Over the next 50 years, humanity will consume more energy than has been used in all of previous history. Earlier forecasts about the growth rate of energy consumption did not come true: it is growing much faster. It is expected that by 2030 it will increase by 33% compared to 2016 and will amount to 32.9 trillion kWh. The largest growth will be in Asia, where electricity consumption will increase by 1.5 times (from 10.8 to 16.4 trillion kWh).
Forecasts about the development of new energy technologies also did not come true. New energy sources will start operating on an industrial scale and at competitive prices no earlier than 2030. The problem of shortage of fossil energy resources is becoming more and more acute. The possibilities of building new hydroelectric power plants are also very limited.
Do not forget about the fight against the "greenhouse effect", which imposes restrictions on the combustion of oil, gas and coal at thermal power plants (TPPs). The world level of emitted carbon dioxide is about 32 billion tons per year and continues to grow. It is predicted that by 2030 the amount of carbon dioxide emitted will exceed 34 billion tons per year.
The solution to the problem can be the active development of nuclear energy, one of the youngest and fastest growing sectors of the global economy. An increasing number of countries today come to the need to start the development of a peaceful atom.
The installed capacity of the world nuclear power industry is 390 gigawatts. If all this power was generated by coal and gas sources, then an additional 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide would be emitted into the atmosphere annually. According to the estimates of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, all boreal forests (taiga forests located in the northern hemisphere) annually absorb about 1 billion tons of CO2, and all forests of the planet - 2.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide. That is, if we take the impact on the level of CO2 in the atmosphere as a criterion, nuclear energy is commensurate with the "ecological capacity" of all the forests of the planet.
What are the advantages of nuclear power?
Huge energy intensity
1 kilogram of uranium enriched up to 4% used in nuclear fuel, when fully burned, releases energy equivalent to burning about 100 tons of high-quality hard coal or 60 tons of oil.
Reuse
Fissile material (uranium-235) does not completely burn out in nuclear fuel and can be used again after regeneration (unlike fossil fuel ash and slag). In the future, a complete transition to a closed fuel cycle is possible, which means the almost complete absence of waste.
Reducing the "greenhouse effect"
The intensive development of nuclear energy can be considered one of the means of combating global warming. For example, nuclear power plants in Europe annually avoid the emission of 700 million tons of CO2. The operating nuclear power plants in Russia annually prevent the release of about 210 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. According to this indicator, Russia is in fourth place in the world.
Economic development
NPP construction provides the economic growth, the emergence of new jobs: 1 workplace during the construction of nuclear power plants creates more than 10 jobs in related industries. The development of nuclear energy contributes to the growth of scientific research and exports of high-tech products.
The article was written based on the materials of the IAEA and the World Nuclear Association
Some facts:
The first industrial nuclear power plants were commissioned in the 1950s.
Today there are more than 430 industrial nuclear reactors in 31 countries of the world, which have a total capacity of 370,000 MW. About 70 nuclear reactors are under construction.
They provide more than 11% of the world's electricity without carbon dioxide emissions.
A total of about 240 research reactors and another 180 nuclear power reactors, about 150 ships and submarines operate in 56 countries.
From the history
Nuclear technology uses the energy released by splitting the atoms of certain elements. This technology was first developed in the 1940s during the Second World War, research was focused on the production of bombs, using isotopes of uranium or plutonium for fission.
In the 1950s, attention turned to the peaceful purposes of nuclear fission, in particular for the production of electricity. Many countries have built research reactors to provide a source for research and production of medical and industrial isotopes.Today, only eight countries in the world are known to have nuclear weapons.
The state of nuclear energy in the world
About 240 research reactors operate in 56 developing countries. About 70 new nuclear reactors are under construction, which is equivalent to 20% of the existing capacity, and another 160 reactors are planned, which is equivalent to half of the current capacity.
Sixteen countries get a quarter of their electricity from nuclear power.France receives about three-quarters of its nuclear electricity.While in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovenia and Ukraine receive one-third or more.
South Korea, Bulgaria and Finland receive about 30% of nuclear energy.In the US, UK, Spain and Russia, almost a fifth of the energy is nuclear.
Italy and Denmark depend least of all on nuclear energy, where the share of nuclear energy is 10%.
In addition to being cheaper than fossil fuels, nuclear energy has other advantages. Nuclear power plants can quickly respond to changes in electricity consumption and are not directly dependent on fuel supplies. In addition, nuclear power plants do not emit CO 2 and therefore do not contribute to global warming. Thanks to the above advantages, the share of nuclear energy is growing every year.
Every year, existing power plants are modernized, so that they produce more electricity. And the introduction of 4th generation reactors will not only increase energy efficiency, but also reduce the amount of radioactive waste.
From 1990 to 2010, the capacity of nuclear power plants around the world increased by 57 GW, that is, by about 17%. Approximately 36% was obtained through the construction of new nuclear power plants, 57% - through the expansion of existing power plants, 7% - through modernization.
How is nuclear energy developing in the world?
China
The Chinese government plans to increase nuclear generating capacity from 30 GW to 58 GW by 2020.
From 2002 to 2013, China completed the construction and operation of 17 new nuclear reactors,about 30 new reactors are under construction.
Among them are four state-of-the-art Westinghouse AP1000 high-temperature gas-cooled reactors.
India
India plans to have 14.5 GW of nuclear power by 2020 as part of its national energy policy. Seven reactors are under construction
Russia
Russia plans to increase its nuclear capability to 30.5 GW by 2020 using its world-class light water reactors. Russia takes an active part in the construction and financing of new nuclear power plants in a number of countries.
Europe
A number of Eastern European countries currently have programs to build new nuclear power plants (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey).
The UK government in mid-2006 approved the replacement of the country's aging fleet of nuclear reactors.
Sweden abandoned its plans for early decommissioning of reactors and is now actively investing in their modernization. Hungary, Slovakia and Spain do not plan to build new nuclear power plants, but only modernize old ones. Germany has agreed to extend the life of its nuclear plants, reversing previous intentions to shut them down.
Poland is developing a nuclear program, planning to receive 6,000 MW of energy. Belarus has started construction of its first reactor.
USA
In the US, there are five reactors under construction, four of them new AP1000 designs.
South America
Argentina and Brazil have nuclear reactors generating electricity and reactors under construction. Chile has a research reactor and plans to build industrial reactors.
South Korea
South Korea plans to build nuclear reactors. This country is also involved in intensive research on reactor designs.
Southeast Asia
Vietnam intends to build its first nuclear reactor in cooperation with Russia. Indonesia and Thailand are planning nuclear power programs.
South Asia
Bangladesh approved Russian proposal on the construction on its territory of the first nuclear power plant. Pakistan is building three small reactors with Chinese help and is preparing to build two large ones near Karachi.
central Asia
Kazakhstan, with its abundance of uranium, is working closely with Russia in planning the development of building new reactors for its own consumption and export.
Near East
United United Arab Emirates build the first two of the four reactors, with a capacity of 1450 MW. The amount of investment is about 20 billion dollars.
The first reactor in Iran is in operation, no more construction is planned.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt are also moving towards nuclear power.
Africa
Nigeria has sought the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency to develop plans for the construction of two 1000 MW nuclear reactors.
New countries
In September 2012, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expects the launch of nuclear programs in 7 countries in the near future. Most likely candidates: Lithuania, UAE, Turkey, Belarus, Vietnam, Poland.
Over the next 50 years, humanity will consume more energy than has been used in all of previous history. Earlier forecasts about the growth rate of energy consumption and the development of new energy technologies have not materialized: the level of consumption is growing much faster, and new energy sources will start operating on an industrial scale and at competitive prices no earlier than 2030. The problem of shortage of fossil energy resources is becoming more and more acute. The possibilities of building new hydroelectric power plants are also very limited. Do not forget about the fight against the "greenhouse effect", which imposes restrictions on the combustion of oil, gas and coal at thermal power plants (TPPs).
The solution to the problem can be the active development of nuclear energy, one of the youngest and fastest growing sectors of the global economy. An increasing number of countries today come to the need to start the development of a peaceful atom.
What are the advantages of nuclear power?
Huge energy intensity
1 kilogram of uranium enriched up to 4%, used in nuclear fuel, when fully burned, releases energy equivalent to burning about 100 tons of high-quality coal or 60 tons of oil.
Reuse
Fissile material (uranium-235) does not completely burn out in nuclear fuel and can be used again after regeneration (unlike fossil fuel ash and slag). In the future, a complete transition to a closed fuel cycle is possible, which means the complete absence of waste.
Reducing the "greenhouse effect"
The intensive development of nuclear energy can be considered one of the means of combating global warming. Every year, nuclear power plants in Europe avoid the emission of 700 million tons of CO2, and in Japan - 270 million tons of CO2. The operating NPPs of Russia annually prevent the release of 210 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. According to this indicator, Russia is in fourth place in the world.
Economic development
The construction of a nuclear power plant ensures economic growth, the emergence of new jobs: 1 job during the construction of a nuclear power plant creates more than 10 jobs in related industries. The development of nuclear energy contributes to the growth of scientific research and the intellectual potential of the country.
Interactive application "Comparison of sources of electricity generation"
“For example, you want to increase the energy capacity of your country. What source of electricity generation to choose? Let's compare coal, hydro, wind and solar power plant, as well as define the main advantages of nuclear energy. Run the application and determine for yourself the best source of energy for construction.
Play a video showing the main features interactive application"Comparison of electricity generation sources":
To work with the application:
1. Download the application from the link below.
2. Use the file manager on your computer to find the executable file "ros-atom.exe" and run it.
3. To display the image correctly, set the screen resolution to 1920 x 1080.
4. Click "Play!" to launch the application.
Important! For the application to work correctly, please use an i7 processor-based computer with operating system Windows 7 or 10x64, at least 8 Gb RAM, at least GTX77 video card and 128 Gb SSD.
Nuclear power is an actively developing industry. It is obvious that a great future is destined for it, since the reserves of oil, gas, coal are gradually running out, and uranium is a fairly common element on Earth. In the Russian Federation, as in many countries of the world, nuclear power plants are being built and operated to produce electricity and heat. In terms of purpose and technological principle of operation, nuclear power plants practically do not differ from traditional thermal power plants (TPPs) that use coal, gas or oil as fuel. Like TES or others industrial enterprises, nuclear power plants inevitably have a certain impact on their natural environment due to:
process heat discharges (thermal pollution);
general industrial waste;
emissions generated during the operation of gaseous and liquid radioactive products, which, although insignificant and strictly regulated, do occur.
And of course, it should be remembered that nuclear energy is associated with increased danger to people, which, in particular, manifests itself in the extremely unfavorable consequences of accidents with the destruction of nuclear reactors. In this regard, it is necessary to lay down the solution of the safety problem (in particular, the prevention of accidents with a reactor runaway, the localization of an accident within the limits of bioprotection, the reduction of radioactive emissions, etc.) already in the design of the reactor, at the stage of its design. It is also worth considering other proposals to improve the safety of nuclear power facilities, such as: building nuclear power plants underground, sending nuclear waste into outer space.
The main feature of the technological process at the AU using nuclear fuel consists in the formation of significant amounts of radioactive fission products, which are mainly in the fuel elements of the reactor core. For reliable retention (localization) of radioactive products in nuclear fuel and within the boundaries of structures nuclear power plant NPP designs provide for a number of successive physical barriers to the spread of radioactive substances and ionizing radiation in environment. In this regard, nuclear power plants are technically more complex than traditional thermal and hydraulic power plants.
But as practice shows, violations of normal operation modes and the occurrence of emergencies with the release of radioactive substances outside the NPP. This represents a potential risk for NPP personnel, the public and the environment and requires the adoption of technical and organizational measures that reduce the likelihood of such situations to an acceptable minimum.
Any kind industrial activities characterized by the risk of accidents with serious consequences. For each type of activity, the risk is specific, as well as measures to reduce it. Yes, in chemical industry is the risk of leakage of toxic substances into the environment, the risk of fires and explosions in chemical plants. The nuclear industry is no exception.
Long-term experience of NPP operation shows that when operating in normal modes, they have an insignificant impact on the environment (the radiation impact from them is not more than 0.1-0.01 of the background values of natural radiation). Unlike fossil fuel power plants, NPPs do not consume oxygen, do not emit ash, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere. Radioactive emissions of a nuclear power plant into the atmosphere create a tenfold lower radiation dose on the ground than a thermal plant of the same capacity.
However, the NPP operation does not include the probability of occurrence of incidents and accidents, including severe accidents associated with damage to fuel elements and the release of radioactive substances from them. Severe accidents are very rare, but the magnitude of their consequences is very large. The main goal of ensuring security at all stages life cycle The AU is to take effective measures aimed at preventing severe accidents and protecting personnel and the public by preventing the release of radioactive products into the environment under any circumstances.
AC is safe if:
its radiation impact on personnel, the public and the environment during normal operation and during design basis accidents does not lead to exceeding the established values;
radiation impact is limited to acceptable values in severe (beyond design basis) accidents.
The alarm sounded on a peaceful night at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986 at 1:23 a.m. shook the whole world. It became a formidable warning to mankind that the colossal energy contained in the atom, without proper control over it, can raise the question of the very existence of people on the planet.
The echo of the Chernobyl tragedy sounded in all corners of the planet, every person who at least once thought about what happened passed the test of Chenobyl.
A city without inhabitants is dying quickly. Until recently, Pripyat sparkled with fun, music poured from the windows wide open to welcome spring, cars scurried through the streets, children frolicked in parks and squares. Today, the city welcomes you with shop windows covered with plywood shields, a net from beds that fell from a truck, and silence.
The world did not ignore the Chernobyl tragedy. Many countries took part in helping her victims. Thousands of children were sent to special rehabilitation centers.
Recently, progress in science, achievements in other areas of culture have allowed people to escape into space, provided them with previously unknown sources of energy.
The Chernobyl disaster made it clear to the world that out of control nuclear energy does not recognize state borders. The problems of ensuring its safe use and reliable control over it should become the concern of all mankind.
Today, those who left it many years ago, fleeing the consequences of the accident, are returning to the Chernobyl zone. Those who had nowhere to go return there, those in whom homesickness is stronger than fear for life and health.
We all need to be on our guard so that it never happens again. Chernobyl tragedy, which stirred up the whole world so that the tears of thousands of innocent people would not shed, which suffered because of a careless unit of people.
The twentieth century passed under the sign of the development of a new kind of energy contained in the nuclei of atoms, and became the century nuclear physics. This energy is many times greater than the fuel energy used by mankind throughout its history.
Already by the middle of 1939, scientists of the world had important theoretical and experimental discoveries in the field of nuclear physics, which made it possible to put forward an extensive research program in this direction. It turned out that the uranium atom can be split into two parts. This releases great amount energy. In addition, neutrons are released during the fission process, which in turn can split other uranium atoms and cause a nuclear chain reaction. The nuclear fission reaction of uranium is very efficient and far surpasses the most violent chemical reactions. Let's compare an atom of uranium and a molecule of an explosive - trinitrotoluene (TNT). During the decay of a TNT molecule, 10 electron volts of energy are released, and during the decay of a uranium nucleus, 200 million electron volts, i.e., 20 million times more.
These discoveries made a sensation in the scientific world: in the history of mankind there was no scientific event more significant in its consequences than the penetration of the atom into the world and the mastery of its energy. Scientists understood that its main purpose was the production of electricity and use in other peaceful areas. With the commissioning in the USSR in 1954 of the world's first industrial nuclear power plant with a capacity of 5 MW, the era of nuclear energy began in Obninsk. The source of electricity production was the fission of uranium nuclei.
The experience of operating the first NPPs showed the reality and reliability of nuclear power technology for industrial production electricity. Developed industrial countries have begun designing and building nuclear power plants with reactors of various types. By 1964, the total capacity of nuclear power plants in the world had grown to 5 million kW.
Since that time, the rapid development of nuclear energy has begun, which, making an increasingly significant contribution to the total production of electricity in the world, has become a promising new energy alternative. A boom in orders for the construction of nuclear power plants in the United States began, later in Western Europe, Japan, USSR. The growth rate of nuclear energy has reached about 30% per year. Already by 1986, 365 power units with a total installed capacity of 253 million kW were operating at nuclear power plants in the world. In almost 20 years, the capacity of nuclear power plants has increased 50 times. The construction of nuclear power plants was carried out in 30 countries of the world (Fig. 1.1).
By that time, the studies of the Club of Rome, an authoritative community of world-famous scientists, were widely known. The conclusions of the authors of the studies boiled down to the inevitability of a fairly close depletion of natural reserves of organic energy resources, including oil, which are key to the world economy, and their sharp rise in price in the near future. With this in mind, nuclear power came just in time. Potential stocks of nuclear fuel (2 8 U, 2 5 U, 2 2 Th) solved the vital problem of fuel supply in the long term. different scenarios development of nuclear energy.
The conditions for the development of nuclear energy were extremely favorable, and economic indicators NPPs also instilled optimism, NPPs could already successfully compete with TPPs.
Nuclear energy made it possible to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and drastically reduce emissions of pollutants into the environment from TPPs.
The development of nuclear energy was based on the established energy sector of the military-industrial complex - fairly well-developed industrial reactors and reactors for submarines using the nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) already created for these purposes, acquired knowledge and significant experience. Nuclear power, which had a huge state support, successfully fit into the existing energy system, taking into account the rules and requirements inherent in this system.
The problem of energy security, aggravated in the 70s of the twentieth century. in connection with the energy crisis caused by a sharp increase in oil prices, the dependence of its supply on the political situation, forced many countries to reconsider their energy programs. The development of nuclear energy, by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, reduces the energy dependence of countries that do not have or have limited own fuel and energy.
tic resources from their import and strengthens the energy security of these countries.
In the process of the rapid development of nuclear energy, of the two main types of nuclear power reactors - thermal and fast neutrons - the most widely used in the world are thermal neutron reactors.
Designed different countries types and designs of reactors with different moderators and coolants became the basis of the national nuclear power industry. So, in the USA, pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors became the main ones, in Canada - heavy water reactors on natural uranium, in the former USSR - pressurized water reactors (VVER) and uranium-graphite boiling water reactors (RBMK), the unit power of reactors grew . Thus, the RBMK-1000 reactor with an electric power of 1000 MW was installed at the Leningrad NPP in 1973. The capacity of large nuclear power plants, for example, the Zaporizhzhya NPP (Ukraine), reached 6000 MW.
Given that NPP units operate at almost constant power, covering
NPP "Three Mile Island" (USA)
the basic part of the daily load schedule of the interconnected energy systems, in parallel with nuclear power plants in the world, highly maneuverable pumped storage power plants were built to cover the variable part of the schedule and close the night gap in the load schedule.
The high rates of development of nuclear energy did not correspond to the level of its safety. Based on the experience of operating nuclear power facilities, the growing scientific and technical understanding of the processes and possible consequences, it became necessary to revise technical requirements, which caused an increase in capital investments and operating costs.
A serious blow to the development of nuclear energy was dealt by a severe accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the United States in 1979, as well as at a number of other facilities, which led to a radical revision of safety requirements, tightening of existing standards and a revision of nuclear power plant development programs around the world, caused a huge moral and material damage nuclear power. In the United States, which was the leader in nuclear energy, orders for the construction of nuclear power plants ceased in 1979, and their construction in other countries also decreased.
The worst accident in Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine in 1986, qualified according to the international scale of nuclear incidents as an accident of the highest seventh level and causing an ecological catastrophe over a vast territory, loss of life, resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people, undermined the confidence of the world community in nuclear energy.
“The tragedy in Chernobyl is a warning. And not only in nuclear energy,” said Academician V.A. Legasov, member of the government commission, first deputy academician A.P. Aleksandrov, who headed the Institute of Atomic Energy named after I.V. Kurchatov.
In many countries, programs for the development of nuclear energy were suspended, and in a number of countries, plans for its development that had been outlined earlier were abandoned altogether.
Despite this, by 2000, nuclear power plants operating in 37 countries of the world generated 16% of the world's electricity production.
The unprecedented efforts made to ensure the safety of operating NPPs have made it possible to early XXI V. restore public confidence in nuclear energy. There comes a time of "renaissance" in its development.
In addition to high economic efficiency and competitiveness, availability of fuel resources, reliability, safety, one of the important factors is that nuclear energy is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of electricity, although the problem of spent fuel disposal remains.
The need for reproduction (breeding) of nuclear fuel became obvious, i.e. the construction of fast neutron reactors (breeders), the introduction of processing of the obtained fuel. The development of this direction had serious economic incentives and prospects, and was carried out in many countries.
In the USSR, the first experimental work on the industrial use of fast neutron reactors was started in
1949, and from the mid-1950s, the commissioning of a series of pilot reactors BR-1, BR-5, BOR-60 (1969) began, in 1973 a dual-purpose nuclear power plant with a reactor with a power 350 MW for the production of electricity and desalination of sea water, in 1980 the industrial reactor BN-600 with a capacity of 600 MW was launched.
An extensive development program in this area was implemented in the United States. In 1966–1972 The experimental reactor "Enrico Fermil" was built, and in 1980 the world's largest research reactor FFTF with a capacity of 400 MW was put into operation. In Germany, the first reactor began operating in 1974, and the high-power SNR-2 reactor that was built was never put into operation. In France, in 1973, the Phenix reactor with a capacity of 250 MW was launched, and in 1986, the Superphenix with a capacity of 1242 MW. In 1977, Japan commissioned the experimental Joyo reactor, and in 1994 the 280 MW Monju reactor.
Under the conditions of the ecological crisis with which the world community has entered the 21st century, nuclear energy can make a significant contribution to ensuring a reliable power supply, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants into the environment.
Nuclear energy best meets the principles accepted in the world sustainable development, one of the most important requirements of which is the availability of sufficient fuel and energy resources with their stable consumption in the long term.
In accordance with forecasts based on calculations and modeling of the development of society and the world economy in the 21st century, the dominant role of the electric power industry will continue. By 2030, according to the forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the production of electricity in the world will more than double and exceed 30 trillion. kWh, and according to the forecasts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in the context of the "renaissance" of nuclear energy, its share will increase to 25% of the world's electricity production, and over the next 15 years, more than 100 new reactors will be built in the world, and the power The nuclear power plant will increase from 370 million kW in 2006 to 679 million kW in 2030.
At present, countries with a high share of nuclear energy in the total volume of electricity generated are actively developing nuclear power, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, Finland. France, reorienting the country's electric power industry to nuclear power and continuing to develop it, successfully solved the energy problem for many decades. The share of nuclear power plants in electricity generation in this country reaches 80%. Developing countries with a small share of nuclear power generation are rapidly building nuclear power plants. Thus, India announced its intention to build a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 40 million kW in the long term, and China - more than 100 million kW.
Of the 29 NPP units under construction in 2006, 15 were located in Asia. Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Chile, Thailand, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Poland, Georgia, Belarus and other countries are planning to commission nuclear power plants for the first time.
Further development of nuclear energy is planned by Russia, which provides for the construction of nuclear power plants with a capacity of 40 million kW by 2030. In Ukraine, in accordance with the Energy Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030, it is planned to increase the generation of nuclear power plants to 219 billion kWh, while maintaining it at the level of 50% of the total output, and to increase the capacity of nuclear power plants by almost 2 times, bringing it to 29.5 million kW, with an installed capacity utilization factor (ICUF) of 85%, including through the commissioning of new units with a capacity of 1–1.5 million kW and the extension of the operating life of existing NPP units (in 2006 in Ukraine, the capacity of nuclear power plants was 13 .8 million kW with the generation of 90.2 billion kWh of electricity, or about 48.7% of the total generation).
The ongoing work in many countries on the further improvement of thermal and fast neutron reactors will make it possible to further improve their reliability, economic efficiency and environmental safety. At the same time, international cooperation is of great importance. So, in the future implementation of the international project GT MSR (Gas Turbine Modular Solar-Cooled Reactor), which is characterized by high level safety and competitiveness, minimization of radioactive waste, efficiency can increase. up to 50%.
Widespread use in the future of a two-component structure of nuclear power, including nuclear power plants with thermal neutron reactors and with fast neutron reactors that reproduce nuclear fuel, will increase the efficiency of the use of natural uranium and reduce the level of accumulation of radioactive waste.
It should be noted essential role in the development of nuclear energy of the nuclear fuel cycle (NFC), which is actually its system-forming factor. This is due to the following circumstances:
- The nuclear fuel cycle must be provided with all the necessary structural, technological and design solutions for safe and efficient operation;
- NFC is a condition for social acceptability and economic efficiency of nuclear power and its wide use;
- The development of the nuclear fuel cycle will lead to the need to combine the tasks of ensuring the required level of safety of nuclear power plants that generate electricity and minimizing the risks associated with the production of nuclear fuel, including uranium mining, transportation, processing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and disposal of radioactive waste ( one system safety requirements);
- a sharp increase in the production and use of uranium (the initial stage of the NFC) leads to an increase in the risk of natural long-lived radionuclides entering the environment, which requires an increase in fuel efficiency, a reduction in the amount of waste and closing the fuel cycle.
The economic efficiency of NPP operation depends directly on the fuel cycle, including a reduction in the time for refueling, an increase performance characteristics fuel assemblies (FA). Therefore, the further development and improvement of the nuclear fuel cycle with a high nuclear fuel utilization factor and the creation of a low-waste closed fuel cycle are of great importance.
The energy strategy of Ukraine provides for the development of the national fuel cycle. Thus, uranium mining should increase from 0.8 thousand tons to 6.4 thousand tons in 2030, the domestic production of zirconium, zirconium alloys and components for fuel assemblies will be further developed, and in the future, the creation of a closed fuel cycle, as well as participation in international cooperation for the production of nuclear fuel. Ukraine's corporate participation is envisaged in the creation of facilities for the manufacture of fuel assemblies for VVER reactors and in the creation International Center for uranium enrichment in Russia, Ukraine's entry into the US-proposed International Nuclear Fuel Bank.
The availability of fuel for nuclear power is of paramount importance for the prospects for its development. The current demand for natural uranium in the world is about 60 thousand tons, with total reserves of about 16 million tons.
In the 21st century the role of nuclear energy in ensuring the growing production of electricity in the world with the use of more advanced technologies will sharply increase. Nuclear energy does not yet have a serious competitor in the long term. To implement its development on a large scale, it, as already indicated, must have the following properties: high efficiency, resource endowment, energy redundancy, safety, environmental impact acceptability. The first three requirements can be met using a two-component nuclear power structure consisting of thermal and fast reactors. With such a structure, it is possible to significantly increase the efficiency of using natural uranium, reduce its production and limit the level of radon entering the biosphere. Ways to achieve the required level of safety and reduce capital costs for both types of reactors are already known, time and money are needed to implement them. By the time society realized the need further development nuclear power industry, the technology of a two-component structure will actually be prepared, although much still needs to be done in terms of optimizing nuclear power plants and the structure of the industry, including fuel cycle enterprises.
The level of environmental impact is mainly determined by the amount of radionuclides in the fuel cycle (uranium, plutonium) and in storage (Np, Am, Cm, fission products).
The risk from exposure to short-lived isotopes, such as 1 1 I and 9 0 Sr, l 7 Cs, can be reduced to an acceptable level by improving the safety of nuclear power plants, storage facilities, and fuel cycle enterprises. The acceptability of such a risk can be proven in practice. But it is difficult to prove and impossible to demonstrate the reliability of burial of long-lived actinides and fission products over millions of years.
Undoubtedly, one cannot refuse to search for ways of reliable disposal of radioactive waste, but it is necessary to develop the possibility of using actinides for energy production, i.e. closure of the fuel cycle not only for uranium and plutonium, but also for actinides (Np, Am, Cm, etc.). The transmutation of hazardous long-lived fission products in a system of thermal neutron reactors will complicate the structure of nuclear energy due to additional technological processes for the manufacture and processing of nuclear fuel or increase the number of types of nuclear power plants. The introduction of Np, Am, Cm, other actinides and fission products into reactor fuel will complicate their design, require the development of new types of nuclear fuel, and have a negative impact on safety.
In this regard, the possibility of creating a three-component structure of nuclear power engineering, consisting of thermal and fast reactors and reactors for burning Np, Am, Cm and other actinides and transmutation of some fission products, is being considered.
The most important problems are the processing and disposal of radioactive waste, which can be converted into nuclear fuel.
In the first half of the 21st century, mankind will have to make a scientific and technical breakthrough on the way to the development of new types of energy, including electronuclear energy using charged particle accelerators, and, in the long term, thermonuclear energy, which requires international cooperation.
Tianwan NPP is the largest in terms of unit capacity of power units among all NPPs currently under construction in China. Its master plan provides for the possibility of building four power units with a capacity of 1000 MW each. The station is located between Beijing and Shanghai on the coast of the Yellow Sea. Construction works on the site began in 1998. The first power unit of the NPP with a pressurized water power reactor VVER-1000/428 and turbine K-1000-60/3000, launched in May 2006, was put into operation on June 2, 2007, and the second unit of the same type was put into operation on September 12, 2007. At present, both power units of the nuclear power plant operate stably at 100% capacity and supply electricity to the Chinese province of Jiangsu. It is planned to build the third and fourth power units of the Tianwan NPP.
