October 26, 2022
This week saw the Inaugural International Workshop on Molten Salts Chemistry and Technologies for Nuclear Applications, co-hosted by SNUNFC, take place at Seoul National University. The workshop was a coming together of participants from four nations (South Korea, Denmark, UK, & USA) representing nine different nationalities all connected by a common interest: Molten Salts for Nuclear Applications. The two-day workshop hosted a total of 13 talks from both national and international speakers with a range of backgrounds and use cases. Covering topics ranging from the fundamental science of molten salts to developments within industry, the workshop offered a great platform to share ideas and assess the direction of current and future research in the area.

The Build-up

Current world events and continuing developments in the modern-era leaves an ever growing demand for energy production. Combined with the need to deal with legacy spent fuels and other radioactive wastes, molten salts research has found new meaning within the academic and industry circles in recent years. With this new found interest, there is a need within the community to come together, share ideas, and push forward the application of Molten Salts for Nuclear Applications. SNUNFC hoped to answer this calling of needing to disseminate information by organising and co-hosting this, the Inaugural International Workshop on Molten Salts Chemistry and Technologies for Nuclear Applications.
Held at Seoul National University (SNU) on 24th & 25th October 2022, Hosted by Seoul National University: Nuclear Fuel Cycle & Nonproliferation Lab (SNUNFC) in conjunction with the Integrated Major in Sustainable High-Level Radioactive Waste Management at SNU, the Nuclear Engineering departments of SNU & Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), and sponsored by BK 21 Four (SNU), the two-day workshop hosted a total of 13 talks from both national and international speakers with a range of backgrounds and use cases. Covering topics ranging from the fundamental science of molten salts to developments within industry, the workshop would hopefully provide a suitable platform for industry and academia alike to come together an share their plans, progress & vision for molten salts. This included six speakers from international institutions, namely from the USA: Prof. Supathorn Phongikaroon of Virginia Commonwealth University - College of Engineering; Prof. Michael Simpson of University of Utah; Prof. Raluca Scarlat of University of California, Berkeley; and our European colleagues: Dr James Amphlett of Seaborg Technologies; and both Dr Clint Sharrad and Dr Tatiana Grebennikova from the The University of Manchester to South Korea.

DAY 1
Day 1 began bright with opening remarks from Prof. Sungyeol Choi & Prof. Il Soon Hwang of Seoul National University before moving into the first of two technical sessions for the day.
The morning session saw Prof. Choi, Dr. Sharrad, and Prof. Jaeyeong Park of UNIST, deliver an overview of molten salt research, past present & future, at their respective institutions, before breaking for a well earned lunch.
Prof. Choi: "Progress and Plan of Molten Salts Research at SNU"
Dr. Sharrad: "Molten Salts in Nuclear Technology Research at the University of Manchester: History, Present, and Future"
Prof. Park: "Progress of Molten Salt Research and UNIST"

The second technical session, which was split into two mini-sessions, took place in the afternoon and was led by Prof. Simpson delivering an update on the developments and progress made at his laboratory in the field of electrochemical process monitoring for molten salt applications. This was followed up by an excellent insight into the current literature standing of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy researcher and where future studies need to focus based on gap-analysis by Prof. Phongikaroon. The first half of the session was closed out by a former SNUNFC student and recent Ph.D. graduate, Dr Dokyu Kang, who delivered a detailed technical talk on his Ph.D. studies.
Prof. Simpson: "Recent Developments in Electrochemical Process Monitoring in Molten Salt Systems"
Prof. Phongikaroon: "Progress of LIBS Study in Nuclear Energy Applications"
Dr. Kang: "Study on Dissolution Mechanism of SrO in Molten Chloride and Fluoride Salts"
The second half of the session welcomed Prof. Eun-Young Choi of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and Prof. Sangtae Kim of Hanyang University to present their recent developments in Sr-oxide fuel separation and atomistic simulations in molten salts, respectively. The diverse range of talks kept the workshop feeling fresh, and provided plenty of stimulating conversations.
Prof. Choi: "Separation of Sr from Simulated Oxide Fuel Using Molten Chloride Salts"
Prof. Kim: "Atomistic Simulations Assess the Molten Salt Fuel (KCl-UCl3) Properties and Provide a Potential Corrosion Inhibition Strategies"
Day 1 also saw students participate in a poster session. The end of the first day wrapped up with a student poster session giving current Ph.D. and M.S. students a great opportunity to engage with the international molten salt community.
Wonseok Yang, SNU: "Microelectrode Voltammetric Analysis of Samarium Ions in LiCl-KCl Eutectic Molten Salt"
Wonseok Yang, SNU: "Development of a Machine Learning Model for Determination of Electrode Surface Area with Cyclic Voltammogram of Two-Rod Electrodes in Molten Salts"
Wonseok Lee, SNU: "Thermal NaCl-MgCl2 Salt Purification for Reducing Reactor Vessel Corrosion"
Jihun Kim, SNU: "Magnesium Chloride Dehydration Methods Using Thermal and Electrochemical Methods"
Yunu Lee, KAIST: "Quantification of Fission Products in Molten Salts Using Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy with Machine Learning Technology"
Jungho Hur, UNIST: "Two-step Zr metal preparation process in chloride salt: electrolytic recovery and thermal decomposition of ZrCl"
Younghwan Jeon, UNIST: "Corrosion behaviors of 80Ni-20Cr in NaCl-MgCl2 melts with various additives"
Garam Seo, UNIST: "Separation of Lanthanide and Actinide using Density Difference of Intermetallic Compounds in Liquid Bismuth"
Seungmin Ohk: "The effect of Vibrating Electrode on the Cyclic Voltammetry Measurement for the High Temperature Molten Salt System"
DAY 2
Day 2 kicked-off with a zoom call from Prof. In Ho Jung of SNU to describe his work on developing a thermodynamic database for molten salt systems. This was then followed up by an international triple bill with back-to-back presentations from Dr Grebennikova, Prof. Scarlat, and Dr. Amphlett. The final talk of the day was presented by Dr. Hwajeong Han of Soonchunhyang University who gave insights into her work on a molten salt loop system and the issues faced due to corrosion.
Prof. Jung: "Thermodynamic Database Development for the NaCl-UCl3-UCl4 System"
Dr. Grebennikova: "Molten salt treatment of nuclear graphite"
Prof. Scarlat: "Speciation Studies in Molten Fluoride Salts"
Dr. Amphlett: "Progress in Molten Salt Chemistry Research at Seaborg Technologies"
Dr. Han: "Experimental Study of the Molten Salt Thermal Convection in MSTCL"
Closing remarks
This coming together of minds within the ever growing molten salt community will help to propel the application of molten salt technology in the nuclear industry to new heights over the coming year and into the future. With an attendance of 35 covering a wide range of interests, backgrounds, and geographies, the Inaugural International Workshop on Molten Salts Chemistry and Technologies for Nuclear Applications can be considered nothing but a success!
A massive thanks to all those who attended, the speakers for delivering such great talks and a special thanks to the international visitors who were willing and able to dedicate their time to visit South Korea and engage with the Korean molten salt community.
Further Reading:
Comentários