Small model Reactors(SMR)

 START OF NEW NUCLEAR ERA? - Small model Reactors(SMR)

If you see the word “nuclear”, what kind of picture will come to your mind? Definitely you will get a destructive picture or you will memorize the accident happened at Fukushima or famous Chernobyl accident. In my point of view there is no strange about your fear about nuclear energy because some incidents happened in past on nuclear things are not good at all. However there is good news about nuclear power. That is called SMR which will be the next evolution of nuclear energy.

What is this SMR?

SMR (SMALL MODULAR REACTORS) is a type of nuclear fission reactor which is used to power generation .And it is different and more efficient than the traditional nuclear reactors. SMRs are generally having electric generating capacity of 300 megawatts comparing to existing nuclear power reactors, which normally generates 1,000 MWe.

We should use nuclear energy because it outputs less waste than other energy sources to the environment and to the air. Nuclear energy is friendly sources of energy and it produces low of carbon comparing to the other sources like coal. Also the nuclear waste is recyclable.
The world started to research about nuclear power from the past and tested a lot about it. The scientists saw nuclear power will be a great key to the future and as a result of experiments, Obninsk Nuclear Power plant started as the first. From that, a number of nuclear power plants were built .However after some unexpected disasters, it showed the result and damage from a nuclear accident is more harmful .Then the world stopped to do experiments about nuclear power. However after this new concept called “SMR”, the world has again started to depend on nuclear power because this method is more safety and eco-friendly and we can get more reliable and clean energy.

How it works?
These types of reactors currently use nuclear fission as the basis for producing energy. Nuclear fission is the process by which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller, lighter nuclei. The split atom releases large amounts of energy in the form of heat and radiation. This causes a chain reaction, which needs to be sustained to generate nuclear power. Like conventional nuclear reactors, small modular reactors harness thermal energy to generate electrical power. For example, the thermal energy heats water into steam, which then powers a turbine, generating electrical power.

Why we should use SMR?

When we comparing SMR with tradition nuclear reactors, SMR are cheaper, smaller and more reliable. SMR energy produces minimal waste. SMR can be manufactured and assembled in factory and then transport to the location where it can be installed. Small modular Reactors have special emergency shutdown method and it has a system to secure at tsunami waves. Also it includes with a smart cooling system. Building process of SMR is easy and time saving than the traditional nuclear reactors.

However, SMRs may also have significant drawbacks. Since SMRs do not have the same economies of scale as larger reactors, they may produce electricity at a higher cost per kilowatt-hour than other energy sources, including existing commercial reactors. And there are a less number of operators around world about SMR, because this concept is a new one.

The U.S., U.K. and Canada, leaders of nuclear power, have all signaled growing support for small modular reactors (SMRs). Canada, for example, has already launched a 27-point SMR national action plan to demo and deploy the technology, update regulations.

Humanity must face the reality that it cannot depend indefinitely on combustion of coal, gas and oil for most of its energy needs. However, in the long term, it is clear that nuclear fission technology is the only developed energy source that is capable of delivering the enormous quantities of energy that will be needed to run modern industrial societies safely, economically, reliably and in a sustainable way, both environmentally and as regards the available resource base. Actually , nuclear fission must be play a major role in this necessary transformation of the 21st century energy-supply system. In that case SMR will be a great part of the energy solution.