About this episode
This show has been flagged as Clean by the host.
01 Introduction
This episode is the eighth and final one in an 8 part series on nuclear reactor technology.
In this episode I will talk about future reactor technologies, particularly what are referred to as "Generation IV" reactors.
Some of these will be simply additional developments of reactors that have already been discussed in this series, but this will show what technologies are seen as most promising today.
03 What is Generation IV
Generation IV International Forum is an international organization whose membership is composed of many of the countries that are researching advanced fission reactors.
Their goal is to conduct a number of joint research projects to advance the state of the art.
The members agree to participate in and share research on advanced technologies.
04 Research Subjects
05 Lead Fast Reactors (LFR)
08 Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR)
10 Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR)
13 Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR)
16 Molten Salt Reactors (MSR)
19 Super Critical Water Reactors (SCWR)
27 Episode Conclusion
In this episode we looked at the reactor types being studied under an international organization called the "Generation IV International Forum".
All of these reactor types except for supercritical water reactors are not new and we have looked at them previously.
Supercritical water reactors themselves represent the natural evolution of water cooled reactors.
I expect that many of these research projects will not result in commercially successful results. Such is the nature of R&D.
The supercritical water reactors would on the surface seem to have the most promise in terms of commercial use, as they focus on bringing two very well established technologies together, water cooled reactors and supercritical water.
However, I'm not an expert in this field, so I'm just making an educated guess on that.
30 Series Conclusion
This is the end of the series on nuclear reactor technology.
Episode 1 covered nuclear basics, including basic terminology and civil versus military nuclear material.
Episode 2 covered nuclear fuel, including the different types, recycling of spent fuel, uranium and thorium resources, and medical isotopes.
Episode 3 covered reactor basics, including slow versus fast reactors, moderators, coolants, steam generation, refuelling methods, and the three main commercial reactor types.
Episode 4 covered the less common reactor types, including types which are no longer used, some historical developmental dead ends, and some types which may possibly be making a come back.
Episode 5 covered fast reactors, includin
