A Community Reactor
Bringing Nuclear to the Oil Sands
Every jurisdiction in Canada is committed to addressing climate change; however the oil sands account for a large amount of CO2 annually. Bringing nuclear power to the oil sands is a challenge that has been investigated tentatively with carbon mitigation being a major motive. Another motive is the fact that fuel cost is a very high percentage of gas-fired power costs but a very small percentage of nuclear power costs making nuclear energy an effective hedge against rising fossil fuel prices AND greenhouse gas emissions.
Albertans are very understanding and knowledgeable about industrial projects and industrial change as well as the environmental challenges that come with them. Bringing nuclear to Alberta would require investment (private and public) and working with the regulator to obtain a site license. These are not insurmountable roadblocks but require community support.
Check out these articles about bringing nuclear to Alberta:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/nuclear-power-oilsands-1.5142864
The Pebble-Bed Reactor Design
In a pebble-bed reactor, the fuel pebbles are circulating in the core, cooled with pressurized Helium.
The generated heat is transferred through a heat exchanger to a turbine, using it to generate electricity.
Instead of wasting it, the remaining heat can then be recycled and used for a variety of applications. Among them: clean up the tar sands, a process requiring a high temperature.
Throughout their lifetime, the pebbles are recirculated around 10 ten times. Once used enough, the spent pebbles are discharged and ready to put directly to dry storage.
For a technical description of this type of reactor, click here.
Walk-Away Safe
The inherent safety features will never fail. This is due to the self-stabilization and limitation of the maximum fuel temperature in a depressurization accident. The chain reaction is stopped by the Doppler-Effect, demonstrated in the graph to the left. Thus, neither massive fuel degradation nor core meltdown will be possible.
Since the possibility of fuel degradation is eliminated, almost all of the fission products are retained inside the coating of the pebble during normal operation and accident conditions.
For more information regarding the safety system of this reactor please visit the following link:
IAEA: Advances in High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Fuel Technology
A Strong Fuel Design
TRISO fuels are structurally more resistant to neutron irradiation, corrosion, oxidation, and high temperatures. The kernel is a two-phase mixture of UO2 and UC2, known as UCO. The fuel particles are embedded in channels in a graphite fuel assembly.
A Safer Coolant
Helium is a gas, which means that it does not suffer from phase changes, therefore it can handle higher temperature operations.
As a noble gas He has low interactions with neutrons and therefore does not become radioactive with time.
Project Budget and Schedule
Project timelines have been major challenges for nuclear worldwide. The PBR has been installed successfully around the world and is currently in operation in China with a demonstration plant of 10 MW. China is currently building two modular units to create 250 MW of clean reliable energy.
From Approval to Construct to Online Power takes an average of 5-7 years. Once one unit is construction, modules may be added as the need increases.
The larger modules of HTR-PM installed in China is expected to cost $2000 USD/kW; however, as these units are constructed more frequently the cost is expected to decrease by 60%.
For more information visit the IAEA document about the HTR-PM Reactor