EC6 and CANMOX Advanced Fuel Technology for Plutonium Reuse Utility-Proven Technology Provides Safe, Timely and Affordable Waste Solutions Sites Using CANMOX™ Fuel
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EC6 and CANMOX Advanced Fuel Technology for Plutonium Reuse Utility-proven technology provides safe, timely and affordable waste solutions Sites Using CANMOX™ Fuel Sellaÿeld Site Power Offoad to MACSTOR® passive dry storage Plant and secure until geological disposal facility (GDF) available Secure and protected plutonium and depleted uranium (DU) storage Up to 2.8GW(e) available Lease of plutonium Inventory storage & & DU from Nuclear delivery of CANMOX™ fuel Decommissioning pellets to fuel fabrication Authority Offoad to transport Deliver container and fnished fuel deliver to GDF Fuel Plant to new fuel storage CANMOX™ fuel pellet plant CANDU® automated fuel fabrication facility GDF Repository Built on the successful track record of The EC6 is a thermal reactor that builds on decades CANDU® nuclear technology, and including of successful commercial CANDU experience, and the CANMOX solution uses the MOX fuel adaptation of the the most recent safety and technical standard CANFLEX fexible fuel design. Like its sister advances, the Enhanced CANDU 6® (EC6®) product, the Advanced Fuel CANDU Reactor (AFCR™), our MOX-ready EC6 incorporates incremental design is the latest model in SNC-Lavalin’s CANDU enhancements that improve safety performance, fuel reactor line, comprising a Generation III 700 utilization, economic competitiveness and operational MWe class reactor, with traditional, mixed fexibility. The EC6 is designed to exceed post-Fukushima oxide (MOX) and advanced fuel capabilities. safety standards. The EC6 reactor, coupled with CANMOX™ EC6 Generation III enhancements include: full life cycle fuel technology, is a proven, > Design life of 60 years MOX-ready solution for plutonium reuse > Increased safety and operating margins that can be affordably deployed without > Multi-fuel capability frst-of-a-kind (FOAK) risk. > Resistant to internal and external threats > Inherently robust against accidents > Enhanced loss of power management capabilities > Core damage prevention features > Advanced fre protection Fuel The MOX-ready EC6 has been uniquely conceived among all the world’s reactors with fexible fuel capabilities at its very heart. The proven near homogeneous CANDU reactor core and fuel bundle are optimized for MOX fuels, while retaining traditional and advanced fuel capabilities. The patented CANFLEX® fuel bundle provides a safe and secure carrier for the various fuel types available to the plant operator. Plutonium Reuse A Tradition of Continuous Innovation The CANMOX solution is a safe, proven and affordable The Generation III EC6 reactor builds on over 40 years of answer to plutonium reuse as MOX. This mission dedicated experience of delivering CANDU reactor solutions to a solution can make the total UK civil plutonium inventory global operator base. There are 47 CANDU or CANDU-type safe in less than 30 years. CANMOX is MOX but with a less reactors currently operating. Our EC6 reactor successfully demanding fuel pellet, a simpler fuel carrier, a single fuel completed the fnal stage of the Canadian Nuclear Safety type and therefore a less expensive and more reliable fuel Commission (CNSC) pre-project design review in June 2013 fabrication plant. and is ready for deployment to operators requiring high safety margins, on-schedule and on-budget construction, high performance, economic competitiveness and reliability. SNC-Lavalin’s MOX-ready EC6 and CANMOX The EC6 advances the workhorse CANDU design to technology offer an early deployment, a new level of performance, incorporating safety and operational advantages while retaining the provenness low risk, cost-effective solution to fulfll of the reactor fundamentals. The fundamental CANDU plutonium reuse objectives for both civilian design incorporates: and eventual weapons-sourced stockpiles. > Horizontal fuel channels > Full load, on-power refuelling > Simple, capable fuel design manufacture CANDU fuel is safe, capable, economical and reliable. > Separate low pressure heavy water moderator CANDU fuel fabrication capability is being delivered > Water-flled reactor vault daily to operators across the globe and has already been > Active and passive core cooling capability automated, as required for the proposed CANMOX solution. > Two independent, fast-acting shutdown systems > Inherent emergency cooling capability > Accessible reactor building for on-power maintenance Advanced Safety and CANDU reactor design has inherent safety features as defences against severe accidents. A cool, low-pressure Environmental Features moderator provides a passive heat sink to absorb decay The EC6 incorporates the inherent safety features of heat from the fuel for postulated conditions of beyond globally-deployed, commercial CANDU reactors that have design basis accidents (BDBAs). A large volume of water safely operated for decades. The EC6 core features fuel- contained in the calandria vault that surrounds the reactor related safety enhancements and safety performance core provides the second passive heat sink and can further beyond that of the natural uranium-fuelled CANDU reactor. slow down or arrest severe core damage progression. Furthermore, the EC6 design also provides a dedicated Consistent with the concept of defence in depth, our EC6 severe accident recovery and heat removal system provides a series of defences (features, equipment and (SARHRS) to minimize the risks of severe accidents. This procedures) to prevent accidents and to ensure appropriate system, which includes gravity-driven, passive water supply accident protection. The EC6 maintains a series of physical lines and a pump-driven recovery circuit, is designed to barriers to confne radioactive material at specifed arrest and contain any severe core damage within the locations and, ultimately, within the containment structure. calandria vessel and ensure that the containment integrity is maintained following a BDBA. For security and physical protection, the EC6 design The MOX-ready EC6 incorporates encompasses the required response to potential common incremental design enhancements that mode events, such as fres, aircraft crashes and internal and external threats. improve safety performance, fuel capability, affordability and operational fexibility. CANDU reactor operation has very low emissions to minimize environmental impact. Our CANMOX solution additionally features a zero-liquid emission design. Following our traditional CANDU reactor design practice, the EC6 incorporates two passive, fast-acting shutdown systems that are physically and functionally independent of each other. EC6 safety systems are designed to ensure reactor shutdown, remove decay heat and prevent radioactive releases during events and accidents. The principles of separation, diversity and high reliability apply to the design of the safety systems that perform the safety functions, including shutdown systems, emergency core cooling system and containment systems. The traditional emergency water supply system has been upgraded to become an enhanced emergency heat removal system (EHRS), operating as an alternate heat sink for residual decay heat following postulated low probability accidents that render normal heat sinks unavailable. High degrees of redundancy within systems ensure safety functions can be carried out. Designed with Customers in Mind International Track Record The EC6 incorporates strong operational utility experience The last seven CANDU plants have been built on schedule from CANDU operators around the world. and on budget or better—the best construction performance by any nuclear vendor. SNC-Lavalin CANDU’s reactors are CANDU reactors use a unique reactor technology designed backed by a strong Canadian and international supply chain to allow for full load, on-power refuelling and online that has delivered successful CANDU reactor projects to maintenance. Utilities in Canada, Europe, Asia and South our global customers with high localized content. We will America rely on CANDU technology to deliver higher lifetime qualify local suppliers and provide all management and capacity factors than competing technologies. operator training necessary to support its CANDU products. The CANMOX-fuelled EC6 is designed for EACH TWIN REACTOR an average lifetime capacity factor of >92% for a 60-year operational life. EC6 BUILD SAVES CANDU technology is very effcient in using low-enriched Up to nuclear fuels. This allows the CANMOX project to meet MILLION safety requirements and performance levels. On completion of the plutonium reuse mission the operator can then make 13 TONNES choices as to their fuel preference between traditional OF CO2 EMISSIONS/YEAR uranium, recovered uranium, MOX or other advanced fuels. when displacing traditional coal Up to Clean Energy Our CANMOX solution would produce enough low carbon MILLION electricity to power 5 million homes in the UK, with no 6 TONNES emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide, toxic heavy OF CO2 EMISSIONS/YEAR metals, aerosols, ozone or other pollutants. when displacing natural gas NUCLEAR OFFICE 2285 Speakman Drive Mississauga, ON, L5K 1B1, Canada Telephone: +1 905 823 9040 Email: [email protected] www.snclavalin.com/nuclear ® Registered trademark of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL), used under licence by Candu Energy Inc., a Member of the SNC-Lavalin Group. PRINTED IN CANADA ™ Trademark of Candu Energy Inc., a Member of the SNC-Lavalin Group. 203_2015-08 .