Molten Salt Corrosion in Heat Exchangers for Space Power Generation

Molten salts are being studied as solutions for lunar exploration. These salts act as heat transfer agents. Because of their high boiling point, they can carry large amounts of heat from one heat source to another. The limitations of these salts are two fold; we need them to operate at high temperatures and we need to transport them through piping with in the power generation site. Ternary nitrate-nitrite KNO3-NaNO3-NaNO2 (53-7-40, wt), respectively, have an operating temperature of around 550 C, which is well above their melting temperature of 142 C. These operating temperatures have material obstacles that need to be overcome, such material as SS316 are crucial for the success of Molten Salts. The transportation obstacle must be overcome by understanding the corrosion that molten salts enable. The corrosion studies to the components of the molten salt loop will give us a better understanding of the conditions needed for power generation in space exploration.