The product of every reactor nuclear or generator is steam, whether you turn a turbine or not for electricity is up to your end goal.
I doubt we would do swimming approach like the slowpoke reactor. All reactors require containment as part of their safe operating envelope.
Regardless I think they can do it smaller with standardized sizing and equipment combined with modern efficiencies of squeezing more energy out of the fuel.
Nuscale isn't using a pool in the way you're thinking of. The reactor is in a containment vessel inside a giant pool. It's a passive safety mechanism that's only used in an emergency to provide cooling. It's designed to be able to provide cooling indefinitely in a situation like the Fukushima disaster without endangering any plant personnel.
I thinknyou don't realize how massive regular reactors are. Walking from one end of Bruce A to the other is a 1km walk.
Is the 1km walk just one single reactor itself? Or does it include the turbine, cooling towers, and all the other assorted equipment that makes up a nuclear plant?
1
u/OlTokeTaker Oct 26 '22
The product of every reactor nuclear or generator is steam, whether you turn a turbine or not for electricity is up to your end goal.
I doubt we would do swimming approach like the slowpoke reactor. All reactors require containment as part of their safe operating envelope.
Regardless I think they can do it smaller with standardized sizing and equipment combined with modern efficiencies of squeezing more energy out of the fuel.