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A miracle in the nuclear world: Why are sodium-cooled fast-breeding reactors so attractive?
With the world's urgent need for renewable energy and reduced carbon emissions, the future of nuclear energy has received increasing attention. Among the many nuclear reactor technologies, sodium-cooled Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) are undoubtedly one of the most promising because they can use fuel more efficiently and create more fissile material than traditional reactors. Furthermore, the design and operating principles of FBR present unprecedented opportunities to improve the sustainability of nuclear energy.
The key to breeding a reactor is its "neutron economy," which allows the reactor to produce more fissionable fuel than it consumes.
By definition, a breeding reactor is a reactor that uses liquid metals such as sodium as a coolant to efficiently absorb certain neutrons, effectively converting fertile materials (such as uranium-238 or thorium-232) in the reactor into fissionable materials. , and can continuously produce new fissionable fuel during operation.
Diversity of breeding reactors
Breeding reactors can be subdivided into several types, including fast breeding reactors (FBRs) and thermal breeding reactors. The former uses fast neutrons for breeding and has the potential for wider applications with uranium and thorium. It is worth noting that existing commercial fast breeding reactors use liquid metal as coolant, with sodium-cooled designs being the most popular. This design not only improves the heat conduction efficiency, but also reduces potential hazards during operation.
Based on the ultra-high neutron economy, fast breeding reactors have been developed as a key component of future nuclear energy technology.
How the Fast Breeding Reactor Works
In fast breeding reactors, the main material used is mixed oxide fuel, which usually contains up to 20% plutonium oxide and at least 80% uranium oxide. Through this structure, FBR can efficiently utilize fast neutrons to further promote the transformation of fertile materials.
For fast breeding reactors, there is no need to use neutron moderators in their design, which means that they can support fission reactions with fast neutrons and thus produce large amounts of fissile material. However, this also places higher demands on the performance of reactor materials because they must withstand extreme operating environments.
Future Prospects and Challenges
As global efforts towards energy independence and sustainability intensify, the technology of sodium-cooled fast-breeding reactors is gaining attention. Despite safety, cost and technological challenges, many countries such as India, China and Russia are conducting extensive research and development in the hope of solving the energy crisis in the future.
Future nuclear energy will no longer be limited to traditional uranium fuel, but will take resource utilization efficiency to a whole new level through continuous breeding.
But can such developments truly overcome the nuclear energy challenges we currently face and provide a sustainable solution to global energy supply?
