Post by Jaga on Apr 20, 2006 18:19:07 GMT -7
I heard about simple almost pocket size, very safe small nuclear reactors still when I was in Poland. Their technology is known for many years. They seem to be very safe, very effective. Some do not need even any operator to work on it. After usage you just give it back to teh manufacturer. Very good for the areas without any infrastructure, hard climate etc.
Here is info about one build for free in Alaska
www.atomicinsights.com/AI_03-20-05.html
Galena, Alaska has a problem that may be solved with an innovative application of nuclear power. The remote village in Western Alaska is a long way from the grid that supplies electricity to more densely populated regions. It is a fly-in village with only local roads. The energy supply is limited to fossil fuels transported on river barges, but the river is choked with ice 8-9 months per year.
The long winters without large volume transport requires the town to maintain very large fuel tanks - the total storage capacity is more than 3 million gallons between the town and the airport, which equates to more than 4,000 gallons for every resident. Fuel purchase, transportation, storage, and financing costs drive the cost of electricity to more than $0.30 per kilowatt-hour - making it more than 4 times as expensive as the electricity in my home area. The town leaders determined several years ago that this situation was harmful to the town's existing and future population - and that was when the price of distillate fuel was about half of the current price.
Because electricity is so expensive, consumers avoid using it if possible. Electricity and tanked gas each supply less than 4% of the town's heat, fuel oil or kerosene heaters supply 62% and wood supplies 31%. All of the heat sources have significants costs and limitations, but heat is vital for survival in this town where temperatures can sink as low as minus 60 Fahrenheit.
With the help of the state of Alaska, the town leaders commissioned a study to determine if there was any available technology that could meet their energy needs at a lower cost. The study looked at improved diesel engines, coal fired steam plants, windmills, solar panels, in stream hydro, and nuclear power. For the nuclear power option, the town focused on a plant offered by a partnership that includes Toshiba and the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) of Japan.
The study provided some logical conclusions. New diesel engines offered about 5-8% improvement in cost and environmental impact over the existing machines; coal would require large investments in mining, fuel transportation, and transmission wires and would have a negative effect on air and water quality; windmills were vulnerable to icing and required diesel engine back-up; solar panels would be useless for much of the winter; in-stream hydro was limited by the low available head (large but slow moving river) and by ice formation; and the nuclear option seemed worth further investigation.
As currently envisioned, the Toshiba 4S (Super Safe, Small and Simple) nuclear power system would be able to supply about 10 MW of electrical power for 30 years without any new fuel. It could be transported in modules by barge and installed in a building measuring 22 meters by 16 meters by 11 meters with an excavation for the reactor core and primary cooling system of about 30 meters deep. (Nishi Feb 2005) Compared to the alternatives, the small nuclear plant would almost disappear into the background and would have little effect on the environment. Depending on a variety of assumptions, the cost for power could range as low as 6 cents per kilowatt hour. Unfortunately, there are scenarios where the cost per kilowatt hour could approach infinity.
If all goes well, the Toshiba 4S could be providing Galena with abundant power by about 2012. Not only would it supply all of the electricity that the village needs, but there would be enough low cost energy capacity left over to produce hydrogen from water and district heat from the waste heat released from the plant. Galena could experience a mini-boom as it becomes a hub of regional energy and innovation. If certain hurdles are not overcome, however, a large amount of money and time can be consumed without producing any new power capacity at all.
Technical description of Toshiba 4S
The Toshiba 4S has been described in some promotional articles as a nuclear battery, but as attractive as the plant is, that is too simplistic a description. The plant is a small, sodium cooled fast reactor with a rather technologically advanced, compact steam turbine secondary system. Though it is based on sound engineering design work dating back to 1988, there are some areas where the designers and manufacturers will be pressing the edges of the known in terms of chemistry, materials, equipment reliability and fluid flow. If history is any guide, the system will require a significant number of design modifications and operating procedure refinements as more is learned by actual construction and operation. If there is sufficient patience and dedication, the system could prove to be a reliable power producer.
The core heat source for this plant is quite compact; it is only about 0.7 meters in diameter and about 2 meters tall. This section of the plant would be at the bottom of the 30 meter deep excavation inside a sealed cylinder, a location that helps to provide the driving force needed for natural circulation cooling and that provides an impressive level of nuclear material security. The active core material is a metallic alloy of uranium, plutonium and zirconium. The material has been extensively tested but it has not been commercially produced and used as a reactor fuel.
Here is info about one build for free in Alaska
www.atomicinsights.com/AI_03-20-05.html
Galena, Alaska has a problem that may be solved with an innovative application of nuclear power. The remote village in Western Alaska is a long way from the grid that supplies electricity to more densely populated regions. It is a fly-in village with only local roads. The energy supply is limited to fossil fuels transported on river barges, but the river is choked with ice 8-9 months per year.
The long winters without large volume transport requires the town to maintain very large fuel tanks - the total storage capacity is more than 3 million gallons between the town and the airport, which equates to more than 4,000 gallons for every resident. Fuel purchase, transportation, storage, and financing costs drive the cost of electricity to more than $0.30 per kilowatt-hour - making it more than 4 times as expensive as the electricity in my home area. The town leaders determined several years ago that this situation was harmful to the town's existing and future population - and that was when the price of distillate fuel was about half of the current price.
Because electricity is so expensive, consumers avoid using it if possible. Electricity and tanked gas each supply less than 4% of the town's heat, fuel oil or kerosene heaters supply 62% and wood supplies 31%. All of the heat sources have significants costs and limitations, but heat is vital for survival in this town where temperatures can sink as low as minus 60 Fahrenheit.
With the help of the state of Alaska, the town leaders commissioned a study to determine if there was any available technology that could meet their energy needs at a lower cost. The study looked at improved diesel engines, coal fired steam plants, windmills, solar panels, in stream hydro, and nuclear power. For the nuclear power option, the town focused on a plant offered by a partnership that includes Toshiba and the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) of Japan.
The study provided some logical conclusions. New diesel engines offered about 5-8% improvement in cost and environmental impact over the existing machines; coal would require large investments in mining, fuel transportation, and transmission wires and would have a negative effect on air and water quality; windmills were vulnerable to icing and required diesel engine back-up; solar panels would be useless for much of the winter; in-stream hydro was limited by the low available head (large but slow moving river) and by ice formation; and the nuclear option seemed worth further investigation.
As currently envisioned, the Toshiba 4S (Super Safe, Small and Simple) nuclear power system would be able to supply about 10 MW of electrical power for 30 years without any new fuel. It could be transported in modules by barge and installed in a building measuring 22 meters by 16 meters by 11 meters with an excavation for the reactor core and primary cooling system of about 30 meters deep. (Nishi Feb 2005) Compared to the alternatives, the small nuclear plant would almost disappear into the background and would have little effect on the environment. Depending on a variety of assumptions, the cost for power could range as low as 6 cents per kilowatt hour. Unfortunately, there are scenarios where the cost per kilowatt hour could approach infinity.
If all goes well, the Toshiba 4S could be providing Galena with abundant power by about 2012. Not only would it supply all of the electricity that the village needs, but there would be enough low cost energy capacity left over to produce hydrogen from water and district heat from the waste heat released from the plant. Galena could experience a mini-boom as it becomes a hub of regional energy and innovation. If certain hurdles are not overcome, however, a large amount of money and time can be consumed without producing any new power capacity at all.
Technical description of Toshiba 4S
The Toshiba 4S has been described in some promotional articles as a nuclear battery, but as attractive as the plant is, that is too simplistic a description. The plant is a small, sodium cooled fast reactor with a rather technologically advanced, compact steam turbine secondary system. Though it is based on sound engineering design work dating back to 1988, there are some areas where the designers and manufacturers will be pressing the edges of the known in terms of chemistry, materials, equipment reliability and fluid flow. If history is any guide, the system will require a significant number of design modifications and operating procedure refinements as more is learned by actual construction and operation. If there is sufficient patience and dedication, the system could prove to be a reliable power producer.
The core heat source for this plant is quite compact; it is only about 0.7 meters in diameter and about 2 meters tall. This section of the plant would be at the bottom of the 30 meter deep excavation inside a sealed cylinder, a location that helps to provide the driving force needed for natural circulation cooling and that provides an impressive level of nuclear material security. The active core material is a metallic alloy of uranium, plutonium and zirconium. The material has been extensively tested but it has not been commercially produced and used as a reactor fuel.
I hope that this reactor would work and people would become less nervous about nuclear technology. 
