Method of operating a nuclear reactor and of carrying out radiation chemical reactions

Claim 1

METHOD OF OPERATING A NUCLEAR REACTOR AND COINCIDENTLY THEREWITH OF CARRYING OUT A GASEOUS PHASE RADIATIONINDUCED CHEMICAL REACTION, SAID REACTOR HAVING A POROUS MODERATED FISSILE-CONTAINING FUEL IN THE CORE THEREOF AND ALSO HAVING ADJACENT SAID CORE A NUCLEAR WHICH IS IN HEAT ABLE FISSION FRAGMENT-IMPERMEABLE ZONE WHICH IS IN HEAT EXCHANGE RELATION WITH THE CORE, WHICH COMPRISES: FLOWING COOLANT THROUGH SAID CORE IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE FUEL, PICKING UP IN THE COOLANT VOLATILE NUCLEAR FISSION FRAGMENTS COMPRISING XENON, KRYPTON, AND IODINE, SEPARATING IODINE FROM THE COOLANT STREAM INCLUDING IODINE-135 AND REMOVING SAID IODINE TO A DECAY ZONE TO PERMIT DECAY TO XENON INCLUDING ZENON-135, FLOWING THE STREAM THROUGH AN ABSORBING ZONE TO ABSORB THE ZENON AND KRYPTON THEREFROM, RECIRCULATING THE STREAM COMPRISING STRIPPED COOLANT TO SAID REACTOR, ADDING TO THE RECIRCULATING STREAM XENON135 FROM SAID DECAY ZONE AND FLOWING THE RESULTING STREAM THROUGH SAID REACTOR CORE AS A COOLANT, THEREBY CONTROLLING THE REACTIVITY OF THE CORE AT LEAST IN PART BY THE PRESENCE OF SAID ZENON-135 AND, FURTHER, PROLONGING THE LIFETIME OF THE FUEL IN SAID CORE, COINCIDENTLYWITH SAID COOLING STEP ADDING TO A CHEMICAL REACTANT A REARE GAS OBTAINED AS A PRODUCT OF THE SAID METHOD AND SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF XENON, KRYTON, AND MIXTURES THEREOF, FLOWING SAID REACTANT MIXTURE AS A STREAM THROUGH SAID REACTOR ZONE, IRRADIATING THE REACTANT MIXTURE IN SAID REACTOR ZONE BY MEANS OF THE NUCLEAR RADIATION FROM THE REACTOR CORE BUT NOT THE FISSION FRAGMENTS THEREOF WHILE COINCIDENTLY SUBJECTING THE REACTANT MIXTURE TO HEAT EXCHANGE WITH SAID REACTOR CORE, THEREBY CONVERTING SAID REACTANT TO A PTODUCT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SAID RADIATION AND IN THE PRESENCE OF SAID RARE GAS, FLOWING THE RESULTING REACTION MIXTURE TO A SEPARATING ZONE TO SEPARATE REACTION PRODUCT, UNCHANGED REACTANT, AND RARE GAS, AND RECIRCULATING SAID UNCHANGED REACTANT TO SAID ZONE IN THE REACTOR.