Heating from nuclear energy
Following the 1973 energy crisis, most European countries scaled up budgets for their planned nuclear future; but now that electric power demand has leveled off or in some countries, decreased, the projections for nuclear generation have been lowered. Much attention is now being given to the use of nuclear reactors to supply heat, either directly to a district heating system or in the form of pass-out or intermediate-stage steam from turbines. The application of the swimming-pool reactor in France is reviewed. The installed capacity from these could be as much as 3 to 6 million tons oil equivalent/yr by 1985. In Sweden, the Agesta reactor supplies 10 MW of power and 220 million Btu/h. The USSR has one installation that produces 12 MW of electricity and 80 million Btu/h. Sweden is planning 20 nuclear power stations of the PWR type for the 1980s to supply heat. In Finland a reactor for Helsinki is planned that will supply 1000 MW of power and 4 billion Btu/h. Germany already has a record of combined district heating and power generation with plans for correction to district networks. Plans are also underway for using high-temperature graphite-moderated reactors with helium as a thermodynamic fluid. The helium reactor will make it possible to maintain the present fossil-fuel-to-steam cycle efficiency around 35 percent. A completely different view on the use of nuclear reactors is that of hydrogen generation. Presently, the efficiency of conversion, in terms of heat used to produce a specific amount of energy in the form of hydrogen, is not very different from that of electricity. The completely problem-free burning of hydrogen means that it could be used for submerged combustion or in a direct-contact cascade heat exchanger--both processes being about 100 percent on the higher heating value. (MCW)
- OSTI ID:
- 7212547
- Journal Information:
- Heat., Piping Air Cond.; (United States), Vol. 49:7
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Assessment of the Geothermal Development of Mexico
District heating and cooling systems for communities through power plant retrofit and distribution network. Volume 1. Executive summary. Final report. [Downtown Toledo steam system]
Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
08 HYDROGEN
CO-GENERATION
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
DISTRICT HEATING
EUROPE
SPACE HEATING
PLANNING
AGESTA REACTOR
APARTMENT BUILDINGS
BUDGETS
CAPITAL
COMBINED CYCLES
DEMAND FACTORS
ECONOMICS
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRIC POWER
GROWTH
HEATING RATE
HELIUM
POWER GENERATION
PROCESS HEAT REACTORS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTORS
SAFETY
STEAM GENERATION
BUILDINGS
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
HEATING
HEAVY WATER COOLED REACTORS
HEAVY WATER MODERATED REACTORS
NATURAL URANIUM REACTORS
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PHWR TYPE REACTORS
POWER
POWER PLANTS
POWER REACTORS
RARE GASES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
THERMAL REACTORS
THERMODYNAMIC CYCLES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
290600* - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy
290800 - Energy Planning & Policy- Heat Utilization- (1980-)
210900 - Nuclear Power Plants- Process Heat Reactors- (-1987)
320100 - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Buildings
320300 - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes
080100 - Hydrogen- Production