Review of nuclear microreactors: Status, potentialities and challenges

Testoni, Raffaella; Bersano, Andrea; Segantin, Stefano

doi:10.1016/j.pnucene.2021.103822

Cited by 76 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Besides, the study also claimed that the waste volume per unit energy generated can be reduced but required 1231 (2022) 012016 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1231/1/012016 4 additional natural resources due to higher enrichment of the 235 U isotopes. HALEU also may be needed in future advanced reactor technology for improving the fuel utilization and helps in plant economics [17]. Furthermore, the advancement of nuclear reactor technology such as long-term reactor operations, advances nuclear fuel materials, improvement on the reactor design as well as minimizing the waste volume and cost-effectiveness makes the nuclear energy are more feasible and sustainable to the environment, economic and social [18].…”

Section: Nuclear Fuel Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear fuel materials and its sustainability for low carbon energy system: A review

Azman

Ali

Sarkawi

et al. 2022

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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World energy generation for electricity is still dependent on fossil fuels since it is more reliable and secure than the current intermittent renewable energy systems. Although the integration of renewable energy as an energy mix is in progress, still it could not be able to replace fossil fuels. Dependency on fossil fuels will not only contribute to severe climate change but will also degrade future generation quality of life. Hence, the solution to quandary is by integrating nuclear power plants with those of renewable energy such as solar and wind to meet the energy demand and to ensure sustainability of energy source. The current operating nuclear power plants in the world use the concept of water-cooled reactors. It was designed so that the fast neutrons born from fission reactions were slowed down in the moderator to allow other fission reactions events in sustainable chain reactions. Besides, the slow neutrons with low energy is a favourable reactor feature for safe and efficient operation. The common types of nuclear fuel materials in water-cooled reactors are enriched uranium dioxide and natural uranium contained in nuclear fuel elements. After it has been used, the fuel elements will be stored as spent fuel. Prolonged storage of used nuclear fuels will make the volume of nuclear waste high and become hard to manage after a long period of storage. An effort to reprocess the spent fuel as to extract fissile and fertile material to be used in nuclear fuels usually was undertaken to reduce the waste volume. However, this process may lead to an undesirable proliferation of nuclear material. In this review article, research on the advancement of nuclear fuel materials will be discussed based on the reduction method of the nuclear spent fuel volume and radiotoxicity, as well as to study its sustainability for the future low carbon energy system.

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Section: Nuclear Fuel Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear fuel materials and its sustainability for low carbon energy system: A review

Azman

Ali

Sarkawi

et al. 2022

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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“…The main fields of sustainable energy concern both the search for renewable energy sources [3][4][5] and methods for the production of ecological types of energy [6][7][8][9], which differ from traditional types based on hydrocarbon fuel [10][11][12]. The tasks relating to sustainable energy also include the development of technologies for the use of non-renewable energy sources: efficient waste-processing [13][14][15], the construction of nuclear mini-reactors [16], and the creation of energy devices based on the direct conversion of various types of energy into electrical and thermal energy [17][18][19]. A well-known device for directly converting the chemical energy of fuels into electrical energy is a fuel cell [19][20][21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress in the Design, Characterisation and Application of LaAlO3- and LaGaO3-Based Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Electrolytes

Филонова

Medvedev

2022

Nanomaterials

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Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are efficient electrochemical devices that allow for the direct conversion of fuels (their chemical energy) into electricity. Although conventional SOFCs based on YSZ electrolytes are widely used from laboratory to commercial scales, the development of alternative ion-conducting electrolytes is of great importance for improving SOFC performance at reduced operation temperatures. The review summarizes the basic information on two representative families of oxygen-conducting electrolytes: doped lanthanum aluminates (LaAlO3) and lanthanum gallates (LaGaO3). Their preparation features, chemical stability, thermal behaviour and transport properties are thoroughly analyzed in terms of their connection with the target functional parameters of related SOFCs. The data presented here will serve as a starting point for further studies of La-based perovskites, including in the fields of solid state ionics, electrochemistry and applied energy.

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“…They are usually defined as small modular reactors (SMRs) with power outputs in the range 1 to 20 MWe, and benefit from the small size, simple plant layout, and fast on-site installation. 1 A gas-cooled reactor with a closed Brayton cycle (CBC) has low system-specific mass and high energy conversion efficiency for megawatt requirements. A heliumxenon (He-Xe) gas mixture is used as the working fluid and coolant for micro nuclear reactor systems due to the requirements of a compact structure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Micro nuclear reactors with small units can be transported by trucks so that they can be used in diverse commercial and engineering applications, such as generating electricity and heating in remote locations. They are usually defined as small modular reactors (SMRs) with power outputs in the range 1 to 20 MWe, and benefit from the small size, simple plant layout, and fast on‐site installation 1 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary lightweight core design analysis of a micro‐transportable gas‐cooled thermal reactor

Guan

Chai

Zhang

et al. 2022

Intl J of Energy Research

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Micro nuclear reactors with small sizes have a wide range of applications. The present study discusses the lightweight core design for a micro-transportable gas-cooled thermal reactor. The main objective of this design is to reach an output power of 20 MWt for a lifetime of several years without refueling. To this end, a moderator is introduced in the assembly design to help decrease the volume fraction of the fuel inventory, and a reflector slider is used to control reactivity. A two-dimensional assembly model is established using the Monte Carlo code OpenMC to gain insights into the influences of design parameters on the core mass and neutronic performances. In this regard, various parameters, including the assembly configuration, pitch-to-diameter ratio, and moderator material, are analyzed. It is found that using the BeO moderator can achieve a low critical mass of approximately 5 metric tons. To fulfill the target thermal power, 37 fuel assemblies are arrayed in four rings, and pure beryllium is selected as the most appropriate reflector material. Meanwhile, the utilization of a low-density reflector yields a more compact design with a core weight of 8.06 metric tons. Finally, core performance features, including depletion, power profiles, flux distributions, and reactivity feedback coefficients, are analyzed. The obtained results reveal that the proposed design can sustain full power generation for over 10 years without refueling. Moreover, an adequate shutdown margin is ensured using reflector sliders to control the reactivity, and negative reactivity coefficients guarantee the inherent safety of the core.

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Review of nuclear microreactors: Status, potentialities and challenges

Cited by 76 publications

References 15 publications

Nuclear fuel materials and its sustainability for low carbon energy system: A review

Nuclear fuel materials and its sustainability for low carbon energy system: A review

Recent Progress in the Design, Characterisation and Application of LaAlO3- and LaGaO3-Based Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Electrolytes

Preliminary lightweight core design analysis of a micro‐transportable gas‐cooled thermal reactor

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