China installs the operational core of the world’s first true Modular Nuclear Reactor
The Linglong One modular nuclear reactor core module, the world's first commercial land-based SMR, has been successfully installed in southern China's Hainan province, marking a major milestone for SMR installation.
“ This lays a solid foundation for the installation and testing of the subsequent auxiliary system,” Deng Xiaoliang, deputy general manager of Hainan Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., under the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), told CGTN.
The core module, dubbed the "heart of Linglong One", is a highly integrated piece consisting of the reactor pressure vessel, steam generator, lead pump receiver and other critical equipment.
Its steam generator was welded to the reactor pressure vessel before lifting, which is similar to integrating the "lung" and "heart" of the nuclear power plant.
The module is a precision piece of machinery that requires precise control of gravitational acceleration, and for this reason its installation was carried out with strict control of the climatic situation.
“Adverse weather conditions, such as strong winds and heavy rain, present a challenge to the safety of the equipment,” Zhao Long, deputy director of the institute's project engineering department, told CGTN.
“To ensure a safe and successful one-time installation, the weather conditions need to be ideal,” he added.
Small size, flexible installation, green contributor
The modular structure is the main feature of Linglong One, which enables a relatively short construction cycle of the complex with lower cost, but higher safety.
Thanks to a simplified system, this SMR stands out for its small size, which facilitates its transport and use. In addition, it can be customized and used flexibly according to customer needs, which contributes to significant economic benefits.
The world's first small-scale modular commercial pressurized water reactor developed by China National Nuclear Corporation, Linglong One, with a generating capacity of 125 megawatts, can generate 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year when completed, which can meet the needs of 526,000 households and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 880,000 tons or to plant 7.5 million trees.
The technology is known and is nothing but the repetition on a reduced scale of the larger Chinese pressurized water reactors, which in turn derive from projects developed with France.
The reactor can be applied in different scenarios, such as seawater desalination, district heating, industrial steam supply and oil extraction. In fact, its particular characteristic is that it can be integrated into highly energy-intensive industrial plants which also require large quantities of thermal energy, a by-product of the reactor.
The reactor will not only facilitate the establishment of Hainan as a "clean energy island" and the achievement of the country's dual goals of peak carbon and neutrality, but also promote the global development of nuclear energy.
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The article China installs the operational heart of the world's first real Modular Nuclear Reactor comes from Scenari Economics .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-cina-installa-il-cuore-operativo-del-primo-vero-reattore-nucleare-modulare-al-mondo/ on Sat, 26 Aug 2023 15:42:41 +0000.