Feasibility study of a small-sized nuclear heat-only plant dedicated to desalination in the UAE

The development of a small-sized nuclear heat-only plant with maximized safety features dedicated to seawater thermal desalination was proposed to address both a serious water crisis and nuclear safety issues, which continue to be perennial problems. In this study, the feasibility of a dedicated nuclear heat-only desalination system for a target country was evaluated in comparison with a target nuclear thermal desalination system. First, the target country was selected, and its current energy and desalination status was investigated. The suitable nuclear desalination options for the target country were then selected. Finally, using corresponding analysis tools, performance and economic analyses were conducted for a dedicated nuclear heat-only desalination system and the target nuclear thermal desalination system. The results of the analyses indicate that operating the small-sized nuclear heat-only plant at low pressures coupled with a seawater thermal desalination plant will considerably improve both the safety and economy without a significant loss in desalination performance. In conclusion, the proposed dedicated nuclear heat-only desalination system is expected to have high potential for solving both problems.

An investigation of potential risks of nuclear system from hydrogen production

A novel vacuum discharge thermal energy combined desalination and power generation system utilizing R290/R600a

There have been a number of studies regarding the efficiency of state-of-the-art thermal (Multi-Effect Distillation, MED), power driven (sea water reverse osmosis, SWRO) and hybrid (MED/SWRO) desalination systems. The comparisons between desalination technologies can be made on a number of critical parameters such as (i) cost of produced water, (ii) energy efficiency, (iii) environmental impact, (iv) reliability and (v) footprint. Whilst the reported relative advantages with respect to parameters (iii) through (v) are conclusive, there remain conflicting recommendations with respect to parameters (i) and (ii), partly due to energy pricing assumptions. Furthermore, existing studies work on the implicit assumption that there is demand for surplus power from integrated power generation and desalination systems. The presented assessments compare the different thermal, power driven and hybrid desalination systems for output (water/power) achieved from identical energy inputs into thermal power and co-generation cycles for different ratios of desired water and power outputs. This eliminates energy and water pricing issues from the analysis and makes the findings applicable to a range of conventional (e.g. natural gas) and renewable (e.g solar) thermal energy sources. A number of simulations studies have been performed to identify the most energy efficient and cost effective desalination technologies for different water and power generation needs. The key parameters such as power and heat requirements and capital expenditures used in the thermodynamic and economic assessments are in line with ranges reported in the literature and existing plant data. Trade-offs between capital intensity and energy efficiency, which are particularly pronounced in thermal technologies, have also been studied. The paper makes clear recommendations as to the preferred desalination technology for a given seawater quality and water and power demand situation. The paper further explores the impact of technological advances in the form of lower capital costs and higher energy efficiency in the two broad classes of (i) power driven, and (ii) thermal desalination technology. All studies have been performed for seawater qualities observed in the Arabian Gulf.

Nuclear power engineering is developing steadily in industrial countries. This is caused by features of using nuclear fuel and high environmental safety of nuclear power stations. At the same time, the thermodynamic efficiency of nuclear power stations is lower than indices of thermal power stations operating on gas, coal or oil fuel. This efficiency does not usually exceed 30–35%. Hence more than 60% of the energy of nuclear fuel being used escapes into the environment through turbine condensers at nuclear power stations. Cogeneration turbines that reduce heat loss by 20–30% are used at thermal power stations for efficiency upgrading. However, cogeneration schemes have not found wide utility at nuclear power stations due to safety conditions. Thus, it is possible to use, in addition, a major part of nuclear fuel energy for desalination at nuclear power stations located on the coast. In this case, some main problems are solved: production of fresh water consumed by nuclear power station for technological purposes and sold to external consumers; upgrading of effectiveness of using nuclear fuel including the cost of steady operation of nuclear power stations at high loads; reduction of non-productive thermal pollutants from nuclear power stations into the environment. It is required to provide maximum upgrading of power station heat efficiency and high capacity of distillers when connecting desalination installations to the thermal scheme of nuclear power stations. The use of energy of the heat carrier's low-temperature flows being emitted by turbine condensers into the environment is of particular value. In this case, different thermodynamic analysis methods are used for the justification of optimal engineering solutions In the article under consideration some results of research of thermodynamics of cycles of nuclear power stations where thermal schemes includes different types of thermal desalination installations are given. From the analysis of thermodynamic processes carried out at nuclear power stations, recommendations related to improvement of desalination installations' thermal schemes providing power system efficiency upgrading have been obtained.

Due to the current fossil fuel crisis and associated adverse environmental impacts, renewable energy sources (RES) have drawn interest as alternatives to fossil fuels for powering water desalination systems. Over the last few decades the utility of renewable energy sources such as solar, geothermal, and wind to run desalination processes has been explored. However, the expansion of these technologies to larger scales is hampered by techno-economic and thermo-economic challenges. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in the field of renewable energy-powered thermal desalination systems (RE-PTD) to compare their productivity and efficiency through thermodynamic, economic, and environmental analyses. We performed a comparative study using published data to classify RE-PTD systems technologies on the basis of the energy collection systems that they use. Among RE-PTD systems, solar energy powered-thermal desalination systems demonstrate high thermo-environ-economic efficiency to produce fresh water to meet various scales of demand.

Introducing a hybrid renewable energy system for production of power and fresh water using parabolic trough solar collectors and LNG cold energy recovery

Development strategies and solar thermal energy utilization for water desalination systems in remote regions: a review

The efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panel drops with increase in cell temperature. The temperature of the PV panel can be controlled with various cooling techniques. In the proposed work the PV panel is cooled by circulating water and the recovered heat energy is used to run a humidification and dehumidification desalination to produce distilled water from sea water (or) brackish water. This work deals with a detailed analysis of performance of combined power and desalination (Photovoltaic/Thermal–Humidification and Dehumidification) system. A mathematical model of PV/thermal–humidification dehumidification plant was developed and simulations were carried out in MATLAB environment. The performance of photovoltaic/ thermal desalination (Photovoltaic/Thermal–Humidification and Dehumidification) system was investigated under various solar radiation levels (800–1000 W/m2). For each solar radiation level the effect of mass flow rate of coolant water (30–110 kg/h) on water outlet temperature, PV efficiency, PVT thermal efficiency, distilled water production, and plant efficiency was studied. Results show that under each solar radiation level increasing coolant flow rate increases efficiency of PV panel and reduces the plant efficiency. The highest PV efficiency (16.598%) was reached under 800 W/m2 at mass flow rate of 110 kg/h and the highest plant efficiency (43.15%) was reached under 800 W/m2 at a mass flow rate of 30 kg/h. The maximum amount of distilled water production rate (0.82 L/h) was reached under 1000 W/m2 at water mass flow rate of 30 kg/h.

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Future space exploration missions will require new and innovative approaches to supplying electric power. Due to the very high transportation cost associated with the lunar and Mars missions, the mass of these power systems will be a critical factor. Power systems currently being considered for these applications include both nonnuclear and nuclear systems.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">For lunar applications, the 354-hour-long nighttime presents a formidable challenge to energy storage technology for nonnuclear power systems. Because of their low energy densities, energy storage systems can be prohibitively massive at higher power levels. Consequently, the nonnuclear power systems may be limited to low-power mission applications on the surface of the Moon. Eliminating or greatly reducing the need for energy storage makes these systems competitive with nuclear power systems.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">A Free Electron Laser (FEL) power system based in lunar orbit was examined for providing power by beaming energy to the lunar surface. The FEL power system was compared with surface-based nuclear and nonnuclear power systems over a range of user power requirements. Preliminary results show the laser power beaming system to be increasingly competitive on a mass basis with the nonnuclear power at power levels above 50 kWe. However, compared with a surface-based nuclear power plant, the laser beaming power system is an unattractive option unless, for some reason, a nuclear plant cannot be situated on the lunar surface.</div>

Nuclear accident consequence assessment is used to predict the total distribution of all the consequences of the release of radioactive material in the environment. Due to the development of computer technology and technology of computer simulation of atmospheric dispersion, the nuclear accident consequence assessment software system, which is designed and constructed on the basic of computerized model of atmospheric dispersion and dose calculation, is widely used in the realm of emergency response in nuclear power plants. As an E-type software system, nuclear accident consequence assessment system focuses on solving practical issues and needs in the field of accident consequence assessment. The evolution of the system follows the laws of software evolution. This paper introduces the background knowledge and basic concepts of nuclear accident consequence assessment system. Spiral model is used in the whole life cycle of evolution process according to the characteristic and complexity of the system. The initial version of the system is designed and constructed on the basic of the requirements of nuclear power plant and universal technology and model in the realm of nuclear accident consequence assessment. According to the practice of system reengineering, the evolution process of nuclear accident consequence assessment system is divided into three main phases or cycles in this paper. The main process of three-phase evolution is studied on the basic of spiral model. In each phase, the details of requirements change and application scenarios are studied and discussed deeply. Then, the key issues including impact analysis, system reengineering and CASE tools of evolution process are discussed separately in the paper. The nuclear accident consequence assessment system discussed in this paper has been applied in Ningde Nuclear Power Plant, Taishan Nuclear Power Plant, Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant in China. The practical application and improvement process of the system are discussed from the standpoint of software evolution. Moreover, the specific process, method, technologies, tools and issues are studied deeply in the paper. The research contents have great significance for software design, construction and evolution of nuclear accident consequence assessment system or other related software.

Mathematical modeling and performance analysis for multi-effect evaporation/multi-effect evaporation with thermal vapor compression desalination system

Fuel allocation in a combined steam-injected gas turbine and thermal seawater desalination system

Solar desalination system with a focal point concentrator using different nanofluids

MSF nuclear desalination