High Energy Utilization, Co-Generation Nuclear power Plants With Static Energy Conversion
- Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies and Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Department, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
In addition to being cost effective, very small nuclear power plants with static energy conversion could meet the needs and the energy mix in underdeveloped countries and remote communities, which may include electricity, residential and industrial space heating, seawater desalination, and/or high temperature process heat or steam for industrial uses. These plants are also an attractive option in naval, marine, and undersea applications, when the absence of a sound signature is highly desirable. An Analysis is performed of Gas Cooled Reactor (CGR) and Liquid Metal Cooled Reactor (LMR), very small nuclear power plants with static energy conversion, using a combination of options. These include Alkali Metal Thermal-to-Electric Converters (AMTECs) and both single segment and segmented thermoelectric converters. The total energy utilization of these plants exceeds 88%. It includes the fraction of the reactor's thermal power converted into electricity and delivered to the Grid at 6.6 kVA and those used for residential and industrial space heating at {approx}370 K, seawater desalination at 400 K, and/or high temperature process heat or steam at {approx}850 K. In addition to its inherently high reliability, modularity, low maintenance and redundancy, static energy conversion used in the present study could deliver electricity to the Grid at a net efficiency of 29.5%. A LMR plant delivers 2-3 times the fraction of the reactor thermal power converted into electricity in a GCR plant, but could not provide for both seawater desalination and high temperature process heat/steam concurrently, which is possible in GCR plants. The fraction of the reactor's thermal power used for non-electrical power generation in a GCR plant is {approx} 10 - 15% higher than in a LMR plant. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21167890
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICAPP'02: 2002 International congress on advances in nuclear power plants, Hollywood, FL (United States), 9-13 Jun 2002; Other Information: Country of input: France; 17 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ALKALI METALS
COGENERATION
DESALINATION
ELECTRICITY
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY CONVERSION
GAS COOLED REACTORS
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PROCESS HEAT
SEAWATER
SPACE HEATING
STEAM
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0400-1000 K
THERMOELECTRIC GENERATORS