Future reactor designs
In the Generation IV programme the potential uses of these reactors may be broader than the production of electricity. They may also be sited on an industrial site (and sized very differently from current reactors) so that the 60 per cent or more of heat production that is currently vented into air or otherwise wasted can be used to provide process heat for industry. In some designs the reactor is directly linked to a hydrogen production process, anticipating a shift towards using hydrogen, instead of oil, as an energy transfer medium for vehicles and other uses. Finally, the new reactor designs are intended to 'burn' a broader range of fissile substances so that the problem of disposing of plutonium and other long-lived wastes is reduced as they can be transmuted in the reactor. There are six reactors in the programme at present; the U S is expected to focus on three for further development. The following summarises the reactor system descriptions in the Technology Roadmap for Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems and its assessment of research and development needs and other issues associated with each design.
Future reactor designs, Page 1 of 2
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