A portable nuclear reactor was developed in Novosibirsk. Peaceful atom to every home - miniature nuclear reactors for everyone Home nuclear reactor
Although estimates vary, there is no doubt that startup costs [the so-called cost of the first watt] are typical nuclear power plant with a light water reactor using low enriched uranium as fuel is high compared to any alternatives. However, 70% of US electricity produced without direct emissions carbon dioxide, accounts for nuclear energy. Are there ways to make it cheaper?
Mini atomic reactor- This is one idea in creating small closed “reactor modules”, similar to those being developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and already presented by Hyperion Power of Santa Fe. The company intends to sell a 1.5-meter-wide, 2.5-meter-high, 25-megawatt enclosed reactor for $50 million that will be installed underground and last at least 7 years. Promotional materials presented at the conference show nothing but a green field and a tree on it, a large hidden battery - the message of Hyperion Power.
Of course, in reality, the steam turbine, generator and cooling device will be located on the same green field, displacing several trees from the advertising poster. The fast neutron reactor will operate at more high temperatures(about 500 degrees Celsius) than traditional reactors, which will require liquid metal cooling. Next, most of the heat will be transferred to water to rotate the turbine, generating electricity.
These small reactors are just as capable of a runaway core-melt chain reaction as traditional reactors, so they have control rods to slow down the reaction.
Hyperion Power is not the only company promoting this concept in the reactor industry. Although designs vary, Toshiba, Babcock & Wilcox and others have their own designs for similar small reactors with their own potential clients, for example, the town of Galena in Alaska with a population of 700 people. However, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) refused to consider these small reactors, concentrating its efforts on reviving conventional technologies.
But the NRC's position may change. In February of this year, the NRC issued a call for potential manufacturers of small reactors (those under 700 megawatts, as defined by the NRC) to report potential future site, licensing, and certification requests for regulatory agency planning of their workload. According to Deborah Blackwell, vice president of Hyperion Power, his company is not waiting for the NRC and plans to begin shipping its new product to different parts of the world by 2013.
IN Lately The concept of autonomous energy supply is increasingly being developed. Whether it is a country house with its wind turbines and solar panels on the roof or a woodworking plant with a heating boiler running on industrial waste - sawdust, the essence does not change. The world is gradually coming to the conclusion that it is time to abandon centralized provision of heat and electricity. Central heating is practically no longer found in Europe; individual houses, multi-apartment skyscrapers and industrial enterprises are heated independently. The only exception is certain cities in the northern countries - where centralized heating and large boiler houses are justified by climatic conditions.
As for the autonomous power industry, everything is moving towards this - the population is actively buying wind turbines and solar panels. Enterprises are looking for ways rational use thermal energy from technological processes, build their own thermal power plants and they are also buying solar panels with wind turbines. Those who are particularly focused on “green” technologies even plan to cover the roofs of factory workshops and hangars with solar panels.
Ultimately, this turns out to be cheaper than purchasing the necessary energy capacity from local power grids. However, after Chernobyl accident, everyone somehow forgot that the most environmentally friendly, cheapest and in an accessible way obtaining thermal and electrical energy the energy of the atom still remains. And if throughout existence nuclear industry power plants with nuclear reactors have always been associated with complexes covering hectares of area, huge pipes and lakes for cooling, then a number of developments recent years aims to break these stereotypes.
Several companies immediately announced that they were entering the market with “home” nuclear reactors. Miniature stations ranging in size from a garage box to a small two-story building are ready to supply from 10 to 100 MW for 10 years without refueling. The reactors are completely self-contained, safe, require no maintenance and, at the end of their service life, are simply recharged for another 10 years. Isn’t it a dream for an iron factory or a commercial summer resident? Let's take a closer look at those of them whose sales will begin in the coming years.
Toshiba 4S (Super Safe, Small and Simple)
The reactor is designed like a battery. It is assumed that such a “battery” will be buried in a shaft 30 meters deep, and the building above it will measure 22 16 11 meters. Not much more than a nice country house? Such a station will need maintenance personnel, but this still does not compare with tens of thousands square meters area and hundreds of workers at traditional nuclear power plants. The rated power of the complex is 10 megawatts for 30 years without refueling.
The reactor operates on fast neutrons. A similar reactor has been installed and operated since 1980 at the Beloyarsk NPP in Sverdlovsk region Russia (reactor BN-600). The principle of operation is described. In the Japanese installation, molten sodium is used as a coolant. This makes it possible to raise the operating temperature of the reactor by 200 degrees Celsius compared to water and at normal pressure. Using water in this quality would increase the pressure in the system hundreds of times.
Most importantly, the cost of generating 1 kWh for this installation is expected to range from 5 to 13 cents. The variation is due to the peculiarities of national taxation, the different costs of processing nuclear waste and the cost of decommissioning the plant itself.
The first customer of the “battery” from Toshiba seems to be the small town of Galena, Alaska in the USA. Negotiation currently underway permitting documentation with US government agencies. The company's partner in the USA is the well-known company Westinghouse, which for the first time supplied fuel assemblies alternative to Russian TVELs to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
Hyperion Power Generation and Hyperion Reactor
These American guys seem to be the first to enter the commercial market for miniature nuclear reactors. The company offers installations from 70 to 25 megawatts costing approximately $25-30 million per unit. Hyperion nuclear installations can be used for both electricity generation and heating. As of the beginning of 2010, more than 100 orders have already been received for stations of various capacities, both from individuals and from state companies. There are even plans to move the production of finished modules outside the United States, building factories in Asia and Western Europe.
The reactor operates on the same principle as most modern reactors in nuclear power plants. Read . The closest in principle of operation are the most common Russian VVER type reactors and power plants used on Project 705 Lira (NATO - “Alfa”) nuclear submarines. The American reactor is practically a land-based version of the reactors installed on these nuclear submarines, by the way - the fastest submarines of their time.
The fuel used is uranium nitride, which has a higher thermal conductivity compared to ceramic uranium oxide, traditional for VVER reactors. This allows operation at temperatures 250-300 degrees Celsius higher than water-to-water units, increasing operating efficiency steam turbines electric generators. Everything is simple here - the higher the reactor temperature, the higher the steam temperature and, as a result, the higher the efficiency of the steam turbine.
A lead-bismuth melt, similar to that on Soviet nuclear submarines, is used as a cooling “liquid”. The melt passes through three heat exchange circuits, reducing the temperature from 500 degrees Celsius to 480. The working fluid for the turbine can be either water vapor or superheated carbon dioxide.
The installation with fuel and cooling system weighs only 20 tons and is designed for 10 years of operation at a rated power of 70 megawatts without refueling. The miniature dimensions are truly impressive - the reactor is only 2.5 meters high and 1.5 meters wide! The entire system can be transported by truck or by rail, being the absolute commercial world record holder for the power-mobility ratio.
Upon arrival at the site, the “barrel” with the reactor is simply buried. Access to it or any maintenance is not expected at all. After warranty period the assembly is excavated and sent to the manufacturer's plant for refilling. The features of lead-bismuth cooling provide a huge safety advantage - overheating and explosion are not possible (pressure does not increase with temperature). Also, when cooled, the alloy solidifies, and the reactor itself turns into an iron blank insulated with a thick layer of lead, which is not afraid of mechanical stress. By the way, it was the impossibility of operating at low power (due to the solidification of the cooling alloy and automatic shutdown) that was the reason for the refusal to further use lead-bismuth installations on nuclear submarines. For the same reason, these are the safest reactors ever installed on nuclear submarines of all countries.
Initially, miniature nuclear power plants were developed by Hyperion Power Generation for the needs of the mining industry, namely for processing oil shale into synthetic oil. Estimated reserves of synthetic oil in oil shale available for processing using today's technologies are estimated at 2.8-3.3 trillion barrels. For comparison, the reserves of “liquid” oil in wells are estimated at only 1.2 trillion barrels. However, the process of refining shale into oil requires heating it and then capturing the vapors, which then condense into oil and by-products. It is clear that for heating you need to get energy somewhere. For this reason, oil production from shale is considered economically unfeasible compared to importing it from OPEC countries. So the company sees the future of its product in different areas of application.
For example, as a mobile power plant for the needs of military bases and airfields. There are also interesting prospects here. Thus, during mobile warfare, when troops operate from so-called strong points in certain regions, these stations could power the “base” infrastructure. Just like in computer strategies. The only difference is that when the task in the region is completed, the power plant is loaded into vehicle(plane, cargo helicopter, trucks, train, ship) and taken to a new place.
Another military application is the stationary power supply of permanent military bases and airfields. In the event of an air raid or missile attack, a base with an underground nuclear power plant that does not require maintenance personnel is more likely to remain combat capable. In the same way, it is possible to power groups of social infrastructure objects - water supply systems of cities, administrative facilities, hospitals.
Well, industrial and civil applications - power supply systems for small cities and towns, individual enterprises or their groups, heating systems. After all, these installations primarily produce thermal energy and in the cold regions of the planet can form the core centralized systems heating. The company also considers the use of such mobile power plants at desalination plants in developing countries to be promising.
SSTAR (small, sealed, transportable, autonomous reactor)
A small, sealed, mobile autonomous reactor is a project being developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA. The principle of operation is similar to Hyperion, only it uses Uranium-235 as fuel. Must have a shelf life of 30 years with a capacity of 10 to 100 megawatts.
The dimensions should be 15 meters high and 3 meters wide with a reactor weight of 200 tons. This installation is initially designed for use in underdeveloped countries under a leasing scheme. Thus, increased attention is paid to the inability to disassemble the structure and extract anything valuable from it. What is valuable is uranium-238 and weapons-grade plutonium, which are produced as they expire.
At the end of the lease agreement, the recipient will be required to return the unit to the United States. Am I the only one who thinks these are mobile factories for the production of weapons-grade plutonium for other people’s money? 🙂 However, the American state has not advanced further here research work There isn't even a prototype yet.
To summarize, it should be noted that so far the most realistic development is from Hyperion and the first deliveries are scheduled for 2014. I think we can expect a further advance of “pocket” nuclear power plants, especially since other enterprises, including such giants as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, are conducting similar work on creating similar stations. In general, miniature nuclear reactor- this is a worthy response to all kinds of tidal turbidity and other incredibly “green” technologies. It looks like we may soon see military technology moving into civilian use again.
Scientists from the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics on Monday presented to the public their the latest development– home power nuclear reactor MAES-2014. For the first time in the world, specialists managed to achieve maximum safety with ultra-compact dimensions of the device.
As the project leader, academician Yakov Ioffe, said, the device belongs to the class of so-called Traveling-Wave Reactors. This is the name of this type power plants received due to serious differences from the classical rector scheme - here the nuclear reaction occurs in a very limited region of the core, which gradually moves and behaves like a wave. Development of such a reactor began in the United States in the mid-2000s, but American experts were unable to achieve the predicted behavior of the device.
The Novosibirsk reactor operates on low-enriched uranium, which significantly reduces the cost of the installation. The moderator in the reactor is ordinary water; the device is controlled by a boron carbide control rod. Due to the design features, the critical mass of uranium required to start the reaction is reduced by more than ten times. This, as well as low heat generation, made it possible to achieve an ultra-compact size. The reactor can easily fit in a basement or garage, the developers note.
Tests have shown that the installation is capable of delivering electrical power 0.5 megawatt, which is enough for several dozen households or small industrial enterprise. The price of nuclear electricity is also quite affordable - the cost per kilowatt-hour is two rubles.
It is especially emphasized that it will not be necessary to obtain special permits to operate the reactor. The device already has dual system security. When critical changes occur in the reactor vessel, the core is immediately filled with a solution of boric acid, which leads to an instant stop of the nuclear reaction. Before launching on the market, the system is planned to be strengthened - to be equipped with a control system that will monitor in real time and send all data via Wi-Fi to the owner’s computer or smartphone.
The rector developed by Novosibirsk scientists can operate for sixty years without recharging. After this, the device will need to be disposed of. This service is planned to be provided at the institute.
The exact cost of the installation has not yet been announced, but scientists are confident that in the future a home nuclear reactor will become available to almost everyone Russian family. A source at the institute said that the reactor could go on sale at a price of 150 thousand rubles. The start of sales is planned for 2016 - after completion of all tests and receipt of certificates confirming the safety of the device.
(April Fools' news, which has nothing to do with the actual state of affairs.)
We strive to supply our customers with the best, most modern, most technologically advanced equipment. And now we are pleased to inform you that the assortment of the Russian Generating Company has been replenished with a unique, unparalleled new product - the world's first Portable Nuclear Generator PAG-300-1APR. Work on the project to create a new product lasted for five years; our engineers were actively assisted by ROSATOM employees.
What is the new product? This is a fairly compact device, its dimensions are comparable to the size of a dining table, and its weight does not even reach 5 tons. By equipping the PAG with a set of wheels and handles, you can conveniently and easily transport it from site to site. Thanks to the use of uranium-325 isotopes as fuel, the PAG will be able to supply electricity to a heavily loaded grid for more than three years. And this is without refueling, in autonomous mode. At the same time, its power reaches 330 kW, which is an order of magnitude more than the flagship models of diesel and gas analogues can offer. This - great way provide electricity not only to the apartment or separately standing house, but also a cottage community, an industrial facility, an underground bunker.
Of course, the issue of security is very relevant. We would like to assure you that the background radiation around the installation does not exceed the limits permissible norm: PAG is guaranteed not to become an additional source of contamination of the environment and the cause of the development of mutations. Moreover, due to the absence of an internal combustion engine, such a unit is more environmentally friendly than gasoline and diesel generators!
| Main characteristics of PAG-300- 1APR | |
|---|---|
| Power plant type | atomic |
| Startup type | electronic |
| Number of phases | 3 (380 volts) |
| Engine and fuel | |
| Engine | PAD-300-1APR |
| Cooling type | D 2 O (heavy water) |
| Fuel brand | isotopes of uranium 235 |
| Battery life | 3.2 years |
| Generator | |
| Generator type | synchronous |
| Brushless generator | Yes |
| Generator protection class | IP66 |
| Active power | 300 kW |
| Maximum power | 330 kW |
| Design and features | |
| Noise level | 5 dB |
| Wheels | No |
| Overload protection | There is |
| Number of sockets 380 V | 6 |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 2400x910x860 mm |
| Weight | 4563 kg |
| Peculiarities | a set of wheels and handles must be purchased separately |
You can find out more details about PAG-300-1APR from our managers or representatives of the Rosatom state corporation. For wholesale buyers we will provide a discount!
You, of course, understood that this was an April Fool's joke :) But here is a real one
1. A free-piston Stirling engine is powered by heating with “atomic steam” 2. An induction generator provides about 2 W of electricity to power an incandescent lamp 3. The characteristic blue glow is the Cherenkov radiation of electrons knocked out of atoms by gamma rays. Can serve as a great night light!
For children over 14 years old, a young researcher will be able to independently assemble a small but real nuclear reactor, learn what prompt and delayed neutrons are, and see the dynamics of acceleration and deceleration of a nuclear chain reaction. A few simple experiments with a gamma spectrometer will allow you to understand the production of various fission products and experiment with the reproduction of fuel from the now fashionable thorium (a piece of thorium-232 sulfide is attached). The included book “Fundamentals of Nuclear Physics for Little Ones” contains descriptions of more than 300 experiments with the assembled reactor, so there is enormous scope for creativity
Historical prototype The Atomic Energy Lab set (1951) gave schoolchildren the opportunity to join the most advanced fields of science and technology. The electroscope, Wilson chamber and Geiger-Muller counter made it possible to conduct many interesting experiments. But, of course, not as interesting as assembling a working reactor from the Russian “Tabletop Nuclear Power Plant” set!
In the 1950s, with the advent of nuclear reactors, it seemed that brilliant prospects for solving all energy problems loomed before humanity. Energy engineers designed nuclear power plants, shipbuilders designed nuclear electric ships, and even car designers decided to join the celebration and use the “peaceful atom.” A “nuclear boom” arose in society, and industry began to lack qualified specialists. An influx of new personnel was required, and a serious educational campaign was launched not only among university students, but also among schoolchildren. For example, A.C. The Gilbert Company released the Atomic Energy Lab children's kit in 1951, containing several small radioactive sources, the necessary instruments, and samples of uranium ore. This “state-of-the-art science kit,” as the box said, allowed “young researchers to conduct over 150 exciting science experiments.”
Personnel decides everything
Over the past half century, scientists have learned several bitter lessons and learned to build reliable and safe reactors. Although the industry is currently in a downturn due to the recent Fukushima accident, it will soon be on the upswing again and nuclear power plants will continue to be seen as an extremely promising way to produce clean, reliable and safe energy. But now in Russia there is a shortage of personnel, just like in the 1950s. To attract schoolchildren and increase interest in nuclear energy, the Research and Production Enterprise (SPE) “Ekoatomconversion”, following the example of A.S. Gilbert Company has released an educational set for children over 14 years old. Of course, science has not stood still over these half-century, therefore, unlike its historical prototype, the modern set allows you to get a much more interesting result, namely, to assemble a real model of a nuclear power plant on the table. Of course, it is active.
Literacy from the cradle
“Our company comes from Obninsk, a city where nuclear energy is familiar and familiar to people almost from kindergarten,” Andrey Vykhadanko, scientific director of the Ecoatomconversion Research and Production Enterprise, explains to PM. “And everyone understands that there is absolutely no need to be afraid of her.” After all, only the unknown danger is truly scary. That's why we decided to release this set for schoolchildren, which will allow them to experiment and study the principles of operation of nuclear reactors without exposing themselves and others to serious risk. As you know, knowledge acquired in childhood is the most durable, so with the release of this set we hope to significantly reduce the likelihood of a repeat of Chernobyl or
Fukushima in the future."
Waste plutonium
Over the years of operation of many nuclear power plants, tons of so-called reactor plutonium have accumulated. It consists mainly of weapons-grade Pu-239, containing about 20% admixture of other isotopes, primarily Pu-240. This makes reactor-grade plutonium completely unsuitable for creating nuclear bombs. Separation of impurities turns out to be very difficult, since the mass difference between the 239th and 240th isotopes is only 0.4%. The production of nuclear fuel with the addition of reactor plutonium turned out to be technologically complex and economically unprofitable, so this material remained out of use. It is the “waste” plutonium that is used in the “Young Nuclear Scientist Kit” developed by the Ecoatomconversion Research and Production Enterprise.
As is known, for a fission chain reaction to begin, nuclear fuel must have a certain critical mass. For a ball made of weapons-grade uranium-235 it is 50 kg, for one made of plutonium-239 - only 10. A shell made of a neutron reflector, for example beryllium, can reduce the critical mass several times. And the use of a moderator, as in thermal neutron reactors, will reduce the critical mass by more than ten times, to several kilograms of highly enriched U-235. The critical mass of Pu-239 will be hundreds of grams, and it is precisely this ultra-compact reactor that fits on a table that was developed at Ecoatomconversion.
What's in the chest
The packaging of the set is modestly designed in black and white, and only the dim three-segment radioactivity icons stand out somewhat from the general background. “There’s really no danger,” says Andrey, pointing to the words “Completely safe!” written on the box. “But these are the requirements of official authorities.” The box is heavy, which is not surprising: it contains a sealed lead shipping container with a fuel assembly (FA) of six plutonium rods with a zirconium shell. In addition, the set includes an outer reactor vessel made of heat-resistant glass with chemical hardening, a housing cover with a glass window and sealed leads, a stainless steel core housing, a stand for the reactor, and a control absorber rod made of boron carbide. The electrical part of the reactor is represented by a free-piston Stirling engine with connecting polymer tubes, a small incandescent lamp and wires. The kit also includes a one-kilogram bag of boric acid powder, a pair of protective suits with respirators, and a gamma spectrometer with a built-in helium neutron detector.
Construction of a nuclear power plant
Assembling a working model of a nuclear power plant according to the accompanying manual in pictures is very simple and takes less than half an hour. Having put on a stylish protective suit (it is only needed during assembly), we open the sealed packaging with the fuel assembly. Then we insert the assembly inside the reactor vessel and cover it with the core body. Finally, we snap the lid with the sealed leads on top. You need to insert the absorber rod all the way into the central one, and through any of the other two, fill the active zone with distilled water to the line on the body. After filling, tubes for steam and condensate passing through the heat exchanger of the Stirling engine are connected to the pressure inlets. The nuclear power plant itself is now complete and ready for launch; all that remains is to place it on a special stand in an aquarium filled with a solution of boric acid, which perfectly absorbs neutrons and protects the young researcher from neutron radiation.
Three, two, one - start!
We bring a gamma spectrometer with a neutron sensor close to the wall of the aquarium: a small part of the neutrons, which do not pose a threat to health, still come out. Slowly raise the control rod until the neutron flux begins to rapidly increase, indicating the start of a self-sustaining nuclear reaction. All that remains is to wait until the required power is reached and push the rod back 1 cm along the marks so that the reaction speed stabilizes. As soon as boiling begins, a layer of steam will appear in the upper part of the core body (perforations in the body prevent this layer from exposing the plutonium rods, which could lead to their overheating). The steam goes up the tube to the Stirling engine, where it condenses and flows down the outlet tube into the reactor. The temperature difference between the two ends of the engine (one heated by steam, the other cooled by room air) is converted into oscillations of the piston-magnet, which, in turn, induces an alternating current in the winding surrounding the engine, igniting atomic light in the hands of the young researcher and, it is hoped, developers, atomic interest is at its heart.
Editor's note: This article was published in the April issue of the magazine and is an April Fool's joke.
