Floating nuclear power plants in Russia - a project of domestic designers to create low-power mobile units. The state corporation "Rosatom", the enterprises "Baltic Plant", and a number of other organizations are participating in the development.
History reference
On the early stages development of the industry, atomic energy was considered mainly in relation to the military industry. However, over the past few decades, the advantages of mobile sources suitable for operation in remote and undeveloped areas have become increasingly apparent. To a greater extent, the change in priorities was due to the development of civilian nuclear technologies, the installation of reactors on military ships, icebreakers, and submarines.
For the first time, mobile installations began to be used by the United States. They also provided energy for the American research base in Antarctica.
Relatively recently, the media asked the question of whether a floating nuclear power plant would be installed in Crimea. Opinions on this matter vary. However, there were no statements from the state corporation coordinating the program regarding this issue. Some experts say that a floating nuclear power plant in the Crimea is not needed. They explain their position by the fact that such installations are designed for operation in remote, hard-to-reach areas. The supply of the peninsula can be carried out in other ways. For example, an energy bridge is being built from the mainland of the country.
domestic industry
According to the federal target program "Energy Efficient Economy" 2002-2005. and for the period up to 2010, a tender was held for the creation of a low-power TNPP. In mid-May 2006, the Sevmash enterprise became the winner. The following year, 2007, the administration of the Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University and the Federal Atomic Energy Agency reached an agreement that the institute would act as a base university for the training of relevant specialists. In 2008, the project coordinators announced that part of the orders for units and assemblies would be transferred to the Baltic Shipyard. However, the Sevmash plant announced a little later that the floating nuclear power plant would be commissioned 5 months later than planned. In this regard, the order was transferred to the Baltic Shipyard in full.
Start of construction
As stated in 2010 by the deputy head of Rosenergoatom Sergey Zavyalov, the first floating nuclear power plant was built in accordance with the schedule. The readiness of the installation was planned for the end of 2012, and commissioning was expected in 2013. In June 2010, the first power unit was launched. This happened at the Baltic Shipyard. But at that time, the turbine generator and reactor were not installed. Installation work was supposed to be carried out on a floating power unit. In September 2011, a project in Pevek received a positive environmental review. It is currently at the investment feasibility stage. At the end of September - beginning of October 2013, steam generating units weighing 220 tons each, produced according to the designs of OKBM im. Afrikantov, were transported to the outfitting embankment from the slipway of the sixth workshop of the Baltic Shipyard. There, in the presence of representatives of Rosenergoatom, they were loaded by a floating crane into the reactor compartments. In accordance with the terms of the contract, the St. Petersburg plant must hand over the FPU, prepared for transportation to the place of operation, on September 9, 2016. Last news about the floating nuclear power plant indicate that it should be fully commissioned in 2018.
Key project
In a series of mobile transportable installations of low power, the floating NPP "Akademik Lomonosov" is considered to be the main one. Its maximum power is more than 70 MW. The plant includes two KLT-40S reactors. JSC "Afrikantov OKBM" is the chief designer. The same enterprise is the main manufacturer and supplier of equipment for reactor plants. In particular, it includes pumps, fuel handling units, CPS IMs, auxiliary machines, etc. The floating nuclear power plant "Akademik Lomonosov" was created on the basis of a serial plant used in icebreakers, tested during long-term operation in arctic conditions.
Purpose
The design activities carried out by Rosatom's enterprises and research institutes have shown the possibility of building energy sources of a qualitatively new class on the basis of already mastered shipboard reactors. They will be used to produce desalinated water, electricity, domestic and industrial heat. Floating nuclear power plants with a capacity of 3.5 to 70 or more MW are expected to be distributed. They are intended to provide port cities, large enterprises industries, extractive gas and oil complexes located in the shelf zone.
Specificity
Mobile nuclear power plants are autonomous objects. They are completely created at the shipyard as a non-self-propelled vessel. Finished units are transported by river or sea to the operation site. The customer receives the object in working order. Floating nuclear power plants include a complex of living quarters and a complete infrastructure providing accommodation for the personnel involved in the operation and maintenance of the plant. Thus, the manufacturer and supplier fulfills the turnkey order. The construction in the factory provides the maximum reduction in construction time. At the same time, the Russian floating nuclear power plant complies with all international quality and safety requirements.
Advantages
A floating nuclear power plant is best suited for operation in hard-to-reach areas along the banks of rivers or seas, remote from the central supply systems. In the Russian Federation, these are primarily districts Far East and the Far North. These regions do not have a unified energy system. Economically acceptable and reliable sources of supply are needed here. At present, the need for several dozen low-power stations is very acute in these regions. installations will stimulate economic activity and ensure an adequate standard of living for the population.
Safety
The floating nuclear power plant complies with all international environmental requirements. Fuel enrichment does not exceed the limit for compliance with the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Since the operation is supposed to be in the coastal zone of the world ocean, the issue of the stability of the installation to the impact of extreme natural factors (tornadoes, tsunamis, etc.) is quite relevant.
"OKMB Afrikantov" has a complex innovative technologies, due to which the floating nuclear power plant will withstand any level of dynamic load specified in the project. The scheme of the future installation is created with a certain "safety margin". It exceeds the maximum possible loads in the area of operation. For example, the probability of being hit by a tsunami wave, a collision with a shore facility or another vessel is foreseen. After 40 years of operation, the main power unit of the floating nuclear plant will be replaced by a new one. In this case, the old one will be returned to technological enterprise for recycling. During operation and after its completion, there will be no environmentally hazardous waste on the site where the floating vessel was installed. Repair and reloading of fuel will be carried out in the conditions of operating domestic specialized enterprises. They have everything necessary equipment as well as qualified personnel.
Nuclear expert: floating nuclear power plants. good catch
Currently, there are many articles published on the topic. Many of them present some of the developments of a number of leading research and design institutes. For example, in 2015, the concept of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was covered. It is believed that a floating nuclear power plant (a photo of the installation can be seen in the article) is one of the most promising options for supplying settlements in which there are not enough resources of the coastal zone. The concept of the institute combines two fairly well-known technologies. In particular, the design of a deep-water oil platform is also considered.
In the middle of the twentieth century, the best minds of mankind worked hard on two tasks at once: on the creation of an atomic bomb, and also on how the energy of the atom could be used for peaceful purposes. So the first in the world appeared. What is the principle of operation of nuclear power plants? And where in the world are the largest of these power plants located?
History and features of nuclear energy
"Energy is the head of everything" - this is how the well-known proverb can be paraphrased, given the objective realities of the 21st century. With each new round of technological progress, humanity needs an increasing amount of it. Today, the energy of the "peaceful atom" is actively used in the economy and production, and not only in the energy sector.
Electricity produced at so-called nuclear power plants (the principle of operation of which is very simple in nature) is widely used in industry, space exploration, medicine and agriculture.
Nuclear energy is a branch of heavy industry that extracts heat and electricity from the kinetic energy of the atom.
When did the first nuclear power plants appear? Soviet scientists studied the principle of operation of such power plants back in the 40s. By the way, in parallel they also invented the first atomic bomb. Thus, the atom was both "peaceful" and deadly at the same time.
In 1948, I. V. Kurchatov suggested that the Soviet government begin to conduct direct work for the extraction of atomic energy. Two years later, in the Soviet Union (in the city of Obninsk, Kaluga region), the construction of the very first nuclear power plant on the planet began.
The principle of operation of all is similar, and it is not at all difficult to understand it. This will be discussed further.
NPP: principle of operation (photo and description)
At the heart of any work is a powerful reaction that occurs when the nucleus of an atom divides. Uranium-235 or plutonium atoms are most often involved in this process. The nucleus of atoms divides the neutron that enters them from the outside. In this case, new neutrons are produced, as well as fission fragments, which have a huge kinetic energy. It is this energy that is the main and key product of the activity of any nuclear power plant.
This is how you can describe the principle of operation of a nuclear power plant reactor. In the next photo you can see what it looks like from the inside.
There are three main types of nuclear reactors:
- high power channel reactor (abbreviated as RBMK);
- pressurized water reactor (VVER);
- fast neutron reactor (FN).
Separately, it is worth describing the principle of operation of nuclear power plants as a whole. How it works will be discussed in the next article.
The principle of operation of nuclear power plants (diagram)
Works in certain conditions and under strictly defined conditions. In addition to (one or more), the structure of a nuclear power plant includes other systems, special facilities and highly qualified personnel. What is the principle of operation of nuclear power plants? Briefly, it can be described as follows.
The main element of any nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor, in which all the main processes take place. We wrote about what happens in the reactor in the previous section. (as a rule, most often it is uranium) in the form of small black tablets is fed into this huge cauldron.
The energy released during the reactions taking place in a nuclear reactor is converted into heat and transferred to the coolant (usually water). It should be noted that the coolant in this process receives a certain dose of radiation.
Further, the heat from the coolant is transferred to ordinary water (through special devices - heat exchangers), which boils as a result. The resulting water vapor drives the turbine. A generator is connected to the latter, which generates electrical energy.
Thus, according to the principle of operation of a nuclear power plant, this is the same thermal power plant. The only difference is how the steam is generated.
Geography of nuclear power
The top five countries in terms of nuclear energy production are as follows:
- France.
- Japan.
- Russia.
- South Korea.
At the same time, the United States of America, generating about 864 billion kWh per year, produces up to 20% of the entire electricity of the planet.
There are 31 states in the world that operate nuclear power plants. Of all the continents of the planet, only two (Antarctica and Australia) are completely free from nuclear energy.
Today, there are 388 nuclear reactors operating in the world. True, 45 of them have not generated electricity for a year and a half. Most of the nuclear reactors are located in Japan and the United States. Their full geography is presented on the following map. Countries with operating nuclear reactors are marked in green, their total number in a particular state is also indicated.
The development of nuclear energy in different countries
In general, as of 2014, there is a general decline in the development of nuclear power. The leaders in the construction of new nuclear reactors are three countries: Russia, India and China. In addition, a number of states that do not have nuclear power plants are planning to build them in the near future. These include Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and a number of North African countries.
On the other hand, a number of states have taken a course towards a gradual reduction in the number of nuclear power plants. These include Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. And in some countries (Italy, Austria, Denmark, Uruguay) nuclear power is prohibited at the legislative level.
The main problems of nuclear power
With the development of nuclear power is associated with one significant ecological problem. This is the so-called environment. So, according to many experts, nuclear power plants emit more heat than thermal power plants of the same capacity. Especially dangerous is thermal pollution of waters, which disrupts the lives of biological organisms and leads to the death of many species of fish.
Another acute problem associated with nuclear energy concerns nuclear safety in general. For the first time, mankind seriously thought about this problem after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Principle of operation Chernobyl nuclear power plant not much different from that of other nuclear power plants. However, this did not save her from a major and serious accident, which entailed very serious consequences for the whole of Eastern Europe.
Moreover, the danger of nuclear energy is not limited to possible man-made accidents. So, big problems arise with the disposal of nuclear waste.
Advantages of nuclear energy
Nevertheless, supporters of the development of nuclear energy also name the obvious advantages of the operation of nuclear power plants. Thus, in particular, the World Nuclear Association recently published its report with very interesting data. According to him, the number of human casualties accompanying the production of one gigawatt of electricity at nuclear power plants is 43 times less than at traditional thermal power plants.
There are other equally important benefits. Namely:
- low cost of electricity production;
- environmental cleanliness of nuclear energy (with the exception of only thermal pollution of water);
- the absence of a strict geographical reference of nuclear power plants to large sources of fuel.
Instead of a conclusion
In 1950, the world's first nuclear power plant was built. The principle of operation of nuclear power plants is the fission of an atom with the help of a neutron. As a result of this process, an enormous amount of energy is released.
It would seem that nuclear energy is an exceptional boon for mankind. However, history has proven otherwise. In particular, two major tragedies - the accident at the Soviet Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 and the accident at the Japanese power plant Fukushima-1 in 2011 - demonstrated the danger posed by the "peaceful" atom. And many countries of the world today began to think about the partial or even complete rejection of nuclear energy.
I did not particularly believe that such an ambitious and unusual project could be brought to a product in metal. Back in the 1950s, they appeared on wheels, on tracks and afloat. Since that time, nothing has passed into real samples.
And so, on April 28, the Akademik Lomonosov nuclear floating power unit (FPU) left the territory of the Baltic Plant in St. Petersburg, where it had been under construction since 2009, and headed to its base - to Chukotka.
The FPU towing to Pevek (Chukotka) is planned to be carried out in two stages: from St. Petersburg to Murmansk, without nuclear fuel on board, and then from Murmansk - to Pevek - tentatively in the summer of 2019 with nuclear fuel already loaded.
The entire range of towing and shunting services related to the passage of a floating power unit (FPU) along the route St. Petersburg - Murmansk - Pevek will be provided by the Marine Rescue Service of Rosmorrechflot.
In Pevek itself, where the floating nuclear thermal power plant (FNPP) will be located, construction works, including the construction of a pier-pier, hydraulic structures (HTS) and a coastal platform, designed to ensure the safe parking of the power unit and the acceptance of the power bridge from it.
This autumn, nuclear fuel will be loaded into the reactor and its physical start-up will take place in Murmansk, and the FPU ready for operation will be delivered along the Northern Sea Route to Pevek and connected to the coastal infrastructure. “After commissioning, which is scheduled for 2019, the FNPP will replace the Bilibino nuclear power plant and Chaunskaya CHPP, which are already technologically outdated, and will become the northernmost nuclear power plant in the world,” the report says.
"The installation of FNPP in hard-to-reach regions of Russia is very promising direction development of Russian engineering thought,” says Ivan Andrievsky, First Vice President of the Russian Union of Engineers. He recalls that the President of the country has repeatedly spoken about the importance of developing the Far North. In addition, Andrievsky told the Center for Energy Expertise, “The project meets all the requirements of the IAEA, all sorts of claims against him at the international level. Given the growing interest in the Arctic on the part of a number of countries, and the fact that the satisfaction of energy needs in this region is associated with a number of understandable difficulties that these countries have not yet fully resolved, the emergence of FNPP will certainly arouse scientific and business interest among a number of Russian partners [... ]".
In turn, Advisor to the President of FINAM Group of Companies Yaroslav Kabakov recalled that many states showed interest in the project even at the construction stage, and "China is especially active in this direction." According to the expert, "with the commissioning of the first FNPP, in case of its successful operation, it can be expected that the project will want to be implemented by countries that could not even dream of developing nuclear energy in their countries before."
The floating power unit (FPU) "Akademik Lomonosov" of project 20 870 is the head project of a series of mobile transportable power units of low power. It is designed to operate as part of a floating nuclear thermal power plant (FNPP) and represents a new class of mobile power sources based on Russian nuclear shipbuilding technologies. The station is equipped with two KLT-40S reactors capable of generating up to 70 MW of electricity and 50 Gcal/h of thermal energy in the nominal operating mode, which is enough to support the life of a city with a population of about 100,000 people. PEB is a unique and the world's first project of a mobile transportable low-capacity power unit. It is designed for operation in the regions of the Far North and the Far East.
The power unit of the floating nuclear power plant set off. Behind a boring, seemingly encyclopedic description, lies incredible power.
Without going into dry figures, one such unit can easily provide heat, light, and even fresh water to a city with a population of more than 100,000 people. For comparison, in Chukotka, off the coast of which the station will eventually moor, there are only 50 thousand inhabitants.
A huge structure with a length of 144 meters, it is like one and a half football fields, 30 meters in height, approximately like a standard nine-story building. In the next 20 days, the power unit will be towed around Scandinavia, to Murmansk, where the second stage of preparation will take place. And the final destination is Pevek.
So the first floating nuclear power unit in history was escorted on a journey that lasted more than a year - from St. Petersburg to the distant Chukotka Pevek. From their native pier, the excited workers of the Baltic Shipyard watched for almost two hours as their Akademik, surrounded by transport tugboats, slowly departed.
At a speed of only five knots, that's about nine kilometers per hour, the world's first floating nuclear thermal power plant leaves St. Petersburg. All 50 kilometers along the Neva and the Gulf of Finland the station will be escorted by river tugs. Late in the evening they will be replaced by larger sea tugs. "Akademik Lomonosov" will enter the waters of the Baltic Sea.
More than two thousand nautical miles ahead. The towing caravan will pass through four seas to the new port. Along the coasts of Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway, the station will be completely empty. It was decided to load nuclear fuel already in Murmansk, only after that the station will continue its journey to Chukotka. Neighboring countries can be calm - there is no nuclear threat to their security.
Pavel Ipatov
Deputy CEO Concern "Rosegergoatom", project manager for the construction and operation of floating nuclear thermal power plants
This is primarily due to the fact that this is the first power unit - generally the first in the world - and international rules for the transportation of such objects today simply does not exist. Today, the transportation of this vessel without nuclear fuel is, in my opinion, the most the right decision, firstly, from the point of view of security, and from the point of view of good neighborly relations with these countries in general.
A project that has already entered world history, "Rosatom" hatched for a long time. For almost nine years at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg, they painstakingly built something that no one had done before them. Although tried in many countries. China was going to build the same floating stations only after 2020. Russia has done before. And the country is not going to concede leadership in energy development projects further, as the head of Rosatom reported to the president back in February.
Alexey Likhachev
Director General of the State Corporation Rosatom
It is also very important to note that not only such powerful stations, but also a number of small and medium power sources are being developed by the state corporation. This year, our "first-born" - the floating nuclear power plant "Akademik Lomonosov" - will begin its work; we plan to make a physical launch. All these developments, Vladimir Vladimirovich, in our energy, or something, nuclear agenda allow us to maintain international leadership. Despite fierce competition, today we are building more blocks abroad than all other countries combined.
Even at the construction stage at the Baltic Shipyard, they regularly met potential buyers from the Arab world and Indonesia. Such floating thermal power plants can also work for water desalination. Up to 240 thousand cubic meters of fresh water per day. But the very first floating power unit in the world is not for sale abroad - the station will become a source of heat and electricity for thousands of Chukotka residents. It was built specifically for the country's northernmost city, Pevek. On permafrost lands, Akademik Lomonosov will replace the small Bilibino NPP. Its service life expires in a few years.
Pavel Ipatov
Deputy General Director of the Rosegergoatom Concern, Project Manager for the construction and operation of a floating nuclear thermal power plant
The North, in general, the entire North, it is quite sensitive to human activities. So, the floating power unit is good because it came, served its time, and left. At the same time, he environment does not affect negatively, and leaves behind neither radioactive waste, nor pollution, nothing of the kind negative.
Almost one and a half football fields long and as high as a ten-story building, the mobile station was equipped with two nuclear reactors of the same series that have long been successfully used on Russian submarines and icebreakers. Energy capacity, as experts say, is enough for a city with a population of 100,000 inhabitants. And this is even twice as many as live in the whole of Chukotka today.
It is expected that the Akademik Lomonosov will enter the port of Murmansk in 18-20 days. There, on the shore, the crew will already be waiting for him to immediately begin launch tests. Summer next year floating nuclear thermal power plant will go further to Chukotka.
MOSCOW, November 2 - RIA Novosti. Rosatom has successfully launched the reactor of the first domestic floating nuclear power unit, an industry representative told RIA Novosti.
"The physical launch of the starboard reactor plant of the Akademik Lomonosov floating power unit took place on Friday. The reactor plant reached the minimum controllable power level at 17:58 Moscow time," the agency's interlocutor said.
"Academician Lomonosov"
The floating power unit "Akademik Lomonosov" of project 20870 is the head project of a series of low-power mobile power units. The power unit was built at the Baltic Shipyard (St. Petersburg). It is designed to operate as part of a floating nuclear thermal power plant (FNPP).
The power unit is suitable for operation in the regions of the Far North and the Far East. Its main purpose is to provide energy to remote industrial enterprises, port cities, as well as gas and oil platforms on the high seas. It is planned to put the power unit into operation in the port of Pevek in Chukotka in December 2019.
Akademik Lomonosov is equipped with two KLT-40S reactors capable of generating electricity and thermal energy in the nominal operating mode, which is enough to maintain the life of a city with a population of about 100 thousand people.
FNPP is designed with a large margin of safety, which exceeds all possible threats and makes nuclear reactors invulnerable to tsunamis and other natural disasters. Nuclear processes at the floating power unit meet all IAEA requirements and do not threaten the environment.