Advancing Nuclear Power with Lead-Bismuth Reactor Technology

1. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power LEAD-BISMUTH REACTOR TECHNOLOGY CONVERSION: FROM NS REACTORS TO POWER REACTORS ANDWAYS OF INCREASING THE INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS OF NUCLEAR POWER BASED ON FAST REACTORS A.V. Zrodnikov, G.I. Toshinsky (IPPE), U.G. Dragunov, V.S. Stepanov, N.N. Klimov (EDO “Gidropress”),I.I. Kopytov, V.N. Krushelnitsky, (“Atomenergoproekt”), N.I. Yermakov (Minatom), A.G. Kornienko (“Rosenergoatom”) All Russian Federation 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation

2. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power INTRODUCTION (1) • Sustainable development is impossible without usage of fast reactors operating in the closed fuel cycle • Despite the successful industrial demonstration of fast reactors technology, they have not been extensively developed 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 2

3. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power INTRODUCTION (2) • The major cause is that the fast reactors are more expensive then the thermal ones • This is caused by application of sodium as coolant that makes it possible to provide intensive heat removal and ensure a short doubling time of plutonium 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 3

4. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power INTRODUCTION (3) • Even today at low costs of natural uranium it is an opportunity to increase considerably the investment attractiveness of nuclear power based on fast reactors if the task of breeding the plutonium with a short doubling time, that is not actual, is cancelled • This opportunity is coupled with use of an innovative nuclear power technology in which there is no conflict between the safety requirements and economic requirements that is peculiar to the traditional nuclear power technologies 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 4

5. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power INTRODUCTION (4) • This nuclear power technology is a technology based on usage of small power modular fast reactors SVBR-75/100 with heavy liquid metal coolant – lead-bismuth eutectic alloy that has been mastered in Russia for nuclear submarines’ reactors 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 5

6. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power ASSURING AVAILABLE BISMUTH RESOURCES • In compliance with the available bismuth resources, the scales of nuclear power for Pb-Bi alloy of the eutectic content (56% of bismuth, melting point is ~125C) can be as follows (need for bismuth is ~1100 t/GWe): • ~ 70 GWe on the basis of mining the bismuth sources in the Chita region, • ~ 270 GWe on the basis of mining the bismuth sources in the Kazakhstan. IN RUSSIA: • Not less than ~ 350 GWe on the basis of the known ore mines (in compliance with the USA Mining Bureau data), • Not less than ~ 4000 GWe on the basis of mining the nonmetalliferous bismuth sources (in compliance with the JNC data, Japan) IN THE WORLD: • Changing over to the Pb‑Bi alloy of the non-eutectic content (10% of bismuth, melting point is ~250C) makes it possible to increase the nuclear power scales by 5.5 correspondingly 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 6

7. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIENCE IN USING LEAD-BISMUTH COOLANT (1) • At the beginning of 50-ties the USSR started development of reactor installation (RI) with lead-bismuth coolant (LBC) for nuclear submarines (NSs) • Eight nuclear submarines were constructed in the USSR in total with RI using LBC • Two full-scale ground-based reactor test prototypes with LBC were constructed and operated • Total operating lifetime of RI with LBC was about 80 reactor-years 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 7

8. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIENCE IN USING LEAD-BISMUTH COOLANT (2) • In the course of designing and operating the LBC cooled reactor installations at the NSs, a set of principal science and engineering problems on mastering the LBC technologies has been solved: – Assuring corrosion resistance of structural materials, controlling the LBC quality, and controlling the mass-transfer processes in the reactor circuit, – Assuring personnel’s radiation safety when carrying out works with the equipment contaminated with polonium-210 radionuclide in the course of operating, maintenance and refueling, – Multiple coolant “freezing-unfreezing” in the reactor installation 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 8

9. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIENCE IN USING LEAD-BISMUTH COOLANT (3) • The new nuclear power technology has demonstrated on the industrial scale that there are no analogs in the world-wide practice • Nowadays, there are favorable conditions for implementation of this technology in civil nuclear power engineering 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 9

10. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power , 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 10

11. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power BASIC ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PROJECT • State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation – Institute for Physics and Power Engineering named after A.I.Leypunsky — leading organization in development of fast neutron reactors and liquid metal coolants • Federal Enterprise - Experimental Design Organization “GIDROPESS” — Chief Designer of all VVER-type reactors and lead-bismuth cooled reactors for nuclear submarines • Federal Enterprise “Atomenergoproekt” — Chief Designer of NPPs with VVER-type reactors and SVBR-75/100 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 11

12. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power BASIC STATEMENTS OF SVBR-75/100 CONCEPT (1) • Reactor integral design is used with the core, primary circuit equipment and steam generators (SGs) arranged in a common vessel of the reactor monoblock without any valves and pipelines containing LBC • Two-circuit system of heat removal and steam generator with multiple natural circulation over the secondary side are used 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 12

13. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power BASIC STATEMENTS OF SVBR-75/100 CONCEPT (2) • An ability of fuel self-providing when operating in the closed NFC with using mixed uranium-plutonium fuel (both the oxide and the nitride ones), as core breeding ratio exceeds 1 (CBR  1) • The structural materials, primary and secondary circuits’ mode parameters mastered in the ship nuclear installations and NPP reactors are used 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 13

14. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power BASIC STATEMENTS OF SVBR-75/100 CONCEPT (3) • Providing the levels of coolants' natural circulation (NC) in the heat-removal circuits to be sufficient enough to ensure reactor's heat decay removal without dangerous over-heating of the core • A reactor monoblock is installed in the water tank. The tank is a seismic- resistant support structure, performs the radiation protection function and provides an entirely passive RI cooling. At this, heat decay is transferred to the water tank via the reactor vessel. In the event of blacking out the NPP, heat is removed due to water evaporating at boiling 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 14

15. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power BASIC STATEMENTS OF SVBR-75/100 CONCEPT (4) • On ending the lifetime, refueling can be performed at once, FSA-by-FSA with the help of the refueling equipment kit • The RI equipment can be repaired or replaced • Factory manufacturing of the reactor monoblock that ensures high quality of works, and production in large quantities ensures violent reduction of manufacturing costs • A small power fast reactor (~ 100 MWe). Transportability of the RI monoblock, including by railway. This provides an opportunity of RI multi-purpose usage 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 15

16. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power SAFETY CONCEPT (1) • INHERENT REACTORSELF-PROTECTION: - negative reactivity feedbacks, - low primary circuit pressure, - chemically inert coolant, - sufficiently high natural circulation over the primary and secondary circuits, - integral design of the primary circuit, - availability of guard reactor vessel 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 16

17. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power SAFETY CONCEPT (2) • PASSIVE SAFETY SYSTEMS: - fusible locks of safety rods to provide passive core shutdown at coolant overheating over 700C in case ofservodrives fault - bursting disk (membrane) to prevent reactor vessel from overpressure over 1.0 MPa in case of large SG leak - passive residual heat removal in case of NPP blackout due to heat transfer through reactor and guard vessels walls to water tank: water evaporation makes possible 5 days let-along period (grace period) 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 17

18. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power FEATURES OF INNOVATION NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY BASED ON RI SVBR-75/100 • FAST NEUTRON MODULAR REACTOR COOLED WITH LEAD-BISMUTH COOLANT:– inherent safety: - some severe accidents are deterministically impossible; - no need in many safety systems that necessary for traditional reactors; - an ability of direct demonstration of reactor tolerance to the personnel’s errors, equipment failure and their multiple combinations, I.e. robustness; - simplification and cost reducing of the reactor installation. • MODULAR NPP UNIT STRUCTURE: – serial production of “standard” factory-made reactor modules: - increase in manufacturing quality and module cost reducing– construction of NPP of different capacity using “standard” reactor module: - NPP construction cost reducing– standard designing, construction and mounting of NPP units with “standard” reactor modules: - reducing the NPP unit construction term down to 3…3.5 years, increased competitive ability. 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 18

19. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power REACTOR MONOBLOCK (RMB) MCP RMB vessel contains the core, the whole equipment of the primary circuit and SG modules Absence of pipelines and primary circuit’s valves outside the RMB vessel prevents coolant loss CPS drives SG modules RMB vessel Reactor core 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 19

20. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power SVBR-75/100 RI EQUIPMENT LAYOUT SVBR-75/100 RI main equipment is arranged in the sealed reactor compartment The number and configuration of the reactor boxes can be different, depending on the NPP unit capacity Reactor compartment Concrete vault Reactor monoblock PHRS tank 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 20

21. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power STAGES OF USING DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUEL AND FUEL CYCLES (1) . • At the currently existing low costs of natural uranium and services necessary for its enrichment use of oxide uranium fuel with postponed reprocessing and storing the SNF in “dry” repositories on the NPP site will be economically justified for the first RIs SVBR‑75/100 made in production quantities • Changing over to the closed fuel cycle for the SVBR‑75/100 reactors will have the lower cost if for fabrication of the first fuel load from MOX-fuel we use plutonium that has not been extracted from thermal reactors’ spent nuclear fuel (SNF) but has been extracted from the own SNF of uranium loads • ` 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 21

22. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power STAGES OF USING DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUEL AND FUEL CYCLES (2) • When reactors SVBR‑75/100 operate in the closed nuclear fuel cycle (NFC), direct utilization of thermal reactors’ SNF (without separating uranium, plutonium, minor actinides, and fission products) as make up fuel instead of waste pile uranium is possible (like the DUPIC‑technology) • Therefore, the following opportunity appears: to develop a principally new strategy of the closed NFC that does not require preliminary expensive reprocessing of the thermal reactors’ SNF for the purpose to extract plutonium for supplying the fast reactors with fuel 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 22

23. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power NON-PROLIFERATION OF FISSILE MATERIALS • At the stage of fabricating the initial fuel load by using oxide uranium fuel, nuclear fissile materials non-proliferation is ensured due to use of uranium with U‑235 enrichment being less than 20 % • At the stage of SNF storing, non-proliferation is ensured by the fact that built-up plutonium is not purified from high-radioactive fission products (“the spent fuel standard”) • At the stage of SNF reprocessing, proliferation resistance is ensured by the fact that built-up plutonium is separated from uranium together with built-up MA 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 23

24. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power COMPARABLE PARAMETERS OF DIFFERENT NPP * The additional margin cost being ~17 % (as compared with normative one) is taken into account that is 60 % of the RI equipment cost ** Taking into account the opportunities of overheated steam generation and fuel claddings temperature rising. 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 24

25. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power ACCELERATION OF THE PACE OF NUCLEAR POWER DEVELOPMENT WITH APPLICATION OF REACTORS SVBR-75/100 FOR RENOVATION OF THE NPP UNITS (1) • The pace of nuclear power development in market conditions at the expense of electricity sales is determined mainly by the specific capital costs of constructing power units • The strictest requirements to economic parameters of the introduced power units will arise at the approaching stage of nuclear power development, at which it will be necessary to simultaneously invest money in withdrawing the “old” units from operating, construction of replacing power capacities and construction of units developing the nuclear power 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 25

26. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power ACCELERATION OF THE PACE OF NUCLEAR POWER DEVELOPMENT WITH APPLICATION OF REACTORS SVBR-75/100 FOR RENOVATION OF THE NPP UNITS (2) • By analogy with fast breeder reactors, the dynamics of nuclear power development at the expense of power company investment possibility can be characterized by: • - the investment breeding ratio coefficient (IBR) of the • NPP capacities • - the time of doubling the total set up power of the NPP 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 26

27. Parameter Nuclear power technology IBR T2 (Tph) years P(Pr) GWe/y Only VVER-1000 0,88 (183) (0,877) Only VVER-1500 1,057 398 0,057 SVBR-75/100 + VVER-1000 1,391 57,5 0,391 SVBR-75/100 + VVER-1500 1,471 47,8 0,471 International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power DYNAMICS OF NUCLEAR POWER DEVELOPMENT WHEN DIFFERENT NUCLEAR POWER TECHNOLOGIES ARE USED ON EXPIRING THE POTENTIALS OF “CHEAP” INCREASE – 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 27

28. International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power CONCLUSION • Nuclear power based on the NPPs with the considered type reactors can be competitive with heat electric power based on the modern steam-gas HPPs not only at the liberalized electricity market, but at the investment market as well • A high level of technological readiness makes it possible to construct the first reactor installation SVBR‑75/100 (first-of-a-kind) by the years 2010…2012 • The least construction cost - $100M - will be in Russian conditions: the proposed reactor module could be placed in the reactor building of the shut down second unit of the Novo-Voronezh NPP 27 June-2 July 2004, Obninsk, Russian Federation 28