An innovative nuclear reactor for electricity and desalination

Abstract

A new era of nuclear energy is emerging through innovative nuclear reactors that are to satisfy the new philosophies and criteria that are being developed by the INPRO program of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is establishing a new paradigm in relation to nuclear energy. The future reactors should meet the new standards in respect to safety, economy, non-proliferation, nuclear waste, and environmental impact. The fixed bed nuclear reactor (FBNR) is a small nuclear reactor that meets all the requirements. It is an inherently safe and passively cooled reactor that is fool proof against nuclear proliferation. It is simple in design and economic. It can serve in a dual purpose plant to produce simultaneously both electricity and desalinated water, thus making it especially suitable to the needs of the Middle-East Countries. FBNR is being developed with the support of the IAEA under its program of small reactors without on-site refueling. The reactor uses the pressurized water reactor technology. It fulfills the objectives of design simplicity, inherent and passive safety, economy, standardization, shop fabrication, easy transportability, and high availability. The inherent safety characteristic of the reactor dispenses with the need for containment; however, a simple underground containment is envisaged for the reactor in order to reduce any adverse visual impact.

Green nanotechnology of trends in future energy: a review

“…The water vapor resulting from combustion (or electrochemical reaction) could then be condensed and purified by conventional water‐treatment technology to provide potable water. Such a cycle would of course need to be economically competitive with the conventional desalination approaches .…”

Development of innovative reactor-integrated coolant system design concept for a small modular lead fast reactor

“…The development of the GEN‐IV nuclear reactors, including lead fast reactors, sodium fast reactors, and molten salt reactors, has been conducted worldwide, because they could potentially serve as future clean, safe, and massive energy sources by enhancing the utilization of uranium resources . The focuses of this generation are radioactive pollution minimization, reactor safety, and reactor size reduction . Small modular lead‐cooled fast reactors (SMLFRs) are among the alternatives satisfying these criteria, especially in safety, which requires the development of an entirely new approach based on heat removal by steady‐state natural circulation .…”

“…1 The focuses of this generation are radioactive pollution minimization, reactor safety, and reactor size reduction. [1][2][3] Small modular lead-cooled fast reactors (SMLFRs) are among the alternatives satisfying these criteria, especially in safety, which requires the development of an entirely new approach based on heat removal by steady-state natural circulation. 4 Natural circulation is used in the primary cooling system using lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) coolant, which is composed of 44.5% lead and 55.5% bismuth at the full 100 MW t power of the reactor.…”

Design study of long-life small modular sodium-cooled fast reactor

“…A conceptual design of a super-safe, small, and simple (4S) reactor was proposed by Toshiba Corp. and CRIEPI to meet design criteria such as negative temperature feedback reactivity coefficients including sodium void worth and a core lifetime longer than 10 years [9]. On the other hand, the SMR concept provides flexibility in design, siting, and the fuel cycle option, and it can be transported from the prelicensed factories to the remote plant sites [11][12][13]. On the other hand, the SMR concept provides flexibility in design, siting, and the fuel cycle option, and it can be transported from the prelicensed factories to the remote plant sites [11][12][13].…”