Nuclear Power Technology Development Section
NUCLEAR DESALINATION
Role of Nuclear Energy
Incentives for use of nuclear desalination:
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Experience with nuclear desalination:
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Japan: Over 100 reactor-years of nuclear powered desalination
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Kazakhstan: reactor-years with the Aktau fast reactor (Shutdown in 1999 at end of reactor life)
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India: A 6,300 m3/d MSF-RO unit at the Kalpakkam nuclear power plant
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Role of Small & Medium Reactors (SMRs):
Small and medium reactors are important for desalination because the countries most in need of freshwater often have limited industrial infrastructures and electricity grids. The size of the grid limits the possibilities for integrating a co-generating nuclear power plant into the grid to supply the electricity market, in addition to meeting the energy requirements of a desalination plant. The largest power unit that can be integrated into an electricity grid is about 10-20 % of the grid capacity. Thus existing large reactor designs developed principally for North America, Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, or Japan are less compatible with electricity grids in many developing countries. Smaller reactors are also more appropriate for remote areas that are not suitable for connections to the grid. For both cases – i.e., remote areas and limited grids – progress on new smaller reactor designs should make nuclear power an increasingly attractive potential energy source for
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Last modified: March, 2004