Tanaji wrote:https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation ... 91202.html
Keen to engage with India on nuclear test ban treaty
CTBT Organization executive secretary Dr Robert Floyd defends US on subcritical N-tests, would like New Delhi to have observer status on Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Reading between the lines, he has been told to get lost.
The third unit of the indigenously developed 700-megawatt electric (MWe) nuclear power reactor at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP3) in Gujarat has commenced operations at full capacity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on social media platform X, “India achieves another milestone. The largest indigenous 700 MWe Kakrapar Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 in Gujarat starts operations at full capacity. Congratulations to our scientists and engineers.”
This comes a little over three years since the unit achieved its ‘first criticality’ – a technical term that signifies the initiation of a controlled, but sustained nuclear fission reaction – in July 2020. On June 30 this year, the unit had started commercial operations.
In India’s civilian nuclear programme, this is seen as a landmark event, given that KAPP-3 is the country’s first 700 MWe unit and the biggest indigenously developed variant of the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). The PHWRs, which use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator, constitute the mainstay of India’s nuclear power fleet. Till now, the biggest reactor of indigenous design was the 540 MWe PHWR, two of which have been deployed in Tarapur, Maharashtra.
For India, the operationalisation of its first 700MWe reactor is a significant scale up in technology, both in terms of the optimisation of its PHWR design — the new 700MWe unit addresses the excess thermal margins (thermal margin refers to the extent to which the operating temperature of the reactor is below its maximum operating temperature) — and also marks an improvement in the economies-of-scale, without significant design changes to the 540 MWe reactor.
Four units of the 700MWe reactor are being constructed at Kakrapar (KAPP-3 and 4) and Rawatbhata (RAPS-7 andsite in Rajasthan currently. The 700MWe reactors are slated to be backbone of a new fleet of 12 reactors that the NDA government accorded administrative approval and financial sanction in 2017 and that are to be set up in fleet mode.
As India works to ramp up its existing nuclear power capacity of 7,480 MWe to 22,480 MWe by 2031, the 700MWe capacity would constitute the biggest component of this expansion plan. Currently, nuclear power capacity constitutes around 2 per cent of the total installed capacity of 4,17,668 MW (May 31).
Significantly, as India’s civilian nuclear sector gears up to its next frontier — building a 900 MWe Pressurised Water Reactors (PWRs) of indigenous design – the experience of executing the larger 700MWe reactor design would come in handy, especially with respect to the improved capability of making large-size pressure vessels, alongside India’s own isotope enrichment plants being developed to supply a part of the required enriched uranium fuel to power these new generation reactors over the next decade or so, according to DAE officials.
The first ‘pour of concrete’ for laying the foundation of KAPP-3 happened in November 2010 and this unit was originally expected to be commissioned in 2015. State-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), which operates the bulk of India’s nuclear power fleet, had awarded the reactor building contract of both KAPP Unit 3 and 4 to Larsen & Toubro at an original contract value of Rs 844 crore. The original cost of two 700 MWe units was pegged at Rs 11,500 crore and the tariff per unit was originally calculated at Rs 2.80 per unit (kWh) at 2010 prices (roughly a cost of about Rs 8 crore per MWe). The costing is expected to have seen some escalation, given the project delays.
The capital investment for these nuclear power projects is being funded with a debt-to-equity ratio of 70:30, with the equity part of NPCIL being funded from internal resources and through budgetary support.
In terms of safety features, the PHWR technology scores high, with the biggest advantage of the PHWR design being the use of thin walled pressure tubes instead of large pressure vessels used in pressure vessel type reactors. This results in a distribution of pressure boundaries to a large number of small diameter pressure tubes and thereby lowers the severity of the consequence of an accidental rupture of the pressure boundary than in a pressure vessel type reactor.
Additionally, the 700 MWe PHWR design has enhanced safety through dedicated ‘Passive Decay Heat Removal System’, which has the capability of removing decay heat (the heat released as a result of radioactive decay) from the reactor core without requiring any operator actions, on the lines of similar technology adopted for Generation III+ plants to negate the possibility of a Fukushima type accident that happened in Japan in 2011. The 700 MWe PHWR unit, like the one deployed in KAPP, is equipped with a steel-lined containment to reduce any leakages and a containment spray system to reduce the containment pressure in case of a loss of coolant accident.
This video talks about a new type of nuclear fuel called ANEEL that can potentially help India use its thorium reserves.
India has a lot of coal but it is not an ideal fuel because it emits a lot of carbon dioxide. So, India is looking for alternative fuels, and thorium is a good candidate. However, there were challenges in using thorium as a fuel before. This video talks about a new type of nuclear fuel called ANEEL that can help India use its thorium reserves. ANEEL is a mixture of uranium and thorium, but it uses very little uranium and more thorium. This means that it does not need a lot of uranium 235 or plutonium 239, which are difficult to get. ANEEL also burns up much longer than conventional fuel, and it produces less nuclear waste. Additionally, there is no concern of this being diverted to weapon use.
The speaker of the video, M.Rames, interviewed the CEO of Clean Core Thorium Energy, which is the company that developed ANEEL. The CEO, Mr. Sha, explained that ANEEL is almost market ready and they anticipate commercializing it in 2026. Overall, this video is about a new type of nuclear fuel that has the potential to help India use its thorium reserves and transition to green energy.
I hope this summary is helpful!
I watched that live video stream when he gave it.
I posted a comment to his video which he replied to:bala wrote: ↑18 Apr 2024 07:51 INDIA'S THORIUM LEAP TOWARDS SELF SUFFICIENT NUCLEAR ENERGY by LT GEN P R SHANKAR (Retd)
...
LT GEN P R SHANKAR explains a complicated matter (Thorium Nuclear Fuel program Cycle) in a simple manner and also tells the viewer about the strategic implications - Thorium Reactors are a game changer for Bharat. Lots of research material from the outcome of twenty year scientific research and trials. Very detailed and in-depth coverage of fast breeder technology.
Me: Has anyone heard of the hybrid fusion-thorium design, where a fusion reaction operating below breakeven acts as the neutron source for a thorium blanket, thus producing energy to feed/sustain that same fusion reaction. No uranium is required!
Him: Fusion is next generation...
Me: thanks for your reply, sir! Fusion below breakeven (running at an energy deficit instead of net energy output) is something that can certainly be done right now. And it would enable us to breed more Plutonium & U233 in the meantime, just like the rest of Phase 2 -- but it does not require any Uranium, and thus bypasses that limitation which you had pointed to.
Using hybrid and fusion in the same sentence can be confusing to many.sanman wrote: ↑03 May 2024 08:54
I posted a comment to his video which he replied to:
Me: Has anyone heard of the hybrid fusion-thorium design, where a fusion reaction operating below breakeven acts as the neutron source for a thorium blanket, thus producing energy to feed/sustain that same fusion reaction. No uranium is required!
Him: Fusion is next generation...
Me: thanks for your reply, sir! Fusion below breakeven (running at an energy deficit instead of net energy output) is something that can certainly be done right now. And it would enable us to breed more Plutonium & U233 in the meantime, just like the rest of Phase 2 -- but it does not require any Uranium, and thus bypasses that limitation which you had pointed to.
The problem is that there is no sustainable fusion reaction yet. There have long been plenty of devices producing fusion below breakeven, but no devices yet which produce fusion above breakeven. Such devices have existed even since 1950s & 60s.JTull wrote: ↑03 May 2024 15:24 Using hybrid and fusion in the same sentence can be confusing to many.
Hybrid fuels are common used but hybrids with Thorium need further investigation. Using the hybrid isn't straightforward as achieving initial criticality may not be easy with Thorium absorption. Studies must be conducted on neutron flux and how it changes with thorium conversion.
Fusion carries different meaning in case of nuclear science. It is not a jugalbandi. I see many problems with idea. Why would you want to bring Thorium into the mix when a sustainable fusion reaction can give you for an energy source for eternity? Let humanity first build commercial fusion reactors before we worry about the rest.
discussion on the 1998 TN testDr Anil Kakodkar was chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission from 2000 to 2009, during which India signed the civilian nuclear agreement with the United States. Before that, from 1996 to 2000, he was director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, a period during which India conducted two nuclear tests in May 1998.
I asked my colleagues, after these doubts to develop a 3-D model, to look at the rock movement consequently shock, arising out of a nuclear blast.
These movements are different from a normal blast because the strain rates are high, hence the equations to be used are not the same.
Mind you at that time, nobody had developed such a model, including in the US.
Outsiders cite the profile of a test site from satellite pictures after the test and the teleseismic data from some earthquake monitoring stations like they have in Uppasala, Sweden, etc to talk with so much confidence and create doubts about our claims.
So to call that bluff, I said. We not only developed a 3D model but also qualified by using data from Baneberry test (external link) in the US which unfortunately had vented -- leaked radiation.
Because it had vented there was an enquiry and hence a lot of data came out in the public domain.
So we used the Baneberry data and our predictions and sent a paper to a well-known US journal.
Thanks for posting the interview. (In physics world most of what he says is well known)wig wrote: ↑06 May 2024 15:09 https://m.rediff.com/news/interview/dr- ... 240506.htm
interview with Dr Anil Kakodkar. worth while to read the complete articlequote]
Dr Anil Kakodkar was chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission from 2000 to 2009, during which India signed the civilian nuclear agreement with the United States. Before that, from 1996 to 2000, he was director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, a period during which India conducted two nuclear tests in May 1998.
So to call that bluff, I said. We not only developed a 3D model but also qualified by using data from Baneberry test (external link) in the US which unfortunately had vented -- leaked radiation.
Because it had vented there was an enquiry and hence a lot of data came out in the public domain.
So we used the Baneberry data and our predictions and sent a paper to a well-known US journal.
A "flagging off" ceremony was held on 12 July by L&T to mark the shipment of the steam generator from its Hazira complex in Gujarat.
Speaking at the ceremony, Anil Parab, whole-time director and senior executive vice president - L&T Heavy Engineering & L&T Valves, said: "L&T Heavy Engineering, as an industry trendsetter, continues to create global benchmarks in delivery of critical nuclear equipment. Eleven-month early delivery of this second steam generator is another example of consistency and resilience even during pandemic and supply chain disruptions. We are fully geared up as the trusted and dedicated partner of the Department of Atomic Energy and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to triple the current installed nuclear power capacity to 100 GWe by 2047."
In March 2018, L&T Special Steels and Heavy Forgings Private Limited - a joint venture between L&T and NPCIL - received an order worth INR4.42 billion (USD52.9 million) from NPCIL to supply forgings for steam generators. These forgings will be used in the manufacture of the critical equipment for six new indigenous 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), part of the Indian government's plan to construct ten PHWR units.
The Indian cabinet in 2017 approved the construction of ten domestically designed 700 MWe PHWR units using a fleet mode of construction to bring economies of scale as well as maximising efficiency. The first two of these units are Kaiga 5 and 6.
L&T delivered the first steam generator for Kaiga units 5 and 6 in March this year, 12 months ahead of contractual delivery.
Steam generators are heat exchangers used to convert water into steam from heat produced in a nuclear reactor core. In PHWRs, the coolant is pumped, at high pressure to prevent boiling, from the reactor coolant pump, through the nuclear reactor core, and through the tube side of the steam generators before returning to the pump.
L&T says it has "a proven track record of manufacturing more than 42 steam generators for major nuclear power plants across the nation"
---(Please see the article )- China is the breakaway global leader in new nuclear construction.
- China has 21 nuclear reactors under construction which will have a capacity for generating more than 21 gigawatts of electricity, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. That is two and a half times more nuclear reactors under construction than any other country.
- India has the second largest nuclear buildout right now, with eight reactors under construction that will be able to generate more than six gigawatts of electricity. Third place Turkey has four nuclear reactors under construction with a presumed capacity of 4.5 gigawatts.
The United States currently has one nuclear reactor under construction, the fourth reactor at the Vogtle power plant in Georgia, which will be able to generate just over 1 gigawatt. (For the sake of comparison, a gigawatt is about enough to power a mid-sized city.)
“China is the de facto world leader in nuclear technology at the moment,” Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told CNBC.
China is “the determined and pacing leader in global nuclear ambition at the moment,” agrees Kenneth Luongo, president and founder of the Partnership for Global Security, a nuclear and transnational security and energy policy non-profit. China is “leading, even racing ahead,” Luongo said.
China is the fastest growing nuclear power on the planet, building 100 new nuclear warheads every year. While many assume that China’s nuclear arsenal will be the same size as that of the United States’ by 2035, this is mere speculation in absence of evidence. Indeed,there is ample historical reason to believe that China will seek to grow a nuclear arsenal that is substantially larger and more advanced than the United States’ in the coming two decades.
Not really (IMO) -- China (and for that matter India, or US) has already more than enough Pu for any kind of weapons program. Driving force for China, at present - at present it depends mainly on Coal and that is not sustainable for Energy..Most of these Chinese plants are involved in weapons production, yes?
Not really comparable. The Chinese plants are not under IAEA safeguards, and public estimates say the Chinese don't have enough Pu stockpiled for the kind of expansion they are shooting for, leave alone what they might supply to their client states. Assuming that they stockpiled 3.5 tonnes of Pu at the high end, and assuming each bomb requires 3.5kg of Pu at the low end, they necessarily must divert Pu from one of the currently operating reactors to build more than a 1000 bombs.Not really (IMO) -- China (and for that matter India, or US) has already more than enough Pu for any kind of weapons program. Driving force for China, at present - at present it depends mainly on Coal and that is not sustainable for Energy..
Meanwhile:
India's Installed Nuclear Power Capacity to Triple by 2031-32: (per our Union Minister @DrJitendraSingh)
China has produced plutonium for weapons at two sites: the Jiuquan Atomic Energy Complex (also referred as Plant 404) near Yumen in Gansu province and the Guangyuan plutonium production complex (Plant 821), located at Guangyuan in
Sichuan province. The plutonium production reactor at Jiuquan is believed to have been shut down in 1984. The reactor at Guangyuan probably stopped plutonium production by 1989.
China's two plutonium production reactors produced an estimated 3.2±0.6 tonnes of weapon-grade plutonium. Of this amount, about 360 kg of plutonium is estimated to have been consumed in China's nuclear tests and lost in production. The current inventory of weapon-grade plutonium is therefore estimated to be 2.9±0.6 tonnes.
As India aims to diversify its energy sources, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has put nuclear energy in focus in the Union budget 2024-25, presented on July 23. She listed it as one of the nine priority areas for the government.
The minister said nuclear energy is expected to form a significant part of the country’s energy mix in the coming years and has announced setting up of small nuclear plants.
Moneycontrol takes a look at the rationale behind the government’s plan to include nuclear energy in India’s energy basket.
What are small nuclear reactors?
As the name suggests, small modular reactors (SMRs) are nuclear reactors with smaller generating capacity than a traditional nuclear power reactor. SMRs generally have a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit.
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India's atomic energy program has crossed a big hurdle, the country's most advanced and most complex nuclear reactor the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) located at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu has finally got approval from India's atomic regulator to start loading the nuclear fuel and then to go ahead and initiate the controlled chain reaction. "It is a huge milestone for India's self-reliant atomic energy program," confirmed Dinesh Kumar Shukla, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board who added that the "PFBR is an inherently safe reactor".
Excellent news.Amber G. wrote: ↑30 Jul 2024 20:02 India's Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) has received approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to start nuclear fuel loading and initiate a controlled chain reaction. This marks a significant step towards utilizing plutonium as fuel and exploring thorium as an energy source, which is crucial for India's self-reliant atomic energy program. India has limited uranium reserves but abundant thorium reserves, and mastering thorium fuel could ensure energy independence for over three centuries.
This development now marks the use of plutonium as a nuclear fuel and more importantly the first steps at using thorium as an atomic energy source.
The PFBR is a fast breeder reactor that produces more fuel than it consumes, making it an "endless energy source." This is significant because India already operates a Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam for 39 years, and the PFBR represents a major advancement in India's nuclear power program. ....
Speaking as a physicist
Why? If you are not gonna be moving them, this would be an order of magnitude more work. Salt, water, corrosion, etc etc.
That post is consistent ..with some of the latest reports... any way, posting it:
