SPECIAL REPORT | NUCLEAR SYNFUELS
Right: A low-carbon replacement for the vast scale of the fossil fuels industry can only be met with substantial volumes of biomass
Forsberg identifies several key trends that are
underway, and which plot a path for nuclear synfuel deployment in conjunction with a burgeoning biofuels sector. “Our analysis supports using existing refineries with front end changes to accept various biomass feed stocks. That is already happening. The original biofuels model was the stand-alone biofuels plant producing a final product for the customer. Most of the recent announcements are different biofuels companies producing bio-crudes shipped to local refineries. That is all driven by economics and we see acceleration of that trend.” He also mentions the attractive heat characteristics
Below: Cellulosic biomass could be an important part of the nuclear synfuels story
of nuclear power which complement the massive heat demands of chemical plants and refineries. Forsberg highlights the recent announcement by DOW Chemical which intends to install four high-temperature SMRs at the Seadrift chemical site in Texas. Featuring X-energy’s Xe-100 SMR design, DOW’s project aims to deliver power and steam production to match the sites requirements with zero carbon emissions. Each reactor will produce 200 MW of heat, collectively delivering 800 MW of heat. DOW estimate a 400,000 tonne reduction of CO2
emissions per
year. Construction is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed by the end of this decade. Forsberg comments: “What is noteworthy is that these reactors are designed for the chemical market that includes refineries”. The heat
inputs to the chemical and biofuels industries may exceed the existing heat outputs of the current nuclear fleet. The near-term hydrogen source will likely be natural gas to hydrogen with sequestering carbon dioxide where there is cheap natural gas and good sequestration sites. Nuclear is the hydrogen everywhere choice.
The future beckons Despite the political and economic challenges, del Barrio is emphatic that the nuclear resurgence is significant for a future synfuels market. “When you take the lifecycle costs you will see that
synthetic fuels running on nuclear power plants are the cheapest option and are needed to achieve the total decarbonisation of the economy,” he continues, “as nations start building reactors and getting these new machines online, that will then lead to synthetic fuel production, then we need to use that tool to decarbonise our liquid fuels transport system”. del Barrio concludes: “There are countries that are
already pushing for nuclear power and when they have nuclear power, they will have nuclear synthetic fuels.” Asked about the global situation Dr Forsberg sums up:
“The way I would put it is that we’re stumbling around in the dark if you look at a lot of carbon policies. They’re based more on what we wish to be true rather than what is true. The engineering realities at the end of the day, like available forms of carbon are going to drive things.” Dr Forsberg also highlights the role of nuclear in meeting the need for low-carbon energy: “You need steady-state heat for the chemical industry which matches nuclear. In a low-carbon world, your options are limited, you either burn- natural gas with carbon capture or use nuclear. You have an industry that intrinsically needs an awful lot of heat, which of course nuclear reactors produce.” Looking ahead del Barrio is also optimistic: “In the fifties
we were dreaming of having nuclear cars and I think in the future we are going to run vehicles on nuclear, because we will have synthetic fuels produced with nuclear fuels. That’s going to be a reality. Whether they run on electricity that is coming from nuclear power plants, whether they’re running on fuel that is coming from nuclear power plants, at the end of the day, nuclear is going to be a part of the solution.” ■
26 | December 2023 |
www.neimagazine.com
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