Toshiba 4S Compact Fast Reactor #DigInfo

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Toshiba presented technology for its 4S compact fast reactor at the ECO Products 2008 Exhibition. Toshiba began developing the compact, sodium cooled 4S fast reactor ten years ago based on nuclear power generation technology cultivated in the development of the Joyo and Monju reactors. The 4S, which is an abbreviation for Super-Safe, Small and Simple, can generate 10 megawatts of power and doesnt require refueling.

The 4S design exhibits advanced performance in terms of nuclear nonproliferation because the 4S doesn't require refueling. In addition, the adoption of an electromagnetic pump that has no rotating mechanisms enabled a design that requires no maintenance inside the reactor itself, and with this design, the 4S can be used as a source of heat and electricity to supply energy in nations throughout the world that are lacking sufficient energy sources.
The 4S features superior safety performance and is designed to automatically shut down in the event of an emergency with natural cooling of the reactor core. Hope is rising for the 4S as a supply source for clean, safe energy. In addition, a production system that uses the waste heat that is generated as a byproduct by the nuclear power plant to extract hydrogen fuel also contributes to reducing CO2 levels. Toshiba will submit an application for licensing to the U.S. government in the spring of 2009.

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• 4S
• Compact
• Fast
• Reactor
• nuclear
• Diginfo
• Toshiba
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• 2008
• Tokyo
• sodium
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• environmental
• gas
• oil

[vorjay]

@hoganiancinema00 please explain how it's a disaster waiting to happen...or just admit you don't know what the fuck you're talking about and decided its 'nuclear' therefor a disaster waiting to happen.

[TheGentlemiant]

@mogyi69 Why don't you explain your ignorance.... errr point of view, mogyi69?

[hoganiancinema00]

another disaster waiting to happen...

[5029gmg]

@EuroSon99 Two things you need to realize are that the plant did have tsunami walls and that this was the 5th largest earthquake in recorded history. Events were focused around the nuclear power plant, but the effects were much more widespread. Why didn't we order the shutdown of all coal mines when the Chilean miners were trapped or of all offshore oil drilling facilities when Deepwater Horizon exploded and dumped 210 million barrels of oil into the Gulf? Consider damage from all energy sources

[5029gmg]

@migkillertwo 1. The melting point of sodium is 98 C. Lead has a melting point of 327 C. Is is not lower. This is why a lead-bismuth eutectoid is considered, however, it introduces its own issues (corrosion, activation, production of toxic aerosols, oxygen control).

2. LMFBRs use metal or ceramic fuel. There are no fuel "salts".

Lead coolants were used by Russia in submarine programs, however, they have used sodium-based coolants for the last 50 years because it is more technically feasible.

[irahata1]

@EuroSon99

You're an idiot. Properly conduct your research before making stupid statements. GE designed ALL the reactors in Fukushima and Toshiba was simply contracted to build to their design. Immediately following the disaster, Toshiba sent in emergency support personnel. Bill Gates endorses Toshiba's 4S system.

As for the Toyota Prius fiasco, the parts in question were supplied by AMERICAN manufacturers. A US government inquiry committee found Toyota innocent of the allegations.

[EuroSon99]

If someone uses the words Japan and Nuclear Power in one sentence then better run fast. Japan you have wasted your trust position with all the Nuclear Chaos and all the Chaos with Toyota Cars. Building 4 nuclear reactors next to each other and especially next to a coast line you knew could face tsunami`s from earth quakes was reckless as hell.

[migkillertwo]

...in the lead, whose decay heat will melt the lead and cause it to continue flowing.

Probably therefore a good idea to keep very large pool of water underneath the reactor in case there is a leak for all the molten lead to drain into.

[migkillertwo]

...this can be done with sodium, and finally,

3: Lead, unlike Sodium, is chemically inert and does not react with air or water, unlike Sodium. If there is a leak of sodium into the environment, you will get a very large fire that is extremely difficult to quench. This will release an ungodly amount of radiation into the environment. By contrast, if lead leaks from the reactor, it will just solidify as soon as it reaches ambient pressure, unless there's a lot of fission products dissolved...

[migkillertwo]

The 3rd option is to build a fast reactor cooled by molten lead. This has three big advantages over a sodium cooled reactor

1: The melting point of lead is much lower than sodium. This means that you will not need to spend lots of energy just keeping the coolant hot enough to circulate through the core. This was a big problem for the SuperPhenix

2: The boiling point of lead is much higher than sodium. This means that you really could never get the core hot enough to vaporize the lead, but...