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Russia’s Brest-OD-300 fast reactor
Rapid progress at
round up
NEW BUILD
BRAZILIAN NUCLEAR UTILITY Eletronuclear (part of state-owned power company Eletrobras) has taken issue with a report from the Court of Auditors of the Union which indicated an increase in the energy tariff would follow the eventual entry into operation of unit 3 of the Angra NPP now under construction. It said the data used was preliminary.
CZECH POWER COMPANY its Elektrárna Dukovany II subsidiary has extended the deadline for submitting updated bids to construct unit 5 at the Dukovany NPP with binding options three more units – Dukovany 6 and two at the Temelin NPP. The extension was requested by Électricité de France (EDF), one of the bidders, the other being Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP).
Above: The BREST-OD 300 is the first lead-cooled nitride-fuelled fast neutron reactor Source: Rosatom
Russia’s Federal Service for Ecological, Technological & Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor) has issued a licence to the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC – part of Rosatom fuel company TVEL) for the operation of a module for fabrication and refabrication of nuclear fuel (MFR) at the pilot demonstration power complex (ODEK). The ODEK project is part of the Breakthrough
(Proryv) project intended to demonstrate closed fuel cycle technology. It is based on the Brest-OD-300 lead cooled fast reactor supported by the MFR and a module for reprocessing irradiated fuel. The MFR is planned for commissioning this year; the reactor is scheduled for grid connection in 2027; and construction of the reprocessing unit is planned to start in 2025-2026 for commissioning in 2030. The single site will be capable of
manufacturing and recycling the reactor fuel. An innovative mixed dense nitride uranium- plutonium fuel has been developed (SNUP fuel) for the Brest reactor. It is based on depleted uranium, which is a by-product of uranium enrichment for nuclear reactors, as well as plutonium extracted from irradiated nuclear fuel.
At the next stage, after receiving the
appropriate permission of Rostekhnadzor to handle plutonium, the MFR equipment will be used to produce SNUP directly from the used BREST reactor fuel. The repeated recycling of SNUP fuel will expand the nuclear energy resource base. It will also use the accumulated reserves of depleted uranium which result from the enrichment process, which would otherwise need to be stored. This radically reduces the generation of nuclear waste and its activity.
Four technological lines will be used to
produce SNUP at the ODEK complex. These include a line of carbothermic synthesis of mixed uranium nitrides and plutonium; a line for making SNUP fuel tablets; an assembly line for fuel elements; and a line for the production line of completed fuel assemblies. Used fuel from the Brest reactor will be sent for refabrication after processing. In this way this system will gradually become almost autonomous and independent of external energy supplies, except for depleted uranium from stores at the enrichment plants. The MFR is almost complete. Currently the equipment on production lines is being tested. In March, in a video-link to the international forum ATOMEXPO-2024 test launch of the carbon thermal synthesis line took place. Obtaining a Rostekhnadzor licence will allow for comprehensive testing of the equipment of all the fuel production lines. Meanwhile, the reactor shell of the
Brest-OD-300 reactor is nearing completion according to general contractor Titan-2. Work is in full swing in the reactor building and installation of the reactor shell should be completed by the end of the year. Work continues on the assembly of the Brest containment. Concreting work continues at the
construction site. The volume of concrete planned for use in 2024 is 40,000 cubic metres. At the moment, the construction of main structures of the reactor compartment and engine room is underway. Work continues on auxiliary buildings and structures. In total, about 1,500 people are involved in the work from several specialist organisation. ■
SPECIALISTS OF RUSSIA’S ESCM have completed the full range of electrical work on the reloading machine at unit 1 of the Rooppur NPP under construction in Bangladesh. This ensures that the main equipment is ready for commissioning and paves the way for reactor assembly.
WORK HAS BEGUN on the foundation of the evaporative cooling tower for unit 7 at the Leningrad NPP. As part of the project, 919 piles with a diameter of 0.6 metres and a length of 35 metres will be used to lay the foundation for the cooling tower. Construction of the tower will require more than 13,000 cubic metres of concrete. At a final height of 179 metres, it will become one of the highest structures in the Leningrad region.
PLANT OPERATION CZECH POWER COMPANY that unit 3 at the Dukovany NPP for the first time had achieved a heat output of 1,475 MWt, which is 2.3% more than before and corresponds to an output of 511 MWe under optimal climatic conditions. The annual production of the Dukovany NPP should increase by approximately 300,000 MWh next year after modifications to all four units.
US PSEG (PUBLIC Service Enterprise notified the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it intends to seek subsequent licence renewal for the units Together these produce nearly half of New Jersey’s electricity and 85% of the state’s carbon-free generation.
www.neimagazine.com | May 2024 | 7
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