Miniature neutron source reactor

The Chinese built Miniature Neutron Source reactor (MNSR) is a small and compact research reactor modeled on the Canadian HEU SLOWPOKE-2 design.

The MNSR is tank-in-pool type, with highly enriched fuel (~ 90% U235 ). The tank is immersed in a large pool, and the core is, in turn, immersed in the tank. The maximum nominal power is ~ 30 kW, the power being removed by natural convection. The central core is formed of about 347 fuel rods, with 4 tie rods and 3 dummy elements distributed on a total of ten circles, each consisting of a number of fuel rods ranging between 6 and 62. A thick beryllium reflector (~ 10 cm) surrounds the core radially.

China operates three MNSRs and has supplied Ghana, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria with reactors of this type as well as the highly enriched uranium (HEU) to fuel them. Since 1978, various national and international activities have been underway to convert research and test reactors from the use of HEU to LEU fuel.^[1]

List of all MNSR reactors built around the world

Research centers that operate or have previously operated an MNSR:

Reactor Name	Country	City	Institution	Status	Enrichment	Operation Date	Closure Date	Notes
MNSR IAE	China	Beijing	China Institute of Atomic Energy	Operational	12.5%, LEU	1984		Converted to LEU in 2016.[2]
In-Hospital Neutron Irradiator-Mark 1 (IHNI-1)	China	Beijing	Beijing Capture Technology Co. Ltd (BCTC)	Operational	12.5%, LEU[3]	2009
MNSR-SD	China	Jinan	Shandong University of Science and Technology	Permanent Shutdown	90%, HEU	1988	2010
MNSR-SH	China	Shanghai	Shanghai Institute of Measurement And Testing Technology	Permanent Shutdown	90%, HEU	1991	2008
MNSR-SZ	China	Shenzhen	Shenzhen University	Operational	90%, HEU[4]	1988
Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1)	Ghana	Accra	Ghana Atomic Energy Commission	Operational	13%, LEU[5]	1994		Converted to LEU in 2017.[6]
ENTC MNSR	Iran	Isfahan	Isfahan Nuclear Technology/Research Center	Operational	90%, HEU[4]	1994
Nigeria research reactor-1 (NIRR-1)	Nigeria	Zaria	Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT)	Operational	13%, LEU[7]	2004		Converted to LEU in 2018.[8]
Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor-2 (PARR-2)	Pakistan	Islamabad	Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology	Operational	90.2%, HEU[9]	1989
SRR-1	Syria	Damascus	Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS)	Operational	90%, HEU[4]	1998