Chlorine Isotope Separation for Chloride Molten-Salt Reactor - Praveen Thallapally @ ORNL MSRW 2023

Chlorine Isotope Separation System for Chloride MSR - Praveen Thallapally of PNNL gives overview.
Thermal diffusion isotope separation system for enrichment of 37Cl. FY24 will upgrade to produce greater-than 99% 37Cl enrichment
Multi-physics model exists to optimize and inform facility designs at multiple scales
Precise Cl isotope ICP-MS method with HC|(L) - no chemistry needed and greater-than 1% accuracy on 37CI/35Cl ratio
WHY is Cl enrichment needed?
• 35Cl (76% of natural chlorine) has large neutron capture cross section 36Cl activation product is long-lived (301,000 years) and energetic (709 keV) beta emitter
• Highly soluble in water
ThoriumRemix.com/ Thorium & MSR & Nuclear assets used in Thorium Remix project.

[@BerndFelsche]

IIRC, absorbtion cross section of Cl35 is minimal at epithermal.

[@LFTRnow]

It would probably make sense to also ensure the missed (~1%?) Cl36 is bred to Cl37 in the reactor. The "waste" from the reactor will be dangerously radioactive for far more than the typical 300 years if that is one of the products. I'm wondering how the cross-sections are of Cl36 and Cl37 are at the (thermal) energies planned for the MSR?

[@gregwarner3753]

Imagine the research needed if we were going to use water as a coolant.