A Global Review of PWR Nuclear Power Plants
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applied sciences Review A Global Review of PWR Nuclear Power Plants Pablo Fernández-Arias 1,*, Diego Vergara 1 and José A. Orosa 2 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Catholic University of Ávila, C/Canteros, s/n, 05005 Avila, Spain; [email protected] 2 Department of N. S. and Marine Engineering, Universidade da Coruña, Paseo de Ronda, 51, 15011 A Coruña, Spain; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +34-920-251-020 Received: 3 June 2020; Accepted: 25 June 2020; Published: 27 June 2020 Featured Application: This work shows a global review with three analyses of the PWR nuclear design: (i) technical evolution; (ii) level of implementation in the world, and (iii) life extension scenario. Abstract: Nuclear energy is presented as a real option in the face of the current problem of climate change and the need to reduce CO2 emissions. The nuclear reactor design with the greatest global impact throughout history and which has the most ambitious development plans is the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). Thus, a global review of such a reactor design is presented in this paper, utilizing the analysis of (i) technical aspects of the different variants of the PWR design implemented over the past eight years, (ii) the level of implementation of PWR nuclear power plants in the world, and (iii) a life extension scenario and future trends in PWR design based on current research and development (R&D) activity. To develop the second analysis, a statistical study of the implementation of the different PWR variants has been carried out. Such a statistical analysis is based on the operating factor, which represents the relative frequency of reactors operating around the world. The results reflect the hegemony of the western variants in the 300 reactors currently operating, highlighting the North American and French versions. Furthermore, a simulation of a possible scenario of increasing the useful life of operational PWRs up to 60 years has been proposed, seeing that in 2050 the generation capacity of nuclear PWRs power plants will decrease by 50%, and the number of operating reactors by 70%. Keywords: nuclear energy; power; pressurized water reactor; operating factor 1. Introduction Currently, due to the growing demand for energy worldwide, nuclear energy has regained the relevant role it played throughout the past 20th century, as an alternative to CO2-emitting electric power generation technologies. This generation technology presently accounts for 10% of the electrical energy generated in the world. Over the past eighty years, various nuclear reactor designs have been developed around the world, which can be classified according to (i) their configuration and objectives, or (ii) their generation stage. Within the first classification, it is necessary to distinguish between (i) fast reactors and (ii) thermal reactors. The first ones, fast factors, are capable of generating more fissile material than they have consumed. On the other hand, among thermal reactors there are several combinations of moderators—in charge of reducing neutron energy—and coolants—the fluid that transmits the heat generated in the reactor—that have been successfully developed in different nuclear reactor designs. The second classification (thermal reactors) is the most used [1–3] and allows defining the following generations of nuclear reactors (Figure1): Generation I: prototypes built between 1957 and Appl. Sci. 2020, 10, 4434; doi:10.3390/app10134434 www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci Appl. Sci. 2020, 10, 4434 2 of 28 Appl. Sci. 2020, 10, 4434 2 of 28 1963; Generation II: commercial production, built from the mid-1960s onward; Generation III: advanced 1963; Generation II: commercial production, built from the mid-1960s onward; Generation III: advanced reactors—safer and with greater generation capacity, built since the early nineties; Generation III+: reactors—safer and with greater generation capacity, built since the early nineties; Generation III+: nuclear reactors with structural safeguards and/or passive safety features, designed from the 21st nuclear reactors with structural safeguards and/or passive safety features, designed from the 21st century; and finally Generation IV: the highly efficient reactors of the future, with advanced safety century; and finally Generation IV: the highly efficient reactors of the future, with advanced safety features and generating small amount of spent nuclear fuel. features and generating small amount of spent nuclear fuel. FigureFigure 1.1. GenerationsGenerations of nuclear nuclear reactors reactors th throughoutroughout the the past past seventy seventy years. years. ThroughoutThroughout history, history, the the most most developed developed nuclear nuclear reactorreactor designsdesigns have been Generation II II (Figure (Figure 2), with2), with different different fundamental fundamental characteristics characteristics [4–6 ]:[4–6]: (i) PWR (i) PWR (pressurized (pressurized water water reactor): reactor): in whose in whose vessel thevessel coolant the coolant does not does reach not reach boiling boiling temperature. temperature. It It developed developed from from the 1950s; 1950s; (ii); (ii); BWR BWR (boiling (boiling waterwater reactor): reactor): uses uses lightlight waterwater as moderator and and co coolant.olant. It Itdeveloped developed like like the the PWR PWR from from the the1950s; 1950s; (iii)(iii) PHWR PHWR (pressurized (pressurized heavy heavy waterwater reactor): in in which which heavy heavy water—deuterium water—deuterium dioxide, dioxide, D20—was D20—was incorporatedincorporated as as moderator moderator andand coolant.coolant. It It was was developed developed in in Canada Canada from from the the sixties; sixties; and and (iv) (iv) GCR GCR (gas(gas cooled cooled reactor): reactor): the the reactorreactor designdesign that uses uses graphite graphite as as a amoderator moderator and and gas gas as asa coolant. a coolant. It was It was developed in the UK after World War II. Table 1 summarizes the main characteristics of these four developed in the UK after World War II. Table1 summarizes the main characteristics of these four designs (PWR, BWR, PHWR, and GCR), as they are the most important within Generation II. designs (PWR, BWR, PHWR, and GCR), as they are the most important within Generation II. Furthermore, in this group of Generation II reactors, there is another design known as LWGR Furthermore, in this group of Generation II reactors, there is another design known as LWGR (light (light water graphite reactor) or RBMK in its Soviet variant, from the Russian Reaktor Bolshoy water graphite reactor) or RBMK in its Soviet variant, from the Russian Reaktor Bolshoy Moshchnosty Moshchnosty Kanalny. This latest RBMK design is known to be the one that caused the fatal accident Kanalny at the .Chernobyl This latest nuclear RBMK power design plant is known (Ukraine) to be in the 19 one86. The that RBMK caused design the fatal is very accident different at the from Chernobyl the nuclearrest of powerthe power plant reactors, (Ukraine) since in it 1986.is used The simultan RBMKeously design for is both very the di ffproductionerent from of the plutonium rest of the as powerfor reactors,the production since it isof usedelectrical simultaneously energy. for both the production of plutonium as for the production of electricalThe energy. basis for the data research on Nuclear Power Reactors is the Power Reactor Information SystemThe (PRIS) basis fordatabase the data from research the International on Nuclear Atom Poweric Energy Reactors Agency is (IAEA) the Power [6]. Other Reactor authors Information have Systemtaken data (PRIS) from database this database from the for International their research Atomic in nuclear Energy science Agency [7,8]. To (IAEA) study [ 6the]. Other obtained authors data, havea takenparameter data from called this operating database factor for (OF) their has research been used in nuclear in this sciencepaper, which [7,8]. Tois defined study the as obtainedthe relative data, a parameterfrequency of called PWR operatingreactors operating factor (OF) around has been the world used in(in thispercentage): paper, which is defined as the relative frequency of PWR reactors operating around the world (in percentage): OF = · 100 (1) ni where ni is the number of a specific PWR designOF = i, and100 N the total population of operating PWR in (1) N the world (N = 300 currently, according to [6]). · where Itn iisis worth the number noting of that a specific the parameter PWR design OF isi ,di andfferentN the from total that population known as of the operating operation PWR factor, in the worldwhich (N is= defined300 currently, by IAEA according as the ratio to of [6 the]). number of hour the unit was on-line to the total number of hoursIt is worth in the reference noting that period, the parameterexpressed as OF a percentage is different [6]. from that known as the operation factor, whichThe is defined 447 nuclear by IAEA reactors as the operating ratio of thein the number world ofashour of January the unit 2020 was are on-line distributed to the as total follows: number (i) of hoursPWR: in 300 the operating reference reactors, period, representing expressed as 67% a percentage of the operating [6]. nuclear reactors and an electric power generation capacity of 284 GWe; (ii) BWR: 69 operating units, representing 16% of the total and an Appl. Sci. 2020, 10, 4434 3 of 28 The 447 nuclear reactors operating in the world as of January 2020 are distributed as follows: (i) PWR: