Photo credit: strana-rosatom.ru
There was news that went almost unnoticed at the end of September: Russian scientists have succeeded in operating the fourth power unit at Beloyarsk NPS in the Sverdlovsk Region at 100% capacity with a full load of innovative MOX fuel. This provided an opportunity to close the nuclear cycle.
How can it be explained in simple terms? The testing suggests so-called fast-neutron reactors have been developed, which are a revolutionary novelty. There is no longer a need to dispose the nuclear waste from other nuclear power plants and make exclusion zones, thus exposing ourselves and generations to a great risk. Now it can be used again being reprocessed in an appropriate way. This way, the nuclear industry serves human well-being and can supply consumers with cheap power without harming the environment.
The BN-800 reactor was successfully tested at Beloyarsk NPS. This means that the nuclear power industry will be almost waste-free since it will be based on Uranium-238. The volumes of the latter are sufficient for more than one million years. In the meantime, traditional slow-neutron nuclear power plants all over the world use Uranium-235, which is contained in the ore in negligible amounts (about 0.3 %).
“Essentially, the fast-neutron reactor will become some kind of Perpetuum Mobile. This can be described as equipment to process all the raw uranium that will be extracted from the earth. It will be all used to produce power. What will happen in the end? As a result of this technological process, we'll increase the raw material base of the Russian nuclear power industry by 100 times. Just imagine, they used to say we had enough uranium for 100 years. Now we have enough of it for 10,000 years! Here is another example. The number of nuclear power plants can be increased by 100 times," explains Alexander Uvarov, head of the Atominfo Center and editor-in-chief of the Atominfo portal.
Nevertheless, Rosatom experts do not plan to stop there. Instead, the corporation commenced construction of the BREST. It is a fast-neutron reactor as well that has a lead coolant. In other words, it is a reactor with enhanced safety. However, there is a difference. The BN-type reactor requires a special fuel recycling unit, while BREST recycles it right at the power plant. Therefore, power generation is safe and cheaper in the latter case.
Needless to say, a shift of this kind did not take place overnight. The BN-800 reactor was designed to use MOX fuel right from the start. However, it took a few years to load it, thus, the technology was worked through step by step. Even though this technology was not invented by Russian scientists, our country has achieved such success as the first in the world.
“Despite the fact that we had no contest in using this technology, there is no doubt that now we are the world leader in this field," Alexander Uvarov is convinced. "Currently, both fast-acting sodium reactors are operating in Russia. Besides, it's the first time ever that a BN-800 reactor with MOX fuel is operating at 100% capacity. It's an outstanding event.”
It means that a kind of energy revolution has taken place, all against the declining levels of nuclear power in the world. For instance, France has traditionally relied on nuclear power plants, and today it faces a challenging situation. The French have not modernized their reactors for a long time, and now a large number of them are close to the completion of their service life. Construction of new reactors requires a lot of time and money.
According to many experts, Germany, and Europe in general, made a reckless move when they shut down their nuclear power plants. Now that they cannot or do not want to buy gas from Russia and as winter is coming, they are going to face severe challenges.
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