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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, including the different types, some of their history, why they were developed, and why they have so far only seen limited use.
Episode 6 covered thorium reactors, including what is thorium and how it differs from uranium, why there is interest in thorium, what sorts of reactors can use thorium, and why thorium has not yet seen widespread use.
Episode 7 covered small modular reactors or SMRs, what the reason is for developing them, what are the different ways they may be used, and where they are currently being built.
Episode 8 covered "Generator IV" reactors which is a collection of future technologies.
I hope that this series has been useful and informative on how nuclear reactors work and what the different types of reactors and different types of fuel are.
I have focused on the past and present without looking very much beyond what is already developed except in this final episode.
I have focused on the reactors, fuel, and medical isotopes, without much discussion of mining, refining, converting, enrichment, fuel fabrication, or disposal.
I also haven't talked much about the rest of a functioning power plant, which includes cooling, steam turbines, generators, transformers, control systems, refuelling systems, switch gear, transmission grid connections, grid coordination, and many, many other things.
And of course there's the entire grid itself, a very complex thing when operated at scale.
None the less we count on the lights going on when we turn on the light switch while seldom thinking about all the things that go on behind the scenes to make that happen.
As the recent blackout in Spain shows, that is something that we can't take for granted.
With plans for "Net Zero" amounting essentially to the further electrification of everything, we need reliable sources of electrical energy to make that happen. Without reliable energy available at the touch of a switch, we don't even have a stone age civilization, let alone a modern one.
So think about that the next time you turn on the lights or listen to a podcast or do nearly anything else in your daily life.
This concludes the eighth and final episode of an 8 part series on nuclear reactor technology.