System for electrostatic accelerator driven neutron generation for a liquid-phase based transmutation of radioactive transuranic waste

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11901095-B2
Application number	US-202117193973-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2021
Priority date	Sep 5, 2018
Publication date	Feb 13, 2024
Grant date	Feb 13, 2024

Abstract

Systems and methods that facilitate the transmutation of long-lived radioactive transuranic waste into short-live radioactive nuclides or stable nuclides using an electrostatic accelerator particle beam to generate neutrons.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A transmutator system for transmutation of radioactive transuranic waste comprising:
a neutron source tank including a neutron source therein,
a plurality of concentric tanks surrounding the neutron source tank and comprising one or more mixtures of radioactive transuranic waste dissolved in FLiBe salt,
an electrostatic accelerator oriented and configured to axially propagate a deuteron beam into the neutron source tank to interact with the neutron source to generate fusion neutrons within the neutron source tank, wherein the fusion neutrons are emitted from the neutron source tank into the plurality of concentric cylindrical tanks to interact with the radioactive transuranic waste of the one or more mixtures of radioactive transuranic waste dissolved in FLiBe salt, and
a monitoring system coupled to the plurality of concentric tanks and configured to monitor the chemistry of the one or more mixtures of radioactive transuranic waste dissolved in FLiBe salt contained in the plurality of concentric tanks.

2. The transmutator system of claim 1 , further comprising a magnet to focus the deuteron beam from the accelerator through an entrance port of the neutron source tank.

3. The transmutator system of claim 1 , wherein the neutron source comprises a target gas.

4. The transmutator system of claim 3 , wherein the target gas comprises one of deuterium or tritium.

5. The transmutator system of claim 1 , wherein the neutron source comprises a solid target, wherein the deuteron beam interacts with the solid target to generate fusion neutrons.

6. The transmutator system of claim 5 , wherein the solid target comprises solid one of titanium-tritium, titanium-deuterium, titanium or titanium lattice.

7. The transmutator system of claim 5 , wherein the electrostatic accelerator includes a plurality of electrostatic accelerators positioned within the neutron source tank and wherein the solid target comprises a plurality of solid targets.

8. The transmutator system of claim 1 , wherein the electrostatic accelerator includes a plurality of electrostatic accelerators positioned outside the neutron source tank.

9. The transmutator system of claim 5 , wherein the electrostatic accelerator includes a plurality of electrostatic accelerators positioned outside the neutron source tank and wherein the solid target comprises a plurality of solid targets.

10. The transmutator system of claim 1 , wherein the electrostatic accelerator includes beam focusing magnets.

11. The transmutator system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of concentric tanks are segmented.

12. The transmutator system of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of concentric tanks are one of segmented axially or segment azimuthally.

13. The transmutator system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of concentric tanks comprises:
a first concentric tank surrounding the neutron source and comprising a first mixture of radioactive transuranic waste dissolved in FLiBe salt;
a second concentric tank surrounding the first concentric tank and comprising a second mixture of radioactive transuranic waste dissolved in FLiBe salt;
a third concentric tank surrounding the second concentric tank and comprising a third mixture of radioactive transuranic waste dissolved in FLiBe salt; and
a fourth concentric tank surrounding the third concentric tank and comprising one of water or water and a neutron reflecting boundary.

14. The transmutator system of claim 13 , wherein the first, second, third and fourth concentric tanks are segmented axially.

15. The transmutator system of claim 13 , wherein the first, second, third and fourth concentric tanks are segmented azimuthally.

16. The transmutator system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of concentric tanks form a first set of tanks, wherein the transmutator system further comprising a second set of tanks containing a mixture of Pu and minor actinides (MA) including neptunium , americium and curium (Np, Am, Cm).

17. The transmutator system of claim 16 , wherein the second set of tanks are configured to operate at critical.

18. The transmutator system of claim 16 , wherein the walls of one of the first set of tanks or the second set of tanks are made of carbon based materials.

19. The transmutator system of claim 18 , wherein the carbon based materials are diamond.

Assignees

• Tae Tech Inc

Inventors

• Tajima Toshiki
• Binderbauer Michl W
• Necas Ales

Classifications

• Y02E30/10

  Nuclear fusion reactors · CPC title

• G21G1/06 Primary

  by neutron irradiation · CPC title

• G21B3/006

  Fusion by impact, e.g. cluster/beam interaction, ion beam collisions, impact on a target · CPC title

• G21F9/06

  Processing (separating different isotopes of the same chemical element B01D59/00) · CPC title

• G21G4/02 Primary

  Neutron sources · CPC title