A Traveling wave reactor is a variation of the sodium cooled fast reactors and instead of using water to cool or slow down the reactions it would use sodium liquid. The neutrons would heat up the liquid sodium and exits the reactor to boil water and then makes steam which turns the generator to produce electricity. The major source of fuel would be depleted uranium instead of regular uranium 238. The cost to build this type of power plant would be more expensive then regular power plants. However since it uses depeleted uranium, it would decrease the amount of radioactive decay material on our planet. [1]
- ↑ Makhijani Arjun. 2013. Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. Traveling Wave Reactors: Sodium-cooled Gold at the End of a Nuclear Rainbow?