India Finalizes Thorium Reactor Design (Super safe Nuclear reactor)

[ptltejas]

Indian scientists finalise 'super safe' nuke reactor
Kalyan Ray, Nov 16, 2014, DHNS: New Delhi:
A “super-safe” nuclear reactor that does not require any external water or electricity for a month for cooling the red hot core in case of an accident, may be a reality in the near future.
Indian scientists have finalised the design of the reactor, which will come up near Mumbai.

“In all probability, the 300 MWe advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) will come up in Tarapur, near Mumbai. It is designed to have a life of 100 years,” Sekhar Basu, director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, which designed the futuristic reactor told Deccan Herald.

While AHWR is well known to be the first reactor that will consume thorium as fuel, it has several unique design features to make it a super-safe reactor that can be installed closer to urban areas. The Tarapur plant will be a technology demonstration project.

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) plans to co-locate the reactors within thermal power plants as many of them may be abandoned in the future due to paucity of coal. As many coal-fired stations are located close to urban areas, DAE wanted a reactor with top-grade safety parameters. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India currently needs 600 acres for setting up of a nuclear power plant as large tracts of land are used to keep a 5-km exclusion zone around the main plant.

Since land acquisition has turned out to be a contentious issue in the last few years, scientists focused their attention on reactors with futuristic design that will not be requiring that much of land.

Besides providing a proof-of-concept for the thorium technology that will be the mainstay of Indian nuclear sector after a couple of decades, AHWR will also have high longevity unlike the current breed of nuclear reactors that has an average life of 40 years.

The AHWR has been designed to tackle simultaneous extreme events like station black out, multiple system black out, loss of coolant, reactor temperature crossing 1,000 degrees Celsius in the absence of cooling and core meltdown.

“Essentially, it can handle an accident without any external help. The water storage is enough for one month. No electricity is needed to run the pumps as the heat is taken out naturally,” Basu said.

The safety analysis of AHWR has identified an exhaustive list of 55 causes of accidents, which are unlikely to cause any disruption in the functioning of this futuristic nuclear power plant.

Indian scientists finalise 'super safe' nuke reactor


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(Well I could not find any similar thread and as its seems old news in the Nov.14 month on 16th I inclined to start this thread)

 

[ptltejas]

MINDBLOWING NEWS ...Indian scientists finalize design of 'super safe' nuclear reactor..

A “super-safe” nuclear reactor that does not require any external water or electricity for a month for cooling the red hot core in case of an accident, may be a reality in the near future. Indian scientists have finalised the design of the reactor .
If we can make a nuclear reactor like this then we can install it close to city .

Indian - Aerospace/defense NEWS. | Facebook

 

[Mujraparty]

The indigenously-developed Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is likely to be functional by 2020, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh said the nuclear reactor is being developed indigenously. It is expected to be functional by 2020 or one or two years more thereafter, he said during Question Hour.

The reactor is being developed by Bhaba Atomic Research Centre.

Singh also said the reactor would help in ensuring optimal use of thorium. India has one of the largest sources of thorium resources which is a matter of pride, he said.

"Till October, 2014, AMD has established 2,14,158 tonnes in-situ U3O8 (1,81,606 tonnes uranium) resources and 11.93 million tonnes of in-situ resources of monazite resources, which contains about 1.07 million tonnes of Thorium Oxide (ThO2)," he said.

Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) is part of Department of Atomic Energy.

According to the Minister, four districts in Chattisgarh have been identified for possible exploration of uranium.

Besides, the country also has rich sources of monazite.

In the current Five Year Plan period (2012-17), the target is to explore 5,000 sq km for radioactive minerals and out of that, about 750 sq km have already been completed.

There has been 25 per cent increase in overall uranium and monazite resources worldwide, including India, over the last ten years.

Under rules of the Atomic Energy Act, every person who discovers uranium or thorium occurring in any place in India should report the same to the central government within three months of discovering it.

Besides for mining of such minerals, entities have to get a licence.

To another query, Singh said no international treaty has been signed for strategic and commercial use of radioactive elements.

"However, there exists bilateral agreements for Civil Nuclear Cooperation with certain countries for peaceful use of nuclear energy," he noted.

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor Likely to Be Functional by 2020

 

[shree835]

Well Done by Indian scientists