The use of reverse osmosis at nuclear power plants. Replacement of evaporator

Evaporators are being used in nuclear power plants for the treatment of primary coolant containing H3BO3 for neutron absorption and other components for adjusting water chemistry. The aim is to achieve a concentrated H3BO3 solution, which is further purified by ion exchangers and then recycled into the primary cycle. Operation of evaporators is expensive, therefore reverse osmosis was proposed as one promising alternative. A pilot-plant RO unit was used for the experiments performed with feed solution. The successful technology is now being implemented at Temelin NPP.