E-Letter responses to:

n-week: Eli Kintisch NUCLEAR POWER: DOE Asked to Fill in the Blanks on Fuel Recycling Research Plan Science 2006; 312: 176a-177a [Summary] [Full text] [PDF]

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Published E-Letter responses:

DRAC LMFBR to Speed Licensing and Mitigate CO2

William E. Schenewerk   (20 June 2006)

DRAC LMFBR to Speed Licensing and Mitigate CO2 20 June 2006
William E. Schenewerk, Aircraft Mechanic Respond to this E-Letter: Re: DRAC LMFBR to Speed Licensing and Mitigate CO2	A metallic sodium liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) can sustain a full power SCRAM shutdown using only natural convection post SCRAM. Venturi direct reactor auxiliary cooling (DRAC) uses venturi flow control elements, allowing this mode change without any active fluid control elements. Venturi DRAC primary and secondary circuit flow rates are approximately the same at full power (Mode 1) as they are during decay heat removal (Mode 3). Venturi DRAC can be designed to reject 3% full power at all times, making it a primary decay heat removal system. The original 1% nominal venturi DRAC patent 4,367,194 has expired. Venturi DRAC allows breeder reactor licensing without requiring IHX (Intermediate Heat Exchanger) integrity. No steam plant components are used for decay heat removal. An unlicensed steam plant can be designed with multiple reheat and 50% net thermal efficiency. An LMFBR can be designed with independent secondary and tertiary decay heat removal systems, where primary, secondary and tertiary systems all operate continuously. Each system rejects enough heat to protect the core. The ease of licensing available to an LMFBR would allow its deployment starting in the year 2035. Each LMFBR delays CO2 doubling one week, irrespective of uranium resources.