Floating power-generating unit with a KLT-40S reactor system for desalinating sea water

Abstract

It is concluded on the basis of predictions of the growth in demand for fresh water that nuclear desalination has promise. The world status of and experience in nuclear desalination are reviewed. The requirements for using nuclear-powered desalination complexes are examined. Substantiation is given for the desirability and practicability of building such complexes in floating units based on the type of reactors used in ships. The basic design characteristics of a floating complex with a KLT-40S nuclear power system are presented.Fresh water is rapidly becoming a natural resource in short supply. In the 20th century the demand for fresh water increased by a factor of 7 while the population of the planet only tripled. A shortage of fresh water is felt in more than 40 countries, mainly located in arid and drought-afflicted regions and comprising about 60% of the entire dry-land area on Earth. According to UN data, the shortage of fresh water in the world, including for agricultural and industrial needs, is estimated to be 230·10 9 m 3 /yr. By 2025, this figure can increase to (1.3-2)·10 12 m 3 /yr. According to UNESCO predictions, by 2050 7·10 9 people in 60 countries according to pessimistic predictions (2·10 9 people in 48 countries according to optimistic predictions) will experience a shortage of fresh water [1, 2].Although our country possesses enormous stores of fresh water and they are distributed quite uniformly, the watersupply situation in some regions is not an exception from the general trend.A shortage of fresh water can be covered by desalinating salt waters with salt-content exceeding 10 g/liter and brackish (2-10 g/liter) ocean, sea, and underground waters, which comprise 98% of all water on Earth. For this reason, desalination is one of the main variants of the solution to the problem of a shortage of fresh water. When sources of fresh water are far away, on-site desalination of salt water could be cheaper than fresh water which is brought in. Moreover, the state of modern fresh-water sources is often such that it costs more to purify them than to desalinate sea water.Desalination of sea water is on of the most dynamically developing sectors of the world economy. The average yearly rate of growth of the desalination capacity in the world is about 10%. In 1995, the size of the market for desalination of sea water was about 3·10 9 USD and IAEA predicts that by 2015 it will reach 12·10 9 USD. At the present time, the main consumers of desalinated water are concentrated in the Near East (70% of the total volume), while the fraction in Europe is 9.9%, the USA 7.4% (mainly in California and Florida), Africa 6.3%, and other Asian countries 5.8%.Desalination of sea water is a practical and reliable process for obtaining fresh water on commercial scales. Approximately 23·10 6 m 3 /day of desalinated water is now produced by 12500 plants built in various parts of the world. The energy for these plants comes mainly from fossil fuels.Membrane and distillation desalination technologies are most widely used at th...

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