Prospects for and problems of using light-water supercritical-pressure coolant in nuclear reactors in order to increase
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pects for and Problems of Using LightWater SupercriticalPressure Coolant in Nuclear Reactors in Order to Increase the Efficiency of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle P. N. Alekseev, Yu. M. Semchenkov, A. A. Sedov, S. A. Subbotin, and A. V. Chibinyaev Russian Research Centre Kurchatov Institute, pl. Kurchatova 1, Moscow, 123182 Russia email: [email protected] Received July 17, 2009
Abstract—Trends in the development of the power sector of the Russian and world power industries both at present time and in the near future are analyzed. Trends in the rise of prices for reserves of fossil and nuclear fuels used for electricity production are compared. An analysis of the competitiveness of electricity produc tion at nuclear power plants as compared to the competitiveness of electricity produced at coalfired and nat uralgasfired thermal power plants is performed. The efficiency of the open nuclear fuel cycle and various versions of the closed nuclear fuel cycle is discussed. The requirements on lightwater reactors under the sce nario of dynamic development of the nuclear power industry in Russia are determined. Results of analyzing the efficiency of fuel utilization for various versions of vesseltype lightwater reactors with supercritical cool ant are given. Advantages and problems of reactors with supercriticalpressure water are listed. Keywords: installed generating capacity, prices for fossil fuels, prices for natural uranium, electricity produc tion cost, lightwater reactors, nuclear fuel cycle, supercriticalpressure coolant. DOI: 10.1134/S1063778811130011
1. POSITION OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN COMPETITION AMONG VARIOUS SECTORS OF ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION IN RUSSIA AND THE WORLD The strategy of the development of electricity pro duction in Russia is based on retention of the leading positions of naturalgasfired and coalfired thermal power plants, as well as an increase in proportion of nuclear power plants in the total mix of generating capacities [1] (Fig. 1). The proportion of thermal power plants using gas eous fuel is still much higher than all other compo nents of electricity production in Russia. Domestic prices for natural gas, depressed as compared to the world market ones, are 1.5 times lower than prices for coal, and this fact impedes the development of the
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coalbased electricity production sector. However, the forecast for the period through the year 2020 shows that the situation regarding the ratio of prices for nat ural gas and coal will reverse [2] (Fig. 2), and this will give impetus to the development of generating capaci ties of coalfired thermal power plants. Prices for gaseous energy sources will grow steadily owing to depletion of cheap natural gas reserves (Fig. 3). Gas pressure decrease in producing wells will require involvement of new costly technologies and energy sources for pumping out natural gas. Moreover, it will be necessary to carry out geologic exploration and development of new gas fields in the Far North, and this will also lead to escalation in pric
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