High grade nuclear heat supply from molten salt reactors via pipelines: Parametric studies on heat loss

Year : 2025 | Volume : 14 | Issue : 03 | Page : 01 08
    By

    Rupsha Bhattacharyya,

  1. Scientific Officer, Applied Systems Analysis, Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Maharastra, India

Abstract

Nuclear power plants based on molten salt technology have the potential to supply low carbon emissions intensity thermal energy and electricity to support industrial decarbonization. The primary coolant of these reactors is a multi-component fluoride salt like FLiNaK and this stream can be partly extracted to serve as industrial heat source with temperatures of about 550-600oC. This study examines the pipeline-based transport of this heat source to a potential point of use lying between 1.6 to 5 km away from the reactor. It estimates the heat loss characteristics as function of pipeline design and transport distance, which is found to be between 1.5-3.5% for a distance of 1.6 km and between 2-10% for a distance of 5 km, depending on insulation type and thickness. The optimal pipe diameter which minimizes the sum of the upfront capital investment in the pipeline and the operating investments in terms of both fluid pumping cost due to frictional losses and the heat losses is also estimated using a dimensionless indicator as the objective function to be minimized. It is also seen that the optimal molten salt velocity in the pipeline should be kept at about 3.15 m/s to minimize the investment needs and economic penalty.

Keywords: heat loss, heat transport, molten salt, nuclear reactor, optimal line sizing,

[This article belongs to Research & Reviews : Journal of Physics ]

How to cite this article:
Rupsha Bhattacharyya. High grade nuclear heat supply from molten salt reactors via pipelines: Parametric studies on heat loss. Research & Reviews : Journal of Physics. 2025; 14(03):01-08.
How to cite this URL:
Rupsha Bhattacharyya. High grade nuclear heat supply from molten salt reactors via pipelines: Parametric studies on heat loss. Research & Reviews : Journal of Physics. 2025; 14(03):01-08. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/rrjophy/article=2025/view=228672


References

  1. Dolan TJ (2017). Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy. Woodhead Publishing, Elsevier Ltd.
  2.  Bhattacharyya R, Khalid F (2021). Rapid Assessment of Integrated Nuclear Cogeneration Projects using multi-criteria Indices. International Journal of Energy Research, 45(37):11450-11461.
  3.  El-Emam RS, Bhattacharyya R (2021). Towards the Deployment of Nuclear Cogeneration Projects-Issues and Considerations. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 43(23):3137-3150.
  4. El-Emam RS, Ozcan H, Bhattacharyya R, Awerbuch L (2022). Nuclear desalination: A sustainable route to water security. Desalination, 542:116082.
  5. Sohal MS, Sabharwall P, Calderoni P, Wertsching AK, Grover BS, Sharpe P (2010). Conceptual Design of Forced Convection Molten Salt Heat Transfer Testing Loop. Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Report No. INL/EXT-10-19908.
  6. Liu M, Zhang D, Wang C, Qiu S, Su GH, Tian W (2017). Experimental study on the heat transfer characteristics of fluoride salt in the new conceptual passive heat removal system of molten salt reactor. International Journal of Energy Research, 42:1635-1648.
  7.  Britsch K, Anderson M (2020). A Critical Review of Fluoride Salt Heat Transfer. Nuclear Technology, 206(11):1625-1641.
  8.  Incropera FP, DeWitt DP, Bergman TL, Lavine AS (2018). Incropera’s Principles of Heat and Mass Transfer. Wiley India Edition, Wiley.
  9.  Kolev NI (2015). Multiphase Flow Dynamics I. 1st edition, Springer, Cham.
  10.  Kamachi Mudali U, Subba Rao T, Ningshen S, Pillai RG, George RP, Sridhar TM (2022). A Treatise on Corrosion Science, Engineering and Technology. Springer Singapore.
  11. Freile R, Kimber M (2019). Influence of molten salt-(FLiNaK) thermophysical properties on a heated tube using CFD RANS turbulence modeling of an experimental testbed. EPJ Nuclear Sciences and Technologies, 5:16.
  12.  Dawar R, Kolay S, Phapale S, Mishra R (2022). Thermophysical Properties of Frozen Coolant Salt. BARC Newsletter, 34-38, May-June 2022. Available at https://barc.gov.in/barc_nl/2022/2022050607.pdf (Last accessed on 2.6.2025)
Regular Issue Subscription Review Article
Volume 14
Issue 03
Received 27/08/2025
Accepted 20/09/2025
Published 04/10/2025
Publication Time 38 Days
168

Login


My IP

PlumX Metrics