Flibe Energy
 |
|
| Incorporation | |
| Industry | Nuclear power |
| Headquarters | Huntsville, Alabama |
|
Key people
|
• Kirk F. Sorensen President and Chief Technologist • Board of Advisers |
| Website | flibe-energy.com |
| Liquid-Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) | |
|---|---|
| Generation | Generation IV reactor |
| Reactor concept | Thorium-232 fueled, graphite moderated, FLiBe molten salt reactor (MSR) |
| Concept by | Flibe Energy |
| Status | Concept |
| Main parameters of the reactor core | |
| Fuel (fissile material) | 233U |
| Fuel state | Liquid (FLiBe molten salt) |
| Fertile material | 232Th |
| Neutron energy spectrum | Information missing |
| Primary control method | Negative temperature coefficient |
| Primary moderator | Graphite |
| Primary coolant | Liquid (FLiBe molten salt) |
| Reactor usage | |
| Primary use | Generation of electricity |
Flibe Energy is an American company that intends to design, construct, and operate small modular reactors based on liquid fluoride thorium reactor (acronym LFTR; pronounced lifter) technology.
Flibe Energy was founded on April 6, 2011 by Kirk Sorensen, former NASA aerospace engineer and formerly chief nuclear technologist at Teledyne Brown Engineering, and Kirk Dorius, an intellectual property attorney and mechanical engineer. The name "Flibe" comes from FLiBe, a Fluoride salt of Lithium and Beryllium, used in LFTRs. Flibe Energy Incorporated is registered in the State of Delaware. Their advertising slogan is "LFTR by Flibe Energy, powering the next thousand years"
Presenting at the October 2011 Thorium Energy Conference, Sorensen described how various factors influence design for small modular reactors.
Neutron temperature requirements:
Operating temperature ("Moderate" defined as 250-350 °C versus "High" defined as 700-1000 °C) and pressure ("Atmospheric" versus "High") is related to coolant type; there are four, one for each temperature/pressure combination:
Various conclusions about the three fuels and possible reactor types were then drawn:
Higher temperature reactors can operate at higher thermal efficiency (e.g. with Brayton cycle turbines), which is desirable. High reactor pressure is a safety concern.
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