On-Site Nuclear Fuel Cycle of “BREST” Reactors
Andrei Gennadevich Glazov,
Yury Sergeevich Khomyakov,
Maksim Konstantinovich Gorbachev,
Leonid Petrovich Sukhanov
Issue:
Volume 7, Issue 1, February 2018
Pages:
1-5
Received:
23 October 2017
Accepted:
19 December 2017
Published:
1 February 2018
Abstract: Dynamic developing of modern nuclear industry demands meeting the following requirements: improved safety, reduced capital costs, radioactive waste (RW) management issues, independence of limited resources. Efficiency of uranium resources used in "BREST" reactors based on a closed fuel cycle is about 160 times higher than for VVER, RBMK reactors [1], which makes it possible to stop searching for new deposits and uranium mining. The need for periodical fuel regeneration and fabrication in a closed cycle includes reproduction of plutonium in the core without the uranium containing screens (breeding ratio is approximately 1,05, ensuring a high level of safety and support of the non-proliferation regime) and transmutation of the most dangerous long-lived actinides and high refining of RW, achieving the radiation balance of buried RW and extracted uranium ore. The manufacturing is located directly at the NPP to avoid transportation of fissile materials. This approach provides economic efficiency of the entire complex.
Abstract: Dynamic developing of modern nuclear industry demands meeting the following requirements: improved safety, reduced capital costs, radioactive waste (RW) management issues, independence of limited resources. Efficiency of uranium resources used in "BREST" reactors based on a closed fuel cycle is about 160 times higher than for VVER, RBMK reactors [1...
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Forecast of Impacts of Climate Change on Hydropower Potential of Ouémé River at the 2040's Horizon in Benin
Télesphore Cossi Nounangnonhou,
François-Xavier Nicolas Fifatin,
Richy Maurel Aza-Gnandji,
Amevi Acakpovi,
Emile Adjibadé Sanya
Issue:
Volume 7, Issue 1, February 2018
Pages:
6-18
Received:
7 February 2018
Accepted:
27 February 2018
Published:
16 March 2018
Abstract: Water is the most essential element for hydropower energy production. However, it has been well established that climate change will negatively globally impact water resources and in Sub-Saharan Africa particularly. It is therefore important to take this into account when assessing the potential hydropower energy of rivers to avoid overestimating their production’s capacity. This article firstly deals with the impacts of climate change on the forecast of potential hydropower energy of the Ouémé River Basin by 2040 and secondly develops the best equations for its exploitation. The data collected on three representative sites of the Ouémé River Basin (Bétérou, Savè, Kétou) from 1989 to 2016 and those derived from simulation of its flows from 2017 to 2040 by the Rural Engineering model (GR2M), made it possible to determine, first the monthly mean flow and, with the classified flow rate method, then evaluate the associated operating times. Using the obtained two parameters (mean flow-rate, production’s time), the hydropower energy was estimated as well, for period of 1989 to 2016, as for that of 2017 to 2040, and this in each of the retained three sites. The results show that the exploitable nominal flow-rates by hydro-electrical equipment set that can be installed are respectively 50 m3/s at Bétérou, 90 m3/s at Savè and 145 m3/s at Kétou. These results showed Kétou as the best site capable of hosting the largest hydropower energy plant on the Ouémé river basin. In Bétérou and Savè, the two-machines option (respectively 25 m3/s and 45 m3/s) is the most profitable, in terms of potential hydropower energy and its production duration, whereas in Kétou, the three-machines option of 50 m3/s each is the best.
Abstract: Water is the most essential element for hydropower energy production. However, it has been well established that climate change will negatively globally impact water resources and in Sub-Saharan Africa particularly. It is therefore important to take this into account when assessing the potential hydropower energy of rivers to avoid overestimating t...
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