A few days ago, China's major national science and technology project with completely independent intellectual property rights, Huaneng Shandong Shidaowan high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant demonstration project, on the basis of completing the relevant commissioning tests, successfully completed the 168-hour continuous operation assessment and began commercial operationThis marks that China has become the first country in the world to realize the commercial operation of modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plants, and many core technologies are significantly ahead.
This may seem like a normal commercial operation of a nuclear power plant, but anyone familiar with the technology behind it and the changes knows that this nuclear power plant is not simpleTo borrow the words of the well-known science blogger Dr. Trinity, that is, China has completely solved the safety problem of nuclear power plants!
We don't study technology, and we don't know anything about nuclear technology, but Dr. Trinity is a well-known blogger in the field of science and technology, and he has his own unique insights and research on science and technology, so he can come to such a conclusion, there must be a relevant basis.
There are several main points for this:
Most of the power plants that have had nuclear accidents around the world have been caused by the failure of the cooling system, which led to the meltdown of the core of the nuclear reactor and finally the leakage of radioactive materials.
The fourth-generation nuclear power plant independently developed by China can ensure that in the case of the loss of all cooling capacity, it can maintain a safe state without taking any intervention, and there will be no leakage of any radioactive materials, almost reducing the safety hazards to zero!
As for whether China's fourth-generation nuclear power plant has completely solved the safety problem, we do not know, but what is certain is that its safety level has indeed been greatly improved, which can greatly reduce the occurrence of nuclear leakage, which may cause a new round of nuclear power revolution.
We all know that nuclear energy is a very promising energy source, but at present, the world's nuclear power stations are nuclear fission, nuclear fission has certain potential safety risks, from Chernobyl to Fukushima nuclear power plant have shown that nuclear power plants are not 100% safe, once an accident occurs, it may lead to the leakage of radioactive materials at any time, which has a very far-reaching impact on the environment and other aspects.
In order to solve the safety problem of nuclear leakage, some major countries in the world have been seeking new technologies, and one of the most important directions is nuclear fusion.
Compared with nuclear fission, nuclear fusion can be said to be both safe and clean, and the key is that the material is inexhaustible, which is the most ideal energy source for human beings.
However, it is very difficult to achieve controlled nuclear fusion, and the ignition alone needs to reach a temperature of hundreds of millions of degrees, and there are almost no successful ignition in the world.
As for when nuclear fusion will be able to achieve technological breakthroughs and be put into commercial operation, we do not know for sure, but one thing is for sure that in the future, as the global carbon emission target is getting closer and closer, countries around the world will control carbon emissions more and more strictly, the proportion of traditional thermal power stations will gradually decrease, and the corresponding proportion of clean energy will gradually increase.
At present, the most common clean energy is hydropower, solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, etc., but these clean energy has obvious seasonality, power generation fluctuations are relatively large, the most important thing is that these clean energy requirements for the natural environment are very strict, and not every place is suitable for the development of these clean energy.
So in the final analysis, the real solution to human energy is still relying on nuclear power.
However, the potential safety risks of nuclear fission power stations are relatively large, and many countries have closed nuclear power plants in recent years, such as Germany has shut down most of the nuclear power plant units, and Taiwan has also closed several nuclear power plants, and it is expected that all nuclear power plants will be shut down in the future.
But in the long run, the closure of nuclear power plants is only a stopgap measure, and can not solve the energy problem, after all, relying on traditional fossil energy, including oil, natural gas, coal and other resource reserves will gradually decrease, the future will be the most likely to rise, the cost of power generation will also rise.
Compared with these fossil energy sources, nuclear power plants are obviously more efficient and cleaner, and if they can solve safety problems, especially nuclear leakage, then nuclear power plants will have great development prospectsThe major breakthrough in safety technology achieved by China's fourth-generation nuclear power plant has given new hope to human energy.
The fourth-generation nuclear energy system uses a modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, and its reactor core is made of high-temperature resistant materials such as graphite, so that the core outlet temperature can reach a height that is difficult for other reactor typesIn addition, the inert gas helium is used for core cooling and heat conduction, which does not easily react with other reactor substances at high temperatures, thus achieving inherent safety.
Of course, in addition to safe power generation, the fourth-generation nuclear power plant can also achieve combined heat and power, the fourth-generation nuclear power plant uses a high-temperature cold reactor, which generates a large amount of heat at the same time, which can directly supply heat to residents.
In addition, high temperature can also be used to split water to produce hydrogen, which truly achieves multiple birds with one stone.
And the 4th generation of nuclear reactors may not have such strict requirements for the environment, the previous nuclear power plants are basically built on the seaside, covering a relatively large area, and the first nuclear reactor can be miniaturized production, can build 200,000, 400,000, 600,000, 800,000, 1 million kilowatts and other series of installed capacity of nuclear power units, so that nuclear power plants are no longer the patent of coastal provinces, and some places in the interior can also build this kind of nuclear power plant.
It is foreseeable that after the 4th generation of nuclear reactors are put into commercial operation, China's installed nuclear power capacity will further increase in the future, according to the industry, by 2030 or so, China's installed nuclear power capacity in operation is expected to reach 100 million kilowatts, and the capacity of nuclear power units under construction and operation in 2035 is expected to exceed 200 million kilowatts, and the proportion of nuclear power generation in the country is expected to reach about 10%, which will help reduce the use of fossil energy, thereby reducing the generation of carbon emissions.