Obtaining heat by means of spent reactor fuel elements

摘要

The spent fuel elements discharged from a nuclear reactor develop so-called afterheat because of the radioactive decay of their fission products. This afterheat is presently dissipated unused to the environment of the power station. The afterheat is not inconsiderable in this case: thus, e.g., the annual amount of fuel discharged in a nuclear power station of approx. 35 tonnes in 2 years produces a quantity of heat of 14.67 million kWh, which corresponds to the thermal energy of approximately 1,800 tonnes of coal. It is proposed according to the invention to use this afterheat. The following possibilities are quoted for the use of afterheat - hot water production in the power station itself or externally near the consumer - steam generation in a pressure vessel - provision of process heat in the case of chemical transformations - provision of heat for heating purposes in dwellings.