Energetic and economic cost of nuclear heat - impact of the cost of desalination - 5431

An exploratory study has been carried out to evaluate the cost of heat - supplied by a PWR-type nuclear reactor to thermal desalination processes. In the context of this work, simplified models have been developed to describe the thermodynamics of power conversion, the energetics of multi-effect evaporation (MED), and the costs of electricity and heat co-generated by the dual-purpose power plant. The application of these models show that, contrary to widespread belief, (nuclear-powered) MED and seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) are comparable in terms of energy effectiveness. Process heat can be produced, in fact, by a relatively small increase in the core power. As fuel represents just a fraction of the cost of nuclear electricity, the increase in fuel-related expenses is expected to have limited impact on power generation economics. (authors)