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Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
Risto Saari
Nuclear Technology | Volume 38 | Number 2 | April 1978 | Pages 209-214
Technical Paper | Low-Temperature Nuclear Heat / Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT78-A32014
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new seawater desalination method, Nord-Aqua Vacuum Evaporation, which utilizes waste heat at a very low temperature, has been developed. The requisite vacuum is obtained by a barometric column and siphon, and the dissolved air is removed from the vacuum by water flows. According to test results from a pilot plant, the process is operable if the waste heat exists at a temperature 7 K higher than ambient. The pumping energy that is then required is 38 kJ/kg, or 1.5% of the heat of vaporization of water. Calculations reveal that the method is considerably superior economically to conventional distilling methods.