Download Fusion future – Romanian participation to ITER

Romanian Researches preparing the New Era Energy
Challenges - A physicist point of view
Mihai Varlam
22-23 of september 2010 Bucharest
Discussion Overview
1.
2.
The necessity of the change
Hydrogen – a challenging option
for the future energy carrier
3. The promise of superconductibility
4.
Fusion future - Romanian
participation to ITER
5.
New Romanian research facility
supporting future energy
technologies
Ask a physicist what physics is all about and he or she might reply that it’s something to do
with the study of matter and energy. Matter’ is dispensed with quite swiftly—it is stuff ,
substance, what things are made from. But ‘energy’ is a much more difficult idea. The
physicist may mumble something about energy having many different forms, and about how
it is convertible from one form to another but its total value must always remain constant.
She’ll look grave and say that this law, the law of the
conservation of energy, is a very important law—
perhaps the most important law in all of physics.
But what, exactly, is being conserved? Are some
forms of energy more fundamental than others?
What is the link between energy, space, time,
and matter? The various forms and their formulae
are so seemingly unrelated—is there some underlying
essence of energy?
The scientific challenge at the
beginning of the 21th century will
include further significant
clarifications of deep physical and
chemical issues, such as the
mechanism of high-temperature
superconductivity and the physical
implementation of powerful
quantum computers
In terms of investments, it was
clear that there is no single
research area that will secure the
future energy supply. A diverse
range of economic energy sources
will be required – and a broad
range of fundamental research is
needed to enable these. Many of
the issues fall into the traditional
materials and chemical sciences
research areas, but with specific
emphasis
on
understanding
mechanisms,
energy
related
phenomena, and pursuing novel
directions in, for example,
nanoscience
and
integrated
modeling.
The projected doubling of
world energy consumption
within the next 50 years,
coupled with the growing
demand for low- or even
zero-emission sources of
energy,
has
brought
increasing awareness of the
need for efficient, clean,
and
renewable
energy
sources
The nations face a three-fold energy
challenges:
• Energy
security
and
national
independence - growing dependence on
high-cost imported fossil fuels, for almost all
industrialised countries
• Environmental sustainability – necessity
to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases emissions that accelerate climate change
• Economic opportunity : the national
economies (including romanian ones) are
thretened by incresing high-costs of imported
energy . Every nation are focused to create its
own next-generation clean energy technologies
that do not depend on imported fossil fuels.
Expansion of existing
carbon-intensive
energy resources is
not the solution !
Solar and
wind
energy
Enhanced
electricity delivery
and efficiency
A host of new technology is
needed to provide renewable,
sustainable and low carbon
energy-technologies
that
should be robust and cost
competitive with existing
fossil fuel based approaches.
Carbon
sequestration
Advanced
nuclear
energy
Solid
state
lighting
Batteries
and
biofuels
Hydrogen & fuel
cell
Need for science support
All these technologies are in their infancy, like the steam engine in James Watt’s day !
Clean energy technologies perform far
bellow their potential, not for lack of
engineering effort, but often for lack of
basic understanding of the phenomena,
materials, and chemistry that govern their
operation or limit their performance.
For the time being, clean energy technologies –
solar
photovoltaics,
solid-state
lighting,
batteries for plug-in vehicles, are advancing in
an incremental way, based on scientific
understanding coupled with engineering.
Here is the action
area we are trying to
do something !!!
Hydrogen & fuel cell
Low temperature
physics superconductibility
National R&D
Institute for
Isotope and
Cryogenic
Technologies
Basic
research and
technology
development
Fuel cycle for fusion
technology
Lithium-Polymer
batteries and energy
storage
Situation now –
In 2008 primary worldwide energy consumption was about 15.3 Gtoe, whose distribution
according to sources, transformation processes and network uses is plotted in Figure.
Eighty-two percent of this energy has been transformed into heat, electricity or
movement by means of fossil fuel combustion processes, which has produced CO2
emissions to the
Atmosphere equivalent
to 8.5 Gton of carbon .
In a no-change scenario
(base scenario of the
International Energy
Agency, IEA) CO2
emissions in 2050 can be
expected to
reach 14 Gton of carbon
The so-called hydrogen economy is a long-term project that can be
defined as an effort to change the current energy system to one which
attempts to combine the cleanliness of hydrogen as an energy carrier
with the efficiency of fuel cells (FCs) as devices to transform energy
into electricity and heat. As an energy carrier, hydrogen must be
obtained from other energy sources, in processes that, at least in the
long term, avoid or minimize CO2 emissions.
The main advantage of hydrogen as a fuel is the absence of CO2
emissions, as well as other pollutant emissions (thermal NOx ) if it
is employed in low temperature FCs.
This is especially important for the transport sector, which is
responsible for ∼18% consumption of primary energy worldwide.
Also, hydrogen can be expected to allow the integration of some
renewable energy sources, of an intermittent character, in the
current energy system. Thus, it is already working a system with a
photovoltaic solar panel (or a windmill) linked to a reversible FC,
which uses a part of the electricity to produce H2 during the day (or
in windy conditions), and consumes the hydrogen during the night
(or in the absence of wind) to produce electricity
Hydrogen research is an expensive activity, but for Romania it is far more
expensive to not do anything than to invest in this area!
Possibility to develop large
demonstration projects
Connection with the
European JTI-JU
Experience acquired in the
area starting with 2000
It is difficult to predict the long-term
panorama due to the uncertainty about
the future of the energy system. To
reach the goal we first need to
overcome a number of social obstacles
(the development of codes and
worldwide
standards,
consumer
reticence, lack of public support for
scientific
research,
etc.)
macroeconomic difficulties
and
technological
challenges
(mainly
related to the development and
implementation of clean and efficiency
production systems and to the decrease
of cost of hydrogen storage systems and
FCs).
If these difficulties are overcome,
beyond 2050, when the world is
expected to consume more than 25
Gtoe of primary energy [9], the energy
supply and transformation will be
managed as indicated in Figure.
How a potential Hydrogen Future might appear!
Heat would be generated
by a next generation, failsafe nuclear power plant
and directed to the
thermochemical
processing
plant
to
produce hydrogen through
a series of chemical
reactions. Biomass, wind
and solar power are other
option to that. Hydrogen
could then be stored or
provided
as
needed
directly
to
industrial
hydrogen users or to
supply a hydrogen fueled
future
for distributed
power or for transport
fuel.
Small-scale production
line for PEMFC stack
development
National
Center for
Hydrogen
& Fuel Cell
Hydrogen station – pilot
project
Mobile platform for high
pressure liquid hydrogen
storage – experimental
testing vehicle
Peak power management
system – concept unit
The promise of superconductibility
However, the growing demand for electricity will soon
challenge the grid beyond its capability, compromising
its reliability through voltage fluctuations that crash
digital electronics, brownouts that disable industrial
processes and harm electrical equipments and power
failures.
Superconductivity is able to offer new
opportunities for restoring the reliability of the
power grid and increasing its capacity and
efficiency.
Superconductors are capable of carrying current
without loss, making the parts of the grid they
replace dramatically more efficient.
Superconductivity laboratory - Starting status
State-of-art second-generation (2G)
superconducting wires based on YBa2Cu3)7
are capable of carrying five times the current
of copper wires havind the same cross-section
at dramatically higher efficiency.
While their performance
compete favorably with
cooper for transporting
current, it fails significantly
in the magnetic fields
requested for transformers ,
fault current limiters,
reactive power generators
and motors.
Technologically we have ( as
knowledge) the materials,
engineering design for medium
and high-capacity cables that
could trasnport electricity at no
loss for smart power-control
devices
Although present
superconducting technology
provides proof of principle and
can be deployed for some of the
grid functions, significant
barriers remain to achieving the
full potential of superconductivity
for transforming power grid.
Performance
barriers
Cost barriers
Materials
barrier
• The current-carrying
performance of
superconducting wires in
magnetic field of 0.1 – 5T
must be increased by a factor
of 5-10
•The costs are too high to compete with
conventional technology
•The major contributor to the 2G wires
high cost is the multilayered
arhitecture, which requires sequential
deposition of up to seven layers on a
flexible substrate
•Research and investigation to find
new superconducting materials with
higher transition and operating
temperatures are needed.
•The ultimate material challenge is to
find a room-temperature
superconductor with no intrinsic
anisotropy.
Instrumental
analytical
systems
Testing
facilities
• SQUAD Magnetometer
• PPM – electrical and thermal
parameters measurements
• Large Liquid helium and Hydrogen
production
In the simplest case only
the inner conductor is
superconducting, whereas
the return conductor is
normal conducting. In this
case only the inner
conductor is cooled with
liquid
nitrogen.
The
“cryostat”
consists
of
evacuated, concentric, and
flexible metal tubes and is
located directly next to the
conductor.
The
outer
flexible tube is surrounded
by a warm dielectric
medium, and this in turn
is surrounded by the
return conductor and the
outer insulation.
Declared Targets of the Laboratory
Superconductivity support for energy
applications
• Superconductivity power distribution
• Developing a demonstrative technology
which
use
high
temperature
superconductivity to transport electricity
and hydrogen within the same
distribution line
• Experimental activity in the field of use
of HTS materials for power distribution
lines. Technological and economical
evaluations
• SMES – experimental system for
superconductivity
magnetic
energy
storage
–
development
of
new
experimental configurations
• storage by using rapidly rotating flywheels
• Public awareness and outreach activity
for low-temperature technologies
Project going to be developed at
Ramnicu Valcea
A new concept which is strongly motivated
in the last period, and would like to create
a complex system which could “transport”
energy as hydrogen and electricity within
the same structure, is proposed to be
particularly investigated and developed at
pilot level
Use
high
temperature
superconductivity
to
transport
electricity and hydrogen within the
same distribution line. The system,
schematically represented in Fig., is
aimed at providing a solution for large
RES power transport and delivery
regulation. When RES power exceeds
grid demand, the system produces
hydrogen by water electrolysis, which
can be cooled down to 20.4 K for liquid
storage. The stored LH2 can be
reconverted into electric energy in
periods of RES shortage. The exceeding
part can be transported through the
combined MgB2-superconducting LH2cryogenic
pipeline.
The
superconducting line is operated in DC,
in order to minimize losses. The SMES
(superconducting magnetic energy
storage) is used as a large inductance in
order to reduce the line current ripple
caused by power electronics (inverter
for connection with AC grid, choppers
for fuel cell, hydrolyzer and RES power
conditioning).
Fusion future –
Romanian participation to ITER
With the agreement to build the
international ITER experimental fusion
reactor in Europe, the EU is to host one of
the largest scientific undertakings ever
conceived by humanity. The ITER site at
Cadarache, in southern France, will
become the focus of world research on
fusion energy.
This project's outcome could have a
profound impact on how future
generations live, by showing that energy
from fusion is a practical possibility.
Fusion research offers the prospect of a
future energy source of unlimited scale
that is safe, environmentally responsible
and economically viable. It will benefit
from an almost limitless supply of raw
materials for fuel, widely distributed
around the globe.
Fusion research in the EU is coordinated
by the European Commission. Funding
comes from the Community’s EURATOM
Research Framework Programme and
national funds from the Member States
and Associated States. Coordination and
long-term continuity is ensured by ongoing
partnership contracts between EURATOM
and all the national bodies.
The long-term objective of fusion R&D in
the EU is “the joint creation of prototype
reactors for power stations to meet the
needs of society : operational safety,
environmental compatibility, economic
viability ”.
Currently, the most successful and the largest fusion
experiment in the world is JET (the Joint European
Torus). The basic design of ITER is derived from that of
the JET device. The European Fusion Development
Agreement (EFDA) provides the framework for
research, mutual sharing of facilities and the European
contribution to international projects such as ITER.
De-tritiation system in ITER have been
designed to remove Tritium from liquids
and gases for reinjection into the fuel
cycle. Remaining effluents will be well
below authorized limits: gaseous and
liquid Tritium releases to the environment
from ITER are predicted to be below
10µSv per year. This is well under ITER's
General Safety Objective of 100µSv per
year and 100 times lower than the
regulatory limit in France of 1000µSv per
year. Scientists estimate the exposure to
natural background radiation to be
approximately 2000µSv per year.
Hydrogen isotope cryogenic
distillation is the major method
for water detritiation
technology, essential part of the
entire fusion complex
Where is our contribution ?
The fusion reaction in the ITER Tokamak
will be powered with Deuterium and
Tritium, two isotopes of Hydrogen. ITER
will be the first fusion machine fully
designed for Deuterium-Tritium operation.
Commissioning will happen in three
phases: Hydrogen operation, followed by
Deuterium operation, and finally full
Deuterium-Tritium operation.
Water Detritiation System - WDS is a major facility which should be developed related to
the fuel cycle in the fusion reactor. An integrated facility comprising a WDS based on
combined electrolysis catalytic exchange (CECE) employing a liquid phase catalytic
exchange (LPCE) column and an Isotope Separation System based on cryogenic distillation
(CD) is currently being developed at Ramnicu Valcea. Until now, this test facility was used
for process performance studies to measure different isotope separation factors and to
validate the design and operation of such systems for fusion application.
Visual representation of Hydrogen
Isotope separation experimental
system by cryogenic distillation
In the reference design of ITER, the 280
mol/h of detritiated (tritium mol fraction
<10−7) protium extracted at the top of the
ISS were to have been released to the
environment. This would result in a
chronic tritium release of ∼1 Ci/h, or close
to 1 g per year of tritium. In order to
reduce this release, it was proposed to
process this top product stream from the
ISS in the WDS so that the WDS will be a
final barrier for the tritiated protium waste
gas stream discharged from ISS. In the
development programme outlined here the
research basis for it is planned to be
developed at Ramnicu Valcea. An
integrated facility comprising a WDS based
on
combined
electrolysis
catalytic
exchange (CECE) and an ISS based on
cryogenic distillation (CD) is currently
being developed at the NRDICIT. This test
facility will be used for process
performance studies to validate the design
and operation of these systems for ITER.
Looking Ahead
New Romanian
research facility
supporting future
energy technologies
On the way to create a scientific basis to support new energies
Building stage
Lowtemperature
Laboratory
National
center for
Hydrogen &
Fuel Cell
Hydrogen
isotope
Separation
Pilot facility
NRDICIT
Ramnicu Valcea
On the project
development
stage
development
Batteries –
research
laboratory
Business
development &
Inovation
Incubator
Thank you for your attention !