US government approves new nuclear reactor for first time in 50 years: ‘Excellent chemical stability’

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved construction of the first fourth-generation nuclear reactor in the country, and it will be powered and cooled in a historic way.

According to Interesting Engineering, the new Hermes reactor will be the first one built in the United States in 50 years that won’t be cooled by light water. Instead, it will use a system of molten fluoride salt, and a TRISO (tri-structural isotropic particle) fuel pebble bed design will power the generator.

Molten fluoride salts have “excellent chemical stability and tremendous capacity for transferring heat,” per the report, meaning it stays cooler and dissipates heat much faster than the light water that has been used for so long in American reactors.

The fuel bed consists of hundreds of millimeter-sized particles of uranium encased in multiple layers of special ceramic, which allows each individual piece of fuel to have its own containment and pressure vessel, per Ultra Safe Nuclear. The ceramic casing is stronger and more resilient than the typical zirconium alloy, meaning it can withstand higher temperatures and neutron bombardment past the failure point of other types of fuel.

On top of that, because each individual piece of fuel is so small, in the event that one fails, the ensuing burst of radiation would be significantly lessened — and less likely to cause further damage, thanks to the coolant system.

All this means that the new reactor should be cleaner and safer than any previous reactor built on U.S. soil.

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While nuclear power isn’t always seen as a source of clean energy, the Energy Information Administration says that nuclear power doesn’t produce planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide or any kind of air pollution. It does, however, come with its own unique set of challenges. Per the EIA, nuclear plants produce nuclear waste, and the safe storage and disposal of said nuclear waste remains a massive environmental challenge.

Even so, the new technology in this reactor could offer a significant boost as we try to help our warming planet.

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