MSRs use uranium-233, which doesn't exist naturally, and utilizing plutonium is easier to startup.     

Evaluation of uranium thorium and plutonium thorium fuel cycles in a very high temperature hybrid system

In recent times, there is a renewed and additional interest in thorium because of its interesting benefits. Thorium fuel cycle is an attractive way to produce long term nuclear energy with low radiotoxicity waste. In addition, the transition to thorium could be done through the incineration of weapons grade plutonium or civilian plutonium. Th-based fuel cycles have intrinsic proliferation-resistance and thorium is 3–4 times more abundant than uranium. Therefore, thorium fuels can complement uranium fuels and ensure long term sustainability of nuclear power.In this paper, the main advantages of the use of fuel cycles based on uranium-thorium and plutonium-thorium fuel mixtures are evaluated in a hybrid system to reach the deep burn of the fuel. To reach this goal, the preliminary conceptual design of a hybrid system composed of a critical reactor and two Accelerated Driven Systems, of the type of very high temperature pebble-bed systems, moderated by graphite and cooled by gas, is analyzed.Uranium-thorium and plutonium-thorium once-through and two stages fuel cycles are evaluated. Several parameters describing fuel behaviour and minor actinide stockpile are compared for the analyzed cycles.     

Coupled neutronics/thermal hydraulics evaluation for thorium based fuels in thermal spectrum SCWR

Thorium can supplement the current limited reserves of uranium. In current study, analyses are performed for thorium based fuels in thermal neutron spectrum Super Critical Water Reactor (SCWR). Thorium based fuels are studied in two roles. First role being replacement of conventional uranium dioxide fuel while the other being burner of Reactor Grade Plutonium (RG-Pu) in thermal neutron spectrum SCWR. Coupled neutron physics/thermal hydraulics analyses are performed due to large density variation of coolant over the active fuel length. Analyses reveal that thorium-uranium MOX fuels lead to smaller burnup values as compared to equivalent enriched uranium dioxide but possess the advantage of smaller excess reactivity at Beginning of Life (BOL). This can lead to savings in the form of Burnable Poisons (BP). Smaller fuel average temperature values are obtained for thorium-uranium MOX fuels as compared to uranium dioxide fuel option. Coated fuel option utilizing mixed thorium-uranium mono nitride fuel can help further decrease fuel average temperature values for thorium based fuels. U-233, produced in thorium uranium fuels, contribution towards fission energy produced is smaller as compared to plutonium produced in conventional uranium dioxide fuel. In terms of proliferation resistance, approximately 40% less quantity of plutonium is produced for thorium-uranium MOX fuels (for studied compositions) as compared to equivalent enriched uranium dioxide fuel. But, there is not much difference between the discharged plutonium vector compositions. Thorium–Plutonium based fuels lead to significantly harder spectrum which results in larger spread in radial power density and eventually causes larger values for thermal hydraulic parameters like fuel and clad temperature. Due to almost no production of plutonium, thorium based fuels can be a very good option to burn RG-Pu in thermal spectrum SCWR. Thorium based fuels destroyed almost 74% initially loaded RG-Pu as compared to 60% for uranium based MOX. HEU based thorium fuels can be a very good option for replacing conventional uranium dioxide fuels as very small quantities of plutonium is produced. This option, although, has regulatory issues due to use of HEU material.     

Retention,Thermodynamics and Adsorption Profile of Th(IV) Ions onto 1‐(2‐Pyridylazo)‐2‐Naphthol (PAN) Loaded Polyurethane Foam from Acetate Media and its Separation from Rare Earths

Abstract

The sorption behavior of 2.7×10^?5 M solution of Th(IV) ions on 1‐(2‐pyridylazo)‐2‐naphthol (PAN) loaded polyurethane foam (PUF) has been investigated. The quantitative sorption was occurred from pH 6 to 9 from acetate buffer solutions. The sorption conditions were optimized with respect to pH, shaking time, and weight of sorbent. The sorption data followed the Freundlich, Langmuir, and Dubinin‐Radushkevich (D‐R) isotherms very successfully at low metal ions concentration. The Freundlich isotherm constant (1/n) is estimated to be 0.22±0.01, and reflects the surface heterogeneity of the sorbent. The Langmuir isotherm gives the maximum monolayer coverage is to be 8.61×10^?6 mol g^?1. The sorption free energy of the D‐R isotherm was 17.85±0.33 kJ mol^?1, suggesting chemisorption involving chemical bonding was responsible for the adsorption process. The numerical values of thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy (ΔH), entropy (ΔS), and Gibbs free energy (ΔG) indicate that sorption is endothermic, entropy driven, and spontaneous in nature. The adsorption free energy (ΔG_ads) and effective free energy (ΔG_eff) are also evaluated and discussed. The effect of different anions on the sorption of Th(IV) ions onto PAN loaded PUF was studied. The possible sorption mechanism on the basis of experimental finding was discussed. A new separation procedure of Th(IV) from synthetic rare earth mixture using batch, column chromatography, and squeezing techniques were reported.     

双取代基冠醚钍固体配合物的制备及性质

在四氢呋埚介质中合成了水合硝酸钍与４＇，５＇－二溴苯半－１５－冠－５及４＇－溴－５、－硝基苯并－１５冠－５的新固体配合物，并进行了元素分析、红外光谱、差热－热重和Ｘ－射线粉末衍射分析等性质表征。且通过ＫＢｒ压片和石蜡油糊法制样的对比研究，考察了用不同方法法制样对配合物的红外光谱所产生的影响。