Post APJ1b2ca8q2xkJySoa by black6@mastodon.sdf.org
 (DIR) More posts by black6@mastodon.sdf.org
 (DIR) Post #AO8K9XPpzuShHYI2eO by black6@mastodon.sdf.org
       2022-10-01T19:36:41Z
       
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       unloaded a quarter million dollars of heat transfer fluid today into a brand new system without incident. I'm excited about swapping a couple of my electric reboilers for hot oil, and look forward to commissioning the expansion when we start back up in a couple-few weeks.
       
 (DIR) Post #AO8wFxImSkjBYvTame by publius@mastodon.sdf.org
       2022-10-02T02:43:38Z
       
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       @black6 I don't know if you've ever encountered the Canadian nuclear power plant design which used an oil coolant. Their test reactor, WR-1, operated for 20 years, and demonstrated sustained outlet temperatures of 425 °C, which is a good 100 °C over the outlet temperature of water-cooled reactors.In addition to allowing for gains in thermal efficiency, this could mean cheaper equipment (superheated, instead of saturated, steam machinery) and much less corrosion and radioactive "crud".
       
 (DIR) Post #AOAe30JwWBVWIkc9nE by black6@mastodon.sdf.org
       2022-10-02T22:29:02Z
       
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       @publius i can see some advantages to an organic as the heat transfer fluid. I've heard of the "rickover trap" which directed all government funding in the US towards pressurized water reactors, leaving many designs (potentially) more suited to terrestrial use to languish
       
 (DIR) Post #AOAgx4Jb3OgSoaJWCm by publius@mastodon.sdf.org
       2022-10-02T23:01:34Z
       
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       @black6 Rickover's argument about "paper reactors" is well taken, and I understand that "the better is the enemy of the good (enough)", "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", et cetera.Nevertheless, I think it was a grave error to discontinue funding for "advanced converters" in the late 1960s, on the grounds that LWRs were performing (economically) better than expected, so there was no reason to introduce a competitor technology. Literally that was the justification given.
       
 (DIR) Post #AOy8pR5VdD0ZVQL7Ca by black6@mastodon.sdf.org
       2022-10-26T19:34:47Z
       
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       distillation train getting fired up today after 46 days of downtime for expansion work. first column got up to operating temperature in 3 hours with the new hot oil reboiler versus the 12 hours it used to take with the electric reboiler.
       
 (DIR) Post #APJ1b2ca8q2xkJySoa by black6@mastodon.sdf.org
       2022-11-05T21:22:40Z
       
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       turns out 31 extra feet of height really changes the way a column operates. no. 2 in the distillation train was a huge PITA to get lined out, but the performance improvement seen so far more than makes up for the growing pains.
       
 (DIR) Post #APJ2fGRYnCwZjAOdgu by publius@mastodon.sdf.org
       2022-11-05T21:34:34Z
       
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       @black6 I bet! How many additional stages is that equivalent to?
       
 (DIR) Post #APJGTUVsy3fKx2WDtw by black6@mastodon.sdf.org
       2022-11-06T00:09:20Z
       
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       @publius two additional packed beds... i can't get a straight answer out of the design engineers about the theoretical stages. it was 23 before the expansion, so close to 40, i imagine