Hi guys, thank you for the warm welcome. I was wondring what would happen and what problems might occur if you used salt water in a nuclear reactor aside from salt building up in the reactor core, any problematic reactions that might occur? 

 

Thanks 

Oli

14 minutes ago, olivernurse said:

Hi guys, thank you for the warm welcome. I was wondring what would happen and what problems might occur if you used salt water in a nuclear reactor aside from salt building up in the reactor core, any problematic reactions that might occur? 

 

Thanks 

Oli

Hi Oliver,

 

I take it you don't live by the sea?

If you did you would be used to the fact that things don't last.

Cars, bridge steel, metal lamposts rust more quickly, aluminium corrodes, even stainles steel does not last indefinitely.

Non metal materials don't fare any better

In the water fibreglass boat hulls are subject to absorbing salt water and swelling, becoming jelly like.

25 minutes ago, olivernurse said:

I was wondring what would happen and what problems might occur if you used salt water in a nuclear reactor aside from salt building up in the reactor core, any problematic reactions that might occur? 

Besides what studiot said, NaCl salt dissolved in heavy water would introduce a lot more plausible reactions.

Sodium has one stable isotope Na-23, and Chlorine has two stable isotopes Cl-35 and Cl-37.

Na + n0 -> Na-24 which is unstable and decays by:

Sodium-24 -> Magnesium-24 + e- + Ve + 5.51545 MeV

Cl-35 + n0 -> Cl-36 which is unstable and decays by:

Chlorine-36 -> Argon-36 + e- + Ve + 0.709681 MeV

Argon-36 + e- + e- -> Sulfur-36 + Ve + Ve + 0.432536 MeV
Chlorine-36 -> Sulfur-36 + e+ + Ve + 0.120219 MeV
Chlorine-36 + e- -> Sulfur-36 + Ve + 1.14222 MeV

Cl-37 + n0 -> Cl-38 which is unstable and decays by:
Chlorine-38 -> Argon-38 + e- + Ve + 4.91645 MeV

 

 

 

seawater is not pure NaCl salt, it contains Magnesium and other elements. See seawater elemental composition in this article.