Nº 1, mes de abril
Nuclear desalination to satisfy water-stressed regions needs.
"Statistics show that 2.3 billion people living in water-stressed regions and about 1.7 billion live in regions with water shortages ... nuclear desalination is one of the alternatives for obtaining desalinated water that is taking into account to meet the global demand for water "
The latest data show that 2.3 billion people living in water-stressed regions and about 1.7 billion live in regions with water shortages. Situation will worsen over the years. Improved water conservation and control their resources and water pollution are part of the solution designed for water stress. Likewise, there are new sources of potable water, such as desalination of seawater. Currently, the technologies related to desalination are well established and contracted capacity of desalination plants in the world is about 32.4 million m3/day.
Nuclear desalination is one of the alternatives for obtaining desalinated water that is being taken into account to meet the global demand for water. Nuclear desalination is defined as the production of potable water from seawater in an infrastructure in which a nuclear reactor is used as an energy source (electric or thermal) for the desalination process. The infrastructure should be dedicated solely to the production of potable water, or be used to produce electricity and potable water in this case, only a portion of the total energy produced by the reactor is used for the production of drinking water. In any case, the notion of nuclear desalination involves an integrated facility in which the reactor and the desalination system are located in a common place and energy is produced in-situ for the use of desalination system. Source:IAEA
The International Energy Agency (IAEA) under its program Nuclear Power Technology Development Section (NPTDS) aims to increase the exchange of information for the introduction of nuclear desalination and other applications of nuclear energy. The main focus of the project is focused on nuclear desalination.
Since the member countries expressed their interest in seawater desalination using nuclear energy in the IAEA General Conference in 1989, the IAEA has reviewed the technical and economic potential of nuclear energy for desalination of sea water to light of experience gained in past decades. The evaluation was carried out with numerous institutions and experts from Member States. The results were provided in the General Conference and the strengthening of the activity has been recommended every year.
To provide advice to the IAEA to carry out the resolutions of the nuclear desalination activities in the General Conference, was established in 1997, the International Nuclear Desalination Advisory Group (INDAG) has been convened periodically.
INDAG members belong to the following countries (2001 - 2004): Argentina, Canada, China, Egypt, France ence, Morocco, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Libya, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and United States.
In order to support Member States in both the planning and implementation of nuclear desalination projects has published an introductory guide to the Nuclear Desalination.
The experience in the areas of nuclear-powered desalination can be summarized in the following points:
- Japan: About 100 years / reactor for desalination with nuclear energy
- Kazakhstan: year / reactor in Aktau fast reactor
- India: 6,300 m3/day MSF-RO unit in the Kalpakkam nuclear plant
- Internet resources
- Thesaurus of Hydraulic Engineering