Headed by Pro. Guo Quangui and Pro. Liu Zhanjun, ICC’s special carbon graphite research team has made remarkable progress in the development of nuclear graphite. The physical properties of the nuclear graphite well meet the service demand of TMSR and its micro-porous structure can effectively prevent the infiltration of liquid molten salt. The relevant research paper titled Preparation of ultrafine-grain graphite by liquid dispersion technique for inhibiting the liquid fluoride salt infiltration has been published on Carbon (Carbon, Volume 102, June 2016, Pages 208-215).

With this year’s success of pilot-scale production, breakthrough in producing industrial-sized nuclear graphite has been achieved, with all the performance parameters meeting the requirements. On June 15, 2016, a review panel led by Pro. Liang Tongxiang from the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University and Wei Zhanhai, chief of Material Supply Department of China National Nuclear Corporation, evaluated ICC’s manufacturing process. After debriefing, field investigation and data checking, the panel concluded that the thermal physical properties of the nuclear graphite made by ICC meet the requirements of moderator graphite, and the preparation process of industrial-sized nuclear graphite has been formed by ICC.

This achievement has filled the gap in domestic nuclear graphite production and will greatly promote the country’s development of commercial molten salt reactor.