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NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Carl Stoots, Lee Shunn, James O'Brien
Nuclear Technology | Volume 178 | Number 1 | April 2012 | Pages 83-93
Technical Paper | Safety and Technology of Nuclear Hydrogen Production, Control, and Management / Nuclear Hydrogen Production | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A13549
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The primary feedstock for synthetic fuel production is syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen. Current hydrogen production technologies rely upon fossil fuels and produce significant quantities of greenhouse gases as a by-product. This is not a sustainable means of satisfying future hydrogen demands given the current projections for conventional world oil production and future targets for carbon emissions. For the past 6 yr, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been investigating the use of high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) to produce the hydrogen feedstock required for synthetic fuel production. HTSE water-splitting technology, combined with non-carbon-emitting energy sources, can provide a sustainable, environmentally friendly means of large-scale hydrogen production. Additionally, laboratory facilities are being developed at the INL for testing hybrid energy systems composed of several tightly coupled chemical processes (HYTEST program). The first such test involved the coupling of HTSE, a CO2 separation membrane, the reverse-shift reaction, and the methanation reaction to demonstrate synthetic natural gas production from a feedstock of water and either CO or a simulated flue gas containing CO2. This paper will introduce the initial HTSE and HYTEST testing facilities, overall coupling of the technologies, testing results, and future plans.