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MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS - 1963
LEGAL NOTICE
This report was prepared as an account of
Government sponsored work. Neither the
United States, nor the Commission, nor any
person acting on behalf of the Commission:
A. Makes any warranty or representa-
tion, expressed or implied, with respect to
the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness
of the information contained in this report,
or that the use of any information, appa-
ratus, method, or process disclosed in this
report may not infringe privately owned
rights; or
B. Assumes any liabilities with respect
to the use of, or for damages resulting from
the use of any information, apparatus,
method, or process disclosed in this report.
As used in the above, “person acting on
behalf of the Commission” includes any em-
ployee or contractor of the Commission, or
employee of such contractor, to the extent
that such employee or contractor of the
Commission, or employee of such contractor
prepares, disseminates, or provides access
to, any information pursuant to his employ-
ment or contract with the Commission, or
his employment with such contractor.
.
.
.
.
Orne- P
1278
- دم یکی از
i
XX

LEGAL NOTICE
The report mo prepared av ma account of Goveramat onsored mork. Heltbor the Valled
suur, dor the Commission, nor any FTAD arun on beball of the Commission:
A. Mahes my warranty or reprenosu uon, exrrowed or implied, with respect to the accu.
racy, completeness, or uraluloes, of the information contained in the report, or that the we
of any informauna, appuratu', molbod, or process Jaclosed in Wels report may not fairinge
priyetoly owned rigblo; or
B. Asrumcı uy llabilities with respect to the use of, or for demagos reislung from the
un of Lay lalor malon, apparatus, method, or procos, disclosed so wis roport.
As vied in the above, "purico sculas on beball of the Communion" includes way om-
ployeo or contractor of the Commission, or employee of such contractor, to the extort laat
such employs or contractor of the Commission, or employoo cf such contractor proyeros,
dianminaler, or provides acceso lo, wy Information purecast to be employmeat or contrast
with the Commissiva, or bla employceat with such contractor,
ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF NUCLEAR DESALINATION
OTRO LALA
-
C. C. Burwell
-
-
-
-
Nuclear Desalination Programn
-
-
--
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
--
PATENT CLEARANCE OBTAINED. RELEASE TU
THE PUBLIC IS APPROVED. PROCEDURES,
ARE ON FILE IN THE H.. SECTION,
May 3, 1965
*Research Sponsored by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission under contract
with the Union Carbide Corporation
ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF NUCLEAR DESALINATION
C. C. Burwell
Nuclear Desalination Program
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Introduction
In the United States a water shortage already exists in Arizona and
another will soon develop in California. The successively higher cost of
008
Succe
each new water diversion project suggests the need to compare the costs
UW
with those of alternate methoäs of achieving the same result. Large nuclear
dual-purpose desalination plants represent such an alternate method. If
all the cost advantages of nuclear plants are fully exploited, it is probable
that a significant portion of the world's new water requirements will be
economically furnished by desalination.
Much has been written, pro and con, by many authors about the economics
of seawater distillation since Hammond first presented the case for a large
nuclear desalination industry. Arguments against his proposal stem from con-
sideration of only part of the cost advantages of such an industry. It is
generally stated that distilled water can be economically produced if the
production facility is simply made large enough. While size is an important
factor and such plants will be very large (if only because of the quantities
of water required), it is the purpose of this paper to itemize and discuss
the cost factors in addition to the size factor that must be combined if
the goal of low-cost distilled water is to be reached.
Economic Factors
Low Fuel Cost
The basic costs of fuels are listed in Table 1. Simple arithmetic leads
to the conclusion that if fossil fuels are used for seawater distillation,
-
----
- -
-
-
-
-
the cost of the fuel alone will result in a water cost of about 25€/1000 gal.
Such a cost is about two and one-half times that which can be supported by
water uses for irrigation. Nuclear fuels present the only alternative.
Table 1. BASIC COSTS OF FUELS
Cost in Cents
per 100 Btu
Cost Relative to cost of
Coal in Dollars per Ton
Coal
25
8-20
2-5
Enriched 2354
Natural 2354
0.8-2.5
0.2.0.6
Breeder 238, or Th
0.02
0.004
The present enriched-uranium fueled reactors do not offer any signifi-
Ve
Vse
fossil fuels are used to provide the energy required to produce the enrich-
ment. On the other hand, the basic fuel costs shown in Table 1 for natural
uranium and breeder reactors offer significant improvements and point the
way to economic desalination. Figure 1 shows the basis for the natural
uranium fuel cost listed in Table 1. Here the net fuel cost is plotted versus
the size of the fuel fabrication and reprocessing facility. It may be seen
that an increase in throughput from 1 to 10 metric tons of uranium per day
-.2
.
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- 3-
produces a ten-to-one reduction in net fuel cost. A 10 MT/day throughput
corresponds to a 75,000- Mw(t) nuclear industry. The extremely low fuel cost
for breeder reactors is arrived at in a similar fashion.
It is believed that the current emphasis by the AEC on the development
of converter reactors will result in the emergence of this type of reactor
in the nuclear field and the concurrent establishment of a large fuel-
processing industry. If so, low fuel costs for seawater nistillation will
cur
have been provided.
The Dual-Purpose Plant Cost Advantage
A second cost-reduction factor is available from consideration of the
dual-purpose plant concept. Since there is little additional cost involved
in producing higher temperature steam (it may, in fact, even be cheaper to
produce) than can be used directly to heat brine, ** the high-temperature
steam may be cooled by expansion through a power-production turbine prior
to being used for low-temperature brine heating. In this way all the heat
not converted to electrical energy is used by the brine heater. Since no
heat is wasted, the power may be considered to have been produced at a heat
consumption rate of 3413 'Btu/kwh (100% conversion of heat to mechanical
work).
If such power is then sold for a price equal to the cost of producing
power in a power-only plant, the relative thermal inefficiency of the power-
only plant is a credit to the dual plant and shows up in lower water costs.
Figure 2 shows how this principle affects the cost of heat to the evaporator.
*Scale-up in the size of the plant produces a two-to-one reduction in
gross cost. The net cost is the difference between the gross cost and the
credit for the sale of plutonium.
** Problems associated with scale formation currently limit brine tempera-
· tures to about 250°.
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TURBINE THROTTLE
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Figure 2. The Relative Cost of Heat to the Water Plant in a .
Dual Plant as a Function oï the Turbine Exhaust Temperature.
-.-.-•-•
-•-•- -
" "
"...mmm.
Prime steam used for power production becomes less valuable in direct pro-
portion to the percentage of the total cycle efficiency that has already
been generated. Cycle efficiency, in turn, is proportional to the tempera-
ture span between the turbine throttle condition and the condenser con-
dition.
The cost of heat to the evaporator after partial expansion through
a turbine thus becomes one-half to one-third the cost of heat if used as
prime steam. Since the evaporator provides the condenser for the power
cycle, the condenser cost saving is also credited to the evaporator.
nse
S
.
The
condenser cost saving is indicated in Fig. 2 by the fact that the cost of
heat is zero at a temperature above the condenser temperature.
.
In addition to the savings credited to the water plant due to full heat
utilization and elimination of the condensing loov, both the evaporator and
the turbine-generator plants receive the benefit of the lower unit costs of
a larger reactor station than either could support by itself.
The Effect of Large Size
The effect on cost of large size is well known and needs little further
discussion. Figure 3 shows the effect graphically in the case of the capital
cost of the nuclear steam-generating facility. The upper line gives actual
costs of operating plants, as well as conservative estimates of large plant
costs. The lower line shows the new General Electric Company guaranteed
* Cycle efficiency is linearly proportional to temperature span for most
saturated steam cycles. Superheat cycles, both with and without reheat,
deviate from linearity, but the principle involved is still valid.
.6
.
UNCLASSIFIED
ORNL-LR-DWG 78088R1
.
O GE BOILING H2O
A WESTINGHOUSE PRESSURIZED H2O
D20 MODERATED
COAL
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JOHUMBOLDT BAY
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· DOLLARS PER THERMAL KILOWATT
OPDRESDENT
PATHFINDER -
A tt BODEGA BAY HHH
| YANKEE T OT MALIBU BEACH ||
DU PONTOT
Liu i j SARGENT & LUNDY, ORNL
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1000
10,000
THERMAL CAPACITY (megawaits)
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Capital Cosi of Nuclear Steam Generating Facilities.
Figure 3
---
---
---
-
-
.
prices.* The lower line reflects not only the effect of size on costs but
also the effect on costs of an established competitive industry.
Similar capital cost curves have been constructed for both the turbine-
generator and the evaporator portions of the dual-purpose plant. They show
the same trend as seen with the nuclear steam generator and predict an
approximate unit cost reduction factor of 2 for a tenfold increase in size.
Optimization
In both the power plant and evaporator businesses, the coricept of
optimization is well understood and practiced. However, in the light of the
previously described cost factors (low fuel cost, dual plant thermal efficiency,
and large size), the whole subject of optimization must be reviewed. Figure 4
is an illustration of what may be expected from such a review. In Fig. 4
**
the optimum performance ratio is plotted versus the turbine exhaust tempera-
ture for steam costs of 7, 14, and 28¢ per million Btu. Since the capital
cost of the evaporator increases in proportion to its performance ratio, the
optimum performance is a compromise between the cost of heat transfer area
and the amount of energy consumed to produce a given quantity of product.
The curves show that the optimum ratios for 28 and 7¢ steam are 12 and 6,
respectively.
The capital cost of the evaporator has thus been reduced by
“The General Electric Company costs have been revised upward 15% to
include items in the upper curve estimates that may not be part of the pub-
lished price list.
e
Performance ratio is defined as the number of pounds of water that
are produced for each 1000 Btu of heat consumed by the evaporator.
-8.

UNCLASSIFIED
ORNL DWG. 64,-4324
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TURBINE EXHAUST TEMPERATURE, OF
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Figure 4.
The Optimum Water Plant Performance Ratio vs. Turbine Exhaust Temperature for 7€, 14¢, and 28°
per Million Btu Heat Cost.


30 to 40% due to lower heat costs, simply because it is now cheaper to use
more heat than to build the higher performance plant.
Regenerative feedwater heating is another example of the new optimiza-
tions required. Since power is generated at a theoretical heat rate, the
question is raised as to whether or not the costs of feedwater heaters,
turbine-extraction flanges, feedwater heater piping and pumps are justified.
A third example of the optimization review required is that due to the
W
1
availability to the dual-purpose plant of on-site power costing 1 to 2 mills/kwh.
iloni.Ws : voice
Such low power costs will alter conventional ideas with respect to tradeoff
of pumping power costs for increased performance.
wer
res
w
.
Under AEC and OSW sponsorship a large effort at ORNL is in progress
..
..
AV..
-.....
designed to develop the information and computer programs needed to answer
.
.-.--
these and other optimization questions.
.
.
-
.
-
Research and Development
-.-.
The final cost factor is difficult to represent in a table or on a
graph because no one knows how to accurately predict the results of research
cause no one
and development programs.
Indications are that research and development will
uncover many new methods of doing the job better and more cheaply. Examples
of the results that may be expected from such an effort may be found in the
multilevel flash plant concept developed at Oak Ridge, which predicts evapora-
tor costs 30% lower than those of the single-level concept. Improvements in
overall heat transfer coefficients due to the use of extended surface tubing,
Ovo
Se
turbulence promoters, and dropwise condensation promoters present another
promising area of effort. Since the heat transfer surface represents one-
third to one-half the cost of an evaporator, doubling the overall heat transfer
coefficient will reduce the evaporator cost about 20%. Because the field is
a ..
new, many cost improvements can be expected to result from a minimum effort.
List
wie's
- 10 -
The Oak Ridge Dual' Plant Reference Design
It is worthwhile to digress from the subject of costs to present a
picture of a one billion gallon per day dual plant. Figure 5 is the reference
flowsheet. Steam from the reactor passes through the turbine and thence to
the brine heater, where it is condensed and picked up by the feedwater pump
tu complete its circuit with the reactor. No steam from the reactor ends up
in the fresh-water product. Recirculating brine receives its final increment
of temperature in the brine heater and returns to the evaporator. Product
steam flashes from the open brine stream as the brine cascades to successively
lower pressure stages. The product steam is condensed on the lower temperature
brine heating tubes as the product heat of vaporization is recovered
regeneratively.
Figure 6 is a perspective drawing of the reference dual plant, which is
designed to produce one billion gallons per day of fresh water and 4500
megawatts of electricity. It is powered by three 8300-Mw(t) reactors for a
total of 25,000 Mit(t). The reactors are of the pressure-tube type, and they
Sure
are moderated with heavy water, and cooled with boiling light water. The
fuel is natural uranium jacketed in Zircaloy. The design of very large
reactor units of this type is feasible – the 8300-Mw(t) size being only a
little over twice the capacity of the NPR at Hanford - and onstream refuel-
ing will permit high plant availability.
Nine turbine-generators, each producing 500 Mw(e), Curnish a total of
4500 MW(e), of which 4000 Mw(e) is available for sale. Turbine-generator
manufacturers see no problemis in providing these units.
Indeed, it is likely
that a smaller number of turbine-generators will be required by the time
plants of this size are being built.
-ll-
VILASSIFIED
ORNL-IR-DG. 783087
CTO.2
31!!388.
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SL
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1.1!17!-STAGE FL.:SH
EVAPORATOR
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- 12 -
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Figure 5. The Oak Ridge One Billion Gallon Per Day Reference Evaporator Flowsheet.

.
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- 13 .
ک
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کے کان کے کئی کان کنی کے کر کر کے کے لنگر کے کیر
-::1::الت
:33
.
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:::
::
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.
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تر::: 7
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Figure 6. A Perspective Drawing of the Oak Ridge One Billion Gallon Per Day Dual-Purpose
Desalination Plant.


The reference design evaporator is of the multistage flash type. It
is constructed of concrete and has seven vertical brine-tray levels. The
evaporator is 1000 feet wide by 500 feet long by 6 feet high. It is divided
into 18 identical modules, each of which contains 30 stages. The predicted
performance ratio is 5 for a maximum brine temperature of 200°F. The cost
of the reference plant is estimated to be about $1 billion, including $350
million for the reactors, $263 million for the power units, $240 million
for the evaporator, and $73 million for heavy water. The design and cost
estimates have been prepared by Sargent and Lundy Engineers and by Union
Carbide Nuclear Company* in sufficient detail to ensure that the plant can
$
be built with present technology.
The Cost of Vlater
The cost of water from the reference plant should be compared with the
cost of water from alternate systems on the basis of total plant or system
construction and operating costs versus the quantity of products produced.
Such a procedure eliminates the confusion caused by consideration of the
value of power, the type of financing used, and many other factors more
OPA
political than technical that must accompany a pure statement of water cost.
In spite of what has just been said, Fig. 7 has been included to aid the
reader in understanding what the cost factors already discussed mean in
terms of the unit water cost. Here the cost of water is plotted versus the
net electrical production for four assumed values of power. If the power
can be marketed for 1.5 to 2 mills/kwh, water will cost 8-134/1000 gallons at
a net power production level of 4000 Mwle). Such costs are very close to
reaching the agricultural water cost range of 5-100/1000 gallons.
The costs
shown are based on the reference design plant built with municipal financing.
- 14 -
UNCLASSIFIED
ORIIL DIG. 63-2942
1
POWER PRICE 1.5 M/kwh.
:03 OOO5:
2.0 M/Hw
2BLVÍ DO 30.00
- 15 -
!
..
- Lo..
::: .NET LA
NET ELCTRICAL. OUTPUT:
.
.
..
ETCT OF POWERWATTR RATIO
{ BILLIÜN (LL.CS PER DAY
NATURAL URANIUM ILLED PLANTS
. .
Figure 7
!

Such a plant can be built today with existing technology.
The costs do not
reflect any significant contribution from optimization or research and
development.
Summary
In conclusion it may be stated that distilled water may be economically
produced by distillation in a large dual-purpose nuclear facility. Projected
water costs will be low enough for agricultural purposes if full advantage
is taken of the favorable cost features of by-product electricity, natural
uranium or breeder fuels, a large fuel-processing industry, and large-size
construction. Further reductions in water cost will undoubtedly occur as
the results of research and development are applied to the nuclear desalina-
tion industry.
- 16 -
REFERENCES
1.
R. P. Hammond, "Communication from R. P. Hammond, Los Alamos Scientific
Laboratory, October 20, 1955," Background Material for the Report of the
Panel on the Impact of the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Vol. 2,
pp. 311-313, January 1956.
2. F. L. Culler, "The Effect of Scale-Up on Fuel Cycle Cost for Enriched
Fuel and Natural Uranium Fuel Systems," USAEC Report ORNL-TM-564, Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, April 1963.
3. Sargent and Lundy Engineers, "Saline Water Conversion Power Reactor
Plants," Report SL-1998, January 1963.
4. B. E. Mitchell, "Desalination of Sea Water Evaporator Plants," USAEC
Report KD-1780, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, May 1, 1963.
201
5. I. Spiewak, "Use of Large Nuclear Reactors for Desalination of Seawater,"
Lecture Sponsored by the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, 1964-65.
- 17 -
1
END
TMR
DATE FILMED
9/ 1 /65








--
mikor