LA-7592-MS Informal Report ClC-l 4 REPORT COLLECTION REPRODUCTION COPY Production of Synthetic Gas from Nuclear Energy Sources .-Co C 5 0 Pre@red fcr the Texas Gas Transmission Corporation under > contract No. EW-78-Y-OM183 with the US Department of Energy. .- (43 5 .-> 5 L%%LOSALAMOSSCIENTIFICLABORATORY Post Office Box 1663 Los Alamos. New Mexico 87545 AXIAffrmstive Action/Equal Opwrtunity Employer TM. rcpucl was ptep.md .s an account of work sponsored by the Umted States Government. Nttthc. the Umtcd Slut- nor the Umled S1.1.s Dcpartmrnl of Energv. nor .W c.( Lhm CIWIIC.Y,,S. no, any of the,, cent,.clors. subcontr.cmrs. or lktlr ●mployees, m.kes any w.rr.n:y, txprest or wnpll.d. or .$sume$ .ny I.uI Ilabtl,ly m msponsibtltty for the acc. r.cy. completeness. y usefulness 0[ any information. atw. r.tus. product, or process disclosed, or represents th.t tu usewould “01 $nft,nne Iwivately owned mshls. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CONTRACT W-740 B-ENG. 36 IA-7592-MS Informal Report Special Distribution Issued: April 1979 Production of Synthetic Gas from Nuclear Energy Sources C. A. Anderson J. C. Biery L. A. Booth L. M. Carruthers “K. E. COX F. T. Finch S. H. Nelson R. G. Palmer J. H. Pendergrass E. E. Stark J. K. Stutz Project Manager: E. E. Stark — -“F- ,. , ..-. CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-1 (E. E. Stark) Introduction 1-1 Nuclear Fission 1-1 Introduction 1-1 Gas Core Reactor 1-2 High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs) 1-3 Availability of Fuel for Fission Reactors 1-4 Fusion 1-5 Synthetic Gas Production Processes 1-6 Coal Gasification 1-6 Thermochemical Cycles 1-7 High-Temperature Electrolysis 1-8 Radiolysis 1-8 2. SURVEY OF FISSION ENERGY SOURCES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SYNTHETIC GASEOUS FUELS 2-1 (C. A. Anderson) Introduction 2-1 Current Status of the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) 2-1 Radiolytic Production of Hydrogen 2-4 Gas Core Reactors for High-Temperature Process Heat 2-8 Appendix 2-A 2-13 I References 3. DEVELOPMENT OF FUSION ENERGY - PRESENT AND FUTURE 3-1 (L. A. Booth) Introduction 3-1 Current Program Status 3-3 General 3-3 Magnetic Fusion Program 3-6 Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor 3-1o Inertial Confinement Fusion Program 3-12 Technological Requirements 3-15 General 3-15 Heat Transfer System 3-15 Lithium-Tritium Processing and Fuel Cycle 3-16 Fusion Reactors ‘ 3-18 Driver Systems 3-20 Conclusions 3-24 References 3-27 4. HIGH-TEMPERATURE GAS COOLED REACTORS 4-1 (R. G. Palmer) Introduction 4-1 HTGR Coated Fuel Particle Technology 4-3 HTGR Fuel Element Designs 4-3 Prismatic Core 4-3 Pebble Bed Fuel Elements 4-6 HTGR Designs 4-6 Prismatic Core 4-6 Pebble Bed Reactors (PBR) 4-12 Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of PBR over Prismatic Cores 4-12 HTGR Fuel Cycles 4-17 Environmental and Safety Aspects of HTGRs 4-18 Coupling of HTGRs with Process Heat Plant 4-18 Technological Problem Areas of Process Heat HTGRs 4-19 Developmental Program for HTGR Process Heat Plants 4-20 References 4-27 5. HYDROGEN FROM HIGH-TEMPERATURE ELECTROLYSIS OF STEAM 5-1 (R. G. Palmer) Introduction 5-1 Theoretical Basis for Electrolysis 5-2 High-Temperature Electrolysis 5-5 General 5-5 Electrolyte Anodes ::: Cathodes 5-9 Interconnections 5-9 Higher Temperature Electrolyzer Programs 5-12 Dornier Systems GmbH 5-12 Westinghouse Corporation 5-12 Brookhaven National Laboratory 5-12 Comparative Economics of High-Temperature and Conventional Electrolysis 5-19 Plasma Reactor Heat Source 5-20 References 5-23 6. PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF A CATALYZED COAL GASIFICATION SYSTEM UTILIZING NUCLEAR HEAT 6-1 (J. C. Biery) Introduction 6-1 Design Considerations 6-3 Coal Gasification Chain Design 6-4 Gasification Chain Description 6-4 Mass and Energy-Balance Calculations 6-5 Reactor Design 6-6 v Reactor Costs Results of Calculations ::: Overall Energy Balance, Equipment Design, and Heat Integration 6-10 Energy Balance for the Gasifier System 6-10 Gasifier Output Cooldown Chain 6-10 Cryogenic Distillation Separation of Methane from Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen 6-11 Evaporation and Heating of Water to 882°C and 68 atm of Pressure 6-12 Coal Preparation Operations 6-12 Other Miscellaneous Operations in the Cycle 6-13 Overall Results of Energy Calculation for Integrated Catalytic Coal Gasification System 6-13 Overall Energy Requirements 6-13 Estimated Overall Efficiency of Catalytic Coal Gasification System 6-15 Utilization of a Nuclear Reactor to Drive the Catalytic Coal Gasifi- cation System 6-18 References 6-22 7. THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 7-1 (F. T. Finch) The Potential Supply of Uranium Uranium Production - Mining Ho UF6 Conversion 7-18 Uranium Enrichment 7-21 Reactor Fuel Fabrication 7-24 Nuclear Reactors 7-24 Reprocessing Spent Fuel 7-36 Interim Waste Storage 7-39 Ultimate Waste Disposal 7-39 References 7-40 8. PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF COAL GASIFICATION USING FISSION REACTORS TO PROVIDE THERMAL ENERGY 8-1 (S. H. Nelson and J. K. Stutz) Summary 8-1 Nuclear Fission Power Plants for Coal Gasification: A Description 8-2 Coal Gasification Technology 8-5 Economic Analysis 8-8 Au~endix 8-A: Gas Production Cost Model 8-15 Appendix 8-B: Impact of Power Plant Reliability on Cost of Gas Production 8-22 Appendix 8-C: Estimates of Capital Costs of Pebble Bed Reactors 8-25 Appendix 8-D: Cost of Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plants 8-27 Appendix 8-E: Estimated Operating and Maintenance Costs 8-28 Appendix 8-F: Impact of Cogeneration upon Comparative Costs of Pebble Bed Reactors and Coal-Fired Units 8-29 References 8-30 9. THERMOCHEMICAL PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN FROM WATER, A CRITICAL REVIEW 9-1 (K. E. COX) Executive Summary 9-1 Introduction 9-3 Thermochemical Water Decomposition 9-7 Thermochemical Efficiency 9-7 The Step-Wise Decomposition of Water 9-8 Thermochemical Cycles Under Active Research and Development 9-1o The Hybrid Sulfuric-Acid (HSA) Cycle 9-11 Key Problem Areas - Hybrid Sulfuric Acid Cycle 9-15 The Sulfuric Acid Hydrogen Iodide Cycle 9-16 Key Problem Areas - Sulfuric Acid Hydrogen Iodide Cycle 9-18 The Sulfuric Acid Hydrogen Bromide Cycle 9-19 Key Problem Areas - Sulfuric-Acid Hydrogen Bromide Cycle (Mark 13) 9-22 Alternative Cycles Undergoing Active Research 9-22 The LASL Bismuth Sulfate Cycle 9-22 Key Problem Areas - LASL Bismuth Sulfate Cycle 9-28 The Magnesium-Iodine Cycle (Japan) 9-28 Key Problems in the Magnesium-Iodine Cycle 9-29 Heat Penalty Analysis of Thermochemical Cycle 9-31 Materials 9-38 Hydrogen Production - Thermochemical Cycles or Water Electrolysis 9-39 Economics and Efficiency 9-42 Application to the Hybrid Sulfuric Acid Cycle 9-43 Conclusions 9-51 References 9-53 APPENDIX A - FUSION REACTORS AS PROCESS HEAT SOURCES A-1 (J. H. Pendergrass) Introduction A-1 Process Radioactivity Hazards A-16 Materials Limitations A-18 Tritium Fuel Cycle Characteristics and Impacts on Fusion Reactor Design for High-Temperature Process Heat A-21 The Lithium Boiler High-Temperature Process Heat Fusion Reactor Blanket Concept A-37 Thermal Radiator Blankets A-49 Other Fusion Reactor Blanket Concepts which Show Promise for High- Temperature Process Heat Applications A-58 Survey of Recent Russian Activities in Development of High-Temperature Process Heat Applications of Fusion Energy A-60 References A-66 APPENDIX B - FUSION-DRIVEN PRODUCTION OF SYNTHETIC FUELS BY DIRECT RADIOLYSIS B-1 (J. H. Pendergrass) Introduction B-1 vii Characterization of Fusion Reactors as Sources of Radiation for Direct Radiolysis B-3 Fundamentals of Radio lysis B-7 Radiolytic:Yields and Energy Efficiency of Radiolytic Processes B-9 Limitations of G-Values and Product Concentrations by Back Reactions Induced by Radiation B-n LET Effects on Radiolytic Yields B-15 Representative G-Values B-20 Potential Advantages of Fusion Reactors Relative to Fission Reactors as Sources of Radiation for Driving Radiolytic Processes B-31 Mechanical Design Problems for Fusion Reactor Blankets for Gas-Phase Radiolysis B-33 Radiolytic Processes as Topping Cycles for Thermochemical, Electro- thermical (Hybrid), or Electrolytic Processes for Synthetic Fuel Production B-35 Combined Radiolytic-Thermochemical or Radiolytic-Electrothermochemi cal (Hybrid) Cycles for Synthetic Fuel Production B-36 Economics of Synthetic Fuel Production by Direct Radiolysis using Fusion Reactor Radiations B-43 Potential Methods for Improvements in Radiolysis Yields under Industrial Conditions B-52 Effect of Temperature Increases on G-Factors B-55 Improved Scavengers B-57 Radiolysis of Two-Phase Systems B-57 Radiolysis in the Critical Region B-62 Laser-Enhanced Radiolytic Processes B-63 References B-66 Viii PRODUCTION OF SYNTHETIC GAS FROM NUCLEAR ENERGY SOURCES by C. A. Anderson, J. C. Biery, L. A. Booth, L. M. Carruthers, K. E. Cox, F. T. Finch, S. H. Nelson, R. G. Palmer, J. H. Pendergrass, E. E. Stark, and J. K. Stutz ABSTRACT This report documents a survey of nuclear energy sources and their potential application to the production of synthetic gas. The state-of- the-art in commercial nuclear fission reactors and ongoing R&D in advanced reactors is described. The status of fusion energy research and estimated timing of commercial availability are reported. Detailed surveys of high- temperature electrolysis and thermochemical cycles as means for producing synthetic gas from process heat are given. Synthetic gas production from radiolysis is discussed. A description of the nuclear fuel cycle and uranium reserve and resource estimates are presented. ix 1-1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION Because of its interest in identifying new sources of gas for transporta- tion in its pipelines by the year 2000, the Texas Gas Transmission Corporation asked the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory to survey various methods for pro- ducing synthetic gas using nuclear energy.