Nuclear power plant

Presentation by:- Makwana Mukund M En no:-110160109058 GEC, Modasa.

SITE SELECTION

* Availability of water * Disposal of water * Distance from populated areas* Transportation facilities

Basic Diagram of a PWR

http://www.nrc.gov/

VVER – Russian PWR (Water-Cooled, Water-Moderated, Energy Reactor)

http://www.nucleartourist.com/

AREVA NP – EPR (European Pressurized-Water Reactor)

• 1600 MWe• 36 – 37% Efficiency• Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel• 60 – yr Service Life• 3 – 4 yr Construction• Multiple Barriers and

Simple Safety Systems

http://www.framatome-anp.com/

Nuclear Power Plant

Reactor Generations• Gen I

– Prototypes in 50’s & 60’s• Gen II

– 70’s & 80’s– Today’s Operational Reactors– BWR, PWR, CANDU, …

• Gen III– ABWR, APWR– Approved 90’s– Some Built around the World

• Gen III+– Current Advanced Designs in the Approval Process– Pebble Bed Reactor

• Gen IV– Deploy in 2030– Economical– Safe– Minimize Waste– Reduce Proliferation

WPUI – Advances in Nuclear 2008

Evolution of Nuclear Power Systems

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

Gen IV

Generation IVo Highly

economicalo Enhanced

Safetyo Minimized

Wasteso Proliferation

Resistance

Gen I

Generation IEarly PrototypeReactors

•Shippingport•Dresden,Fermi-I•Magnox

Gen II

Generation IICommercial PowerReactors

•LWR: PWR/BWR•CANDU•VVER/RBMK

Gen III

Generation IIIAdvancedLWRs

•System 80+•ABWR, EPR

•AP1000•ESBWR

Reactor Parts

1. Fuel Rods2. Control rods3. Moderator4. Generator5. Cooling System

1. FUEL RODS

Uranium Pellets

• UO2 pellets

• 97% U-238

• 3% U-235

• 1 pellet has the energy equivalent of 126 gallons of petroleum

Will power about 300,000

homes

2. CONTROL RODS

•Regulate/absorb the extra neutrons

• Control rate by moving rods in/out

• Stop a reaction by dropping control rods completely in between fuel rods

3. MODERATOR

Possible Moderators:

Slows down the high-speed neutrons so the U-235 has a chance to fission

1. “Heavy Water” (Deuterium) H-2 isotope

2. Graphite (carbon)

3. “Light Water” H-1 isotope

Reactor Core:Houses all reactor components

4. GENERATORSteam turns a turbine which is used to generate electricity similar to coal or petroleum.

5. COOLING SYSTEM

• Water from a nearby lake or pond is used to cool/condense the steam which can be recycled back into the reactor.

• Steam must be cooled and condensed

Cooling Towers:Give off steam (not radiation) into

atmosphere

Safety Precautions• Control rods regulate the rate of the reaction.• Redundant, automatic backup systems• Preventing the escape of radioactive material in the

event of an accident (containment)– 2-4m concrete walls around the reactor– Steel-reinforced concrete walls in the building built

to withstand chemical explosions and earthquakes– Domed roof able to withstand significant internal

pressure

Nuclear Waste“spent fuel rods” are no

longer efficient but still are hot and radioactive. They must sit in pools to cool for a few years.

Pools

Reactor

Nuclear WasteAfter cooled, the spent

rods can be stored temporarily in above-ground, gas-filled storage casks.

Tracking the Fuel

Permanent Storage?

• Make the temporary storage casks, permanent?

• Burying it under the ocean floor?• Burying it in polar ice? • Send it into space?• Burying it in a stable “geologic repository”

such as Yucca Mountain Nevada?

Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Recycling Nuclear Waste

• Argonne National Laboratory researchers have developed a technology that can remove uranium from spent fuel to be reused in the next generation of power plants.

ADVANTAGES• Amount of fuel required is quit small, saving in the

cost of fuel transportation• Requires less space as compared to any other of

same size• Low running charges• Very economical for producing bulk electric power• Ensures reliability of operation

DISADVANTAGES• Fuel used is expensive & is difficult to recover.• Capital cost is very high as compared to other

types of plants.• The fission by-products are generally

radioactive & may cause a dangerous amount of radioactive pollution.