ELECTRICITY AND WATER COGENERATION USING A SMALL 75 MW(th) PWR
Resumo
The demand for freshwater, either from agriculture, industry, or domestic use, is rapidly rising as the world population continues to grow. Desalination technologies can help mitigating the water scarcity problem facing humankind. However, desalination plants need energy to operate and, in view of climate change, it is of foremost importance to choose energy sources with low carbon footprint. In this context, nuclear cogeneration systems of electricity and water can make relevant contributions towards the United Nations sustainable development goals. Here we investigate a hybrid desalination strategy, using both Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD) and Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO), for cogeneration of water and electricity using a small PWR of 75 MW(th). The simplest hybrid desalination solution is considered, where the DCMD and the SWRO desalination plants operate independently. The small PWR provides the heat and the electrical power required by both desalination plants, besides generating electricity for either the grid or local use. Estimates of water and electricity production are presented.