TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY

Continuous, Real-time High-Temperature Fluid Sampling and Analysis using Optical Spectroscopy for Molten Salt Reactors

Near real-time insights for nuclear material management and safeguards with a continuous, online high-temperature fluid sampling and analysis technology, offering.

Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), offers the opportunity to explore a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize this technology for Real-time High-Temperature Fluid Sampling and Analysis. This technology transfer opportunity is part of a dedicated effort to convert government-funded research into job opportunities, businesses, and, ultimately, an improved way of life for the American people.

Overview: The rise of Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) and the inherent complexities associated with traditional nuclear material tracking methods have highlighted the need for innovative technologies for sampling and analyzing molten salt. To meet this industry need, a new invention has been developed that can continuously sample a high-temperature liquid, such as molten salt, providing near real-time analysis and composition data. This inventive approach aims to overcome the challenges and shortcomings of existing techniques, while enhancing process monitoring, and chemistry control within MSRs.

Description: The new technology uses a material transfer vacuum pump, combined with optical spectroscopy, to continuously sample and analyze molten salt in real time. The venturi vacuum pump creates an aerosol from the molten salt, allowing for direct and online optical measurements. The application of multiple optical spectroscopy approaches combined with chemometrics provides comprehensive data on the sample. The analysis can be done anywhere in the coolant stream, minimizing exposure to damaging ionizing radiation. The salt/gas stream is then separated, and the molten salt can be returned to the original process stream or withheld for additional off-line analysis.

Benefits:

• Provides continuous, near real-time analysis of the molten salt, enhancing process control and nuclear material management.

• Reduces time, effort, and costs associated with offline analysis techniques.

• Ensures more robust compliance with non-proliferation and safeguards regulations.

• Enhances the longevity of components and subsystems in molten salt environments through real-time chemistry control.

• Offers an inherent built-in analytical measurement, leading to a constant data stream for material tracking and early diversion scenario detection.

Applications:

• Comprehensive monitoring in Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) for nuclear material tracking and management.

• Providing safeguards and process monitoring for nuclear applications such as pyroprocessing.

• Real-time compositional analysis in nuclear fuel reprocessing industries.

• Potential applicability in the oil and gas industry for high-temperature liquid sampling and analysis.

Development Status: TRL 2 (Technology Readiness Level 2), with proof-of-concept in need of validation.

IP Status: Provisional Patent Application No. 63/491,459, “Nuclear Material Management with Continuous Online High Temperature Liquid Sampling and Analysis,” BEA Docket No. BA-1371.

INL seeks to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Added value is placed on relationships with small businesses, start-up companies, and general entrepreneurship opportunities.

Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Andrew Rankin at td@inl.gov.