Peak Oil is You
Donate Bitcoins ;-) or Paypal :-)
Page added on July 2, 2014
Russia Continues Sustained Fast Breeder Reactor Effort
On June 26, 2014, the 60th anniversary of the start of the 5 MWe Obninsk reactor that was the first reactor in the world to routinely supply electricity to a commercial power grid, Russia started up the latest in a series of sodium-cooled fast reactors, the BN-800.
This new nuclear plant is an evolutionary refinement of the successful BN-600 that has been operating in Russia since 1980 and “is said to have the best operating and production record of all Russia’s nuclear power units.”
Here is a quote from a promotional brochure about the project published in 2011 by Atomenergoproekt, the joint stock company that built the power plant.
BN-800 power unit (under design) for Beloyarskaya NPP accommodates all principal concepts and solutions used in its predecessor BN-600, substantiated by over 20 years of its successful operation at high performance (capacity factor 80% at efficiency 42%).
BN-800 Power Unit is designed primarily for the production of heat and energy. The Power Unit as part of the grid operates with constant rated load (basic mode).
However, BN-800 characteristics and physical features dictate its multi-purpose usage. Viz, the reactor is used for:
- electric and heat power generation
- plutonium consumption and, if necessary, production
- processing of long-lived supertransuranics accumulated in the radwastes of reactor of any type
- production of isotopes.
No other reactor type combines so wide a range of functions.
Equipment of the reactor and its system involved in the handling of fuel assemblies containing isotopes and supertransuranics is designed to perform the above-mentioned functions.
The system builds off some of the successes of fast reactors designed and operated in Russia and the rest of the world and also incorporates features that avoid some of the characteristics that have led to failures in fast reactor programs. In other words, the BN-800 is the result of learning and the progress that can be made with sustained effort in any challenging, but potentially rewarding field of endeavor.
As shown in the below process heat flow diagram, the BN-800 uses a large pool of sodium and three separate heat transfer systems to provide passive safety. This is a concept that is similar to the one that was well-proven in more than 30 years of operation and testing at EBR-II and at previous BN-series reactors.
The BN-series reactors continue to use oxide fuels because they have achieved reasonably good results with that type of fuel and the responsible designers do not see any compelling reason to change. My friends who remain strong advocates of the Integral Fast Reactor have convinced me that a new fast reactor program started today should carefully consider the use of metal alloy fuels because they enable the use of an improved pyroprocessing technique for recycling the used fuel rods. It would be more difficult for a program that has a large investment in the capital equipment and human knowledge required for manufacturing and recycling oxide fuels to make that revolutionary technology choice.
While reading a terrific biography of Leo Szilard titled “Genius in the Shadows”, I found the following quote that illustrates the confused view of nuclear energy that is prevalent among the portion of the American intelligentsia that write books and perform historical research and commentary. It is relevant to this story about incremental progress in fast breeder reactor development.
Szilard’s faith in the peaceful benefits of atomic energy has certainly been rewarded in the development of medical technology, although his hope that nuclear power would help developing countries to prosper has proven impractical. Overstated, too, was Szilard’s faith in his breeder reactor, which has proven to be a dangerous and costly electricity producer in every country that has tried to build one.
My answer to the author of that passage is that virtually every technology ever devised by man would have been considered a costly failure if the inventor gave up after trying to “build one“. As the old schoolyard saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
13 Comments on "Russia Continues Sustained Fast Breeder Reactor Effort"
Makati1 on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 6:45 am
Russia is moving forward…
steveo on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 7:19 am
“Russia is moving forward…”
Everyone is except for the good ‘ol USA.
Calhoun on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 7:31 am
Does the fact that Russia, the world’s largest producer of oil and second largest producer of natural gas, is putting so much effort into nuclear energy seem odd? Could it be that they fully understand where the future of fossil fuels is headed?
The U.S. will go to breeder reactors in the future, I believe, once it becomes clear that oil and gas are not unlimited resources, as some seem to think. It will come too late to provide a smooth transition from fossil fuels (if such a thing is even possible), but it will come. The big question in my mind is where will the build them? Can they re-use existing nuclear facility sites? If they can’t, are there enough potential sites available?
Plantagenet on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 8:50 am
You would think the Obama administration would strongly support nuclear energy, as nukes emit no CO2, but so far Russia and China are taking the lead.
Calhoun on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 11:08 am
So the fact that the Obama administration is the first administration in a generation to issue a nuclear permit is evidence that he doesn’t support nuclear? Don’t let the facts get in the way, Plant.
Of course, Fukushima isn’t exactly making the public clamor for nuclear either, especially since the natural gas industry has convinced most people that we have an unlimited resource.
Northwest Resident on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 11:15 am
“Don’t let the facts get in the way, Plant.”
We don’t have to worry about that. He never does.
baptised on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 12:26 pm
Passive nuclear plants are the future. If we can just get the USA to stop selling it’s old time bomb nuclear plants,(Westinghouse) to the world.
Steve on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 1:24 pm
If you ran this same story and supplanted USA for Russia…..I think there would be total negative comments except since it is Russia the comments are mostly positive….I have just added 4 more names that I have to “fast forward” through their comments….
I am not an fan of the “American way” but I Don’t want to have a rhetorical bias that makes it sound like diarrhea of the mouth…..Makati you are right there…the others know who you are..
I would like to see some intelligent analysis of the situation; instead it is mostly emotional babel…
Jimmy on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 6:08 pm
Fuck is Plant ever stupid.
There’s not a dime of difference between Obama and Romney or the parties they represented in the last election.
GregT on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 6:55 pm
We find ourselves in population overshoot, with dwindling resources, on a sick and dying planet. BAU is not going to solve our predicament, it will only make matters worse further down the road.
There is only one source of energy on this planet that is sustainable, in terms of the human experience. That energy source is current sunlight. Current sunlight is the limiting factor in sustainable populations of all living things. Current sunlight is what keeps the biosphere balanced. We have upset the natural balance of the entire Earth, by exploiting other sources of energy.
We come from the Earth, we live on the Earth, and when we die, we go back to the Earth. To destroy the Earth, is to destroy ourselves. The further we pursue industrialism, and BAU, the more people will ultimately face the dire consequences. If we go too far, we face extinction. That is, if we haven’t gone too far already.
The time to wake up is now, while we MIGHT still have a chance.
Energy Investor on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 7:37 pm
Calhoun,
If folk think Putin is ignorant of the reality of fossil fuels, just read his so-called “doctoral thesis” of 1993. Done while he was working in the mayor’s office and studying at St Petersberg Institute. If you ask me, his actions since assuming office have all been consistent with that thesis and that is why he has Kirienko at Rosatom, Sechin at Rosneft and Miller at Gazprom.
All taking care of the business 🙂
Makati1 on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 8:45 pm
Steve, if you only listen to/read the comments you agree with, you are just proving your narrow mindedness and USSA bias. If you saw my reading site list you would see it covers all side of the road of life. I read Russian, Chinese, ME, European, Canadian, etc newspapers and sites. I don’t agree with some of them, but they give me a more rounded view of the world. You will not get anything close if you cherry pick the sites/comments you agree with. Typical American. Avoid any pain or real thought.
synapsid on Wed, 2nd Jul 2014 11:31 pm
baptised,
Westinghouse belongs to Toshiba.