What China is about to test is small, but it has enormous importance for the energy future of that country and the world.
Near the city of Wuwéi (Gansu province , center-north) a nuclear reactor of about three meters high and with the capacity to generate two megawatts , which is enough to power about 1. 000 homes.
Generating so little energy does not seem like a good deal for an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars what China has done in this energy program.
But it is the type of nuclear reaction and the processing that will put to the test what has on the edge of the chair scientists from the world waiting to see its results.
“Today’s question is: are the support technologies prepared to do the Molten Salt Reactor (RSF) the next generation technology? “says nuclear engineer Charles Forsberg, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA.
is important because it is the first step to rethink the path of nuclear energy : if things have changed and now there is another direction ”, he explains to BBC Mundo.
Molten salt and thorium
One of the best sources to produce electricity – despite its image affected by accidents such as Chernobyl or Fukushima – has been nuclear energy since its invention.
Generates more electricity than others, almost does not emit carbon dioxide , guarantees a continuous supply, uses relatively accessible fuels and its waste is much more controllable than from other sources.
Most of the world’s nuclear power plants use uranium as fuel.
But what they are testing in China is a method that, although not new, has never been tested on such a large scale.
They are using molten salt of fluoride in combination with thorium , which is a chemical element found in minerals and that is “ four times ”more to abundant on the planet than uranium, says Forsberg.
In a reactor, both elements combine to produce a physical reaction (fission) that generates more heat than that emanated from uranium – 235 / 370 combined with plutonium from the traditional method.
“RSFs supply heat at higher temperatures than other reactors, between 600 and 700 ° C. Heat at higher temperatures is more valuable “, Says Forsberg.
Another advantage, according to the theory, is that radioactive waste can be disposed of in the same process, which prevents it from falling into the wrong hands, such as nuclear weapons manufacturers.
And since this Process type does not require water , as in nuclear plants that use uranium – 233, RFS can be built in remote places and thus avoid any possible risk to the population, such as those seen in Chernobyl or Fukushima.
All this has led to this being described as the “holy grail” of energy sources.
But experts say that all this is yet to be verified in the Chinese test, hence it is so important.
“With the critical need to reduce carbon emissions and the growing global demand for electricity, it is urgent to commercialize advanced reactor technologies,” says nuclear engineer Everett Redmond, of the Institute of Nuclear Energy. from the USA, to BBC Mundo.
For Forsberg, “the thorium / uranium molten salt reactor- 233 is the path not taken ”in the electrical industry that uses a nuclear source.
“There are great potential advantages in terms of safety and waste management, but important technical challenges,” says the MIT scientist.
What’s next?
China revealed last August that it is about to carry out the first tests in its experimental reactor built in the Gobi desert, in Gansu province.
The Asian giant has invested about 3. 000 million yuan (US $ 549 million) in a program started in 2011 to investigate the use of molten salt and thorium / uran io – 233.
The reactor built and operated by the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (IFAS) is the first in trying for commercial use : the electricity supply.
Other countries had already experienced this process, but they were only left in trials because the necessary technology to handle it did not exist.
They not only require that nuclear fission works well, but the process to obtain the heat and transport it to a thermodynamic plant works properly. And that the failure tests were controllable.
“Many of the RFS challenges have disappeared due to advances in other fields during 50 years ”, as the necessary pumping technology for this type of reactor, which is already used in solar plants, explains Forsberg.
What IFAS operators hope is that everything will work out as is planned to bring technology to a larger scale.
Why is it futuristic?
The energy generated by the Wuwéi experimental reactor will have a minimum capacity of 2 megawatts to supply a thousand houses.
The plan is than for 4694 a reactor is built that generates around 370 megawatts, a capacity that would power more than 185. 000 homes.
By generating a higher temperature, close to 700 ° C, an RSF becomes more valuable to the electrical industry.
“Higher temperature heat results in more efficient power cycles: a larger fraction of heat is converted into more electricity “, explains the MIT scientist.
And since in theory its construction has a similar cost to other existing nuclear power plants, the benefit increases.
“If two reactors have identical cost characteristics, the reactor producing higher temperatures p produces a more valuable product, ”says Forsberg.
China would then ensure that it has the most advanced, safe and clean, for the generation of energy in the world .
Not exclusive , as Redmond explains that in the US some firms are also looking to create molten salt reactors. But it is proven.
“All advanced reactor designs have great potential, which is why we support and encourage accelerated development, demonstration and commercial deployment of advanced reactor technologies,” says Redmond.
Still, scientists who are watching what happens in China still have their questions, will it work?
But the mere fact that an idea conceived decades ago is about to be put to the test keeps them with their eyes on the small reactor in Wuwéi.
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