United Kingdom: new agreement pushes towards the construction of automated modular nuclear reactors
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Rolls-Royce SMR have collaborated on a new project to study the automated and safe operation of nuclear-powered small modular reactors (SMRs) . The NPL is the British physics laboratory that sets measurement standards and is therefore an essential step in high quality design.
SMRs offer a cost-effective approach to nuclear power generation, with the potential to support the UK's net zero emissions ambitions. When developing SMRs, automated analytical capabilities are needed to minimize on-site laboratory testing, reduce waste, site footprint, as well as capital and operational costs.
Rolls Royce SMR Diagram
The NPL-led project is investigating the potential of using inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (a technique for measuring the elemental composition of samples) for the automated measurement of constituents in different chemical compositions of water within a Rolls-Royce SMR as an indicator of reactor operating conditions.
In an efficient and small-sized system such as an SMR, which in any case must guarantee very high safety, it is necessary to know moment by moment any evolutions of the water contained in the cooling systems, so as to be able to prevent in time any imbalances indicative of problems in the system itself.
NPL's team of nuclear scientists has been working for several years to develop traceable techniques for the rapid and repeatable detection of stable and radioactive pollutants for use in a range of nuclear scenarios, including decommissioning, environmental monitoring and nuclear forensic analysis. The advantages of the mass spectrometric technique have been widely published and include the simultaneous measurement of multiple elements; fast measurement time of several minutes per sample; little or no sample preparation; and reduction of analyst time. The NPL Rolls Royce SMR project offers the opportunity to apply proven techniques for the safe and effective operation of SMRs.
NPL's work with Rolls-Royce SMR will therefore allow us to implement this technology with greater safety which promises abundant, stable energy without the emission of CO2 and without a continuous and massive dependence on the import of raw materials from abroad, such as hydrocarbons.
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The article United Kingdom: new agreement pushes towards the construction of automated modular nuclear reactors comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/regno-unito-nuovo-accordo-spinge-verso-la-realizzazione-dei-reattori-nucleari-modulari-automatizzati/ on Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:00:36 +0000.