Russian engineering regulator Glavgosexpertiza has approved of the design documentation for the lead-cooled Brest-OD-300 fast reactor that is slated for the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC) complex near Tomsk in Russia.
The reactor is to be part of a closed-fuel pilot program that includes a fuel fabrication plant, the lead-cooled fast neutron reactor and a fuel reprocessing plant. The aim of the project – part of the Proryv or Breakthrough project – is to create a nuclear power system in which there is no radioactive waste, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Construction of the fuel fabrication module building is 46 percent complete, Nuclear Engineering International reported. The start date for the reactor, however, has been postponed several times to allow for needed structural tests.
SCC, a subsidiary of TVEL, Rosatom’s fuel manufacturing division, said that installing components for the fabrication module would begin in 2019, with the plant commissioning expected in 2021.
The plant is to produce dense uranium-plutonium (nitride) fuel.
Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko, along with Rosatom General Director Alexei Likhachev issued as statement noting the need to strive for a closed-fuel system to stay competitive in the international marketplace. “It is necessary to achieve such technical and economic parameters of a closed nuclear fuel cycle that will ensure the development of large-scale nuclear energy and allow the industry to maintain its leading position in the export of nuclear power plants and nuclear technologies,” the statement said.
Anonymous comments will be moderated. Join for free and post now!
