The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has worked on desalination development in India since the 1970s. This report summarizes those efforts, including a description of the national strategy, demonstration projects, technologies and future plans.
Implementations
There are a number of implementations of nuclear technology, from research and demonstration reactors to fully commercial facilities. Resources in this section include descriptions of specific projects as well as technology road maps addressing broader implementation strategies.
This journal article reviews the adverse environmental impacts of nuclear desalination. Where marine impacts are concerned, the authors propose mitigation strategies based on alternative intake designs or cooling systems. Where atmospheric impacts are concerned, they propose looking into the coupling with the nuclear power source. They also examine public opinion trends and find increasing favourability.
This report examines a 100-megawatt demonstration reactor concept that is intended to be small, simple and affordable. Constructed with lower risk and cost technologies, it will permit research en route to eventual commercial scale implementations, according to the authors.
This technical analysis describes the design and efficiency of a district heating system using a GTHTR300 reactor in Hokkaido, Japan. The system goal is to provide structural heating and road snow melting using the reactor's waste heat while considering safety. The authors describe the differences in efficiency between single- and double-pipe implementations, and they present the relationship between efficiency, construction cost and long-term system economy.
The PULSTAR reactor at North Carolina State University (NCSU) went critical in 1972 and has been operating at one megawatt thermal since then. To enhance the engagement of the PULSTAR in the institutional mission of NCSU, a strategic plan with well-defined education, research and service/outreach objectives has been under implementation since 2002. The combination of capabilities and partnerships has resulted in significantly enhanced utilization levels of the PULSTAR, which now approach 10,000 user hours annually.
This report summarizes stakeholder engagement associated with the nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems (N-R HES) program, which brings nuclear technology developers and industry users of nuclear energy together to establish a “new paradigm for industrial energy production and use.”
This journal article describes a scaled version of the International Reactor Innovative and Secure (IRIS) small modular reactor design. A numerical model of the design of this submerged reactor indicates efficient heat transfer and unique safety features that protect against Fukushima-like scenarios such as loss of offsite power or loss of ultimate heat sink.
These conferences proceedings present the state of nuclear seawater desalination development with an emphasis on its progress in China. The authors analyse the ACP1000 reactor to demonstrate the economic and social benefits of the technology for areas with electricity and water shortages.
The authors of this journal article propose generating electricity using spent nuclear fuel using a hybrid heat pipe system comprised of a dry storage cask with heat pipes and a Stirling engine. Using a 1/10-scale test facility, they conducted an experimental test of heat transfer and electricity generation as the module of the storage system, and their results agree with a theoretical model.
A new high-temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble-bed module demonstration power plant was completed in June 2015, in Shandong, China. The 210-megawatt plant represents an achievement of industrial cooperation in service to safety and economy, according to the authors. It employs three safety measures: silicon carbide fuel cladding, low power core volumetric power density and small reactor modules.