CGN awes visitors at nuclear power industry exhibition

CGN attended the 13th China International Exhibition on Nuclear Power Industry in Beijing on April 1 with its HPR1000, accident tolerant fuel (ATF), FirmSys, plasma-based solid waste treatment equipment, and electron accelerator.

Liu Hua, deputy minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and Zhang Yanke, vice president of China Nuclear Energy Association, visited the CGN booth in Hall 4 of the China International Exhibition Center and listened to the introduction of HPR1000, FirmSys and other products. The booth, which featured a sci-tech design and full-digital display, attracted great interest.

For the first time, CGN exhibited the models of its self-developed ATF with independent intellectual property rights.

The ATF, which adopts an advanced cladding and nuclear fuel pellet materials, improves the oxidation kinetics of fuel cladding under high temperatures and mitigates the consequences of coolant loss or power cuts, and reduces the possibility of hydrogen explosion in nuclear power plant (NPP).

Through coordination with a NPP’s safety system and equipment, the ATF can greatly lower the incidence of core damage frequency (CDF) and eliminate the possibility of massive radioactive material release in design. Moreover, it can increase the temperature limit and burn-up level of fuel elements, the reactor’s operating margin and NPP operational efficiency.

Environmental protection remained a hot topic at this year’s two sessions. Riding that wave, CGN brought along a model that uses electronic beams to treat industrial wastewater. The technology applies self-developed high-frequency and high-voltage electron accelerators to treat wastewater from dyeing, papermaking, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as wastewater with complex components from industrial parks. It can also be used in the disposal of medical waste, antibiotic bacterial residue and other hazardous materials.

With technical improvements and R&D into comprehensive solutions, the technology can also help in the removal of inorganic heavy metal ions in sewage, as well as the treatment of solid sludge, industrial waste gas, environmental emergencies, medical sewage and waste residue.

CGN-developed plasma gasification melting technology, the most advanced solid waste treatment technology recognized internationally, was also showcased at the exhibition. This technology uses the tens of thousands of degrees that is the high temperature of plasma to instantly crack radioactive waste into glassy inorganics. Toxic organics, especially dioxins and furans, are completely decomposed into non-toxic small molecular substances. This enjoys a large market in the treatment of radioactive wastes, hazardous civil waste, fly ash from solid waste incineration, special sludge and household waste.

CGN, tasked with the mission of “developing clean energy to benefit mankind”, has built itself into a clean energy giant with international competitiveness over the past three decades of development. It is now China’s largest nuclear operator and the world’s largest nuclear constructor, owning 22 units in operation with an installed capacity of 24.3 GWe and a further six units under construction with an installed capacity of 7.43 GWe.