US Patent 8160197 - Nuclear power plant with nanoparticle coolant

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8160197.html

This patent from Areva NP teaches a way that nanoparticle-based coolants can be used to increase the heat transfer from a nuclear reactor and evacuate heat under accident conditions. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nuclear power plant comprising:

a reactor;

a reactor coolant system circulating fluid to cool the reactor, the reactor coolant system including a hot leg upstream of the reactor and a cold leg downstream of the reactor;

a closed cooling circuit including a coolant including nanoparticles, the closed cooling circuit cooling at least one of the hot leg and the cold leg of the reactor coolant system via a heat exchanger in such a manner that the nanoparticles of the closed cooling circuit do not enter the fluid circulated in the reactor coolant system and the closed cooling circuit cools the reactor coolant system at least one of before the fluid enters the reactor or after the fluid exits the reactor.