Nuclear Reactor Applications
Natural graphite has found new uses in an advanced "pebble bed” nuclear reactor (PBR) design that uses neither rods nor cooling towers but instead inserts the radioactive uranium dioxide fuel as tiny flakes into a round graphite tennis-ball sized (pebble) shell coated in a number of chemical layers. The graphite in the pebbles is a mixture of 75% natural graphite and 25% synthetic (pyrolytic) graphite. The small uranium dioxide spheres are each coated with a layer of porous carbon, then high density pyrolytic carbon, silicon carbide, and then another layer of pyrolytic carbon. This is known as Triso fuel.
Pebble bed reactors are supposed to withstand meltdown because the reaction they start slows when temperature rises in the core. They also use the heat of the reaction more efficiently by using helium gas as both the coolant and the propellant of the generator’s turbines.
Pebble bed reactors are supposed to withstand meltdown because the reaction they start slows when temperature rises in the core. They also use the heat of the reaction more efficiently by using helium gas as both the coolant and the propellant of the generator’s turbines.
The construction costs and size of a pebble bed reactor are theoretically less because most of the bulk of water cooled reactors is in the primary cooling system, secondary water circuit and cooling towers as well as the high pressure piping for water. Also pebble bed reactors can be constructed in modules so plant size can be scaled up with demand. China now has one pebble bed reactor in prototype and is planning to put one on
ine in the next decade despite the current higher costs of these still experimental reactors.
A pebble bed reactor uses about 360,000 pebbles — three-fourths are fuel spheres and one-fourth are the combined natural and pyrolytic graphite. These balls are cycled continuously to check for any flaws or spent fuel. Typically, each pebble is cycled 10 to 15 times, making one total fuel load last just over 42 years.
Natural graphite is also found in multiple other materials used in nuclear reactors including gaskets, sealants, and liners. The table below outlines some of the properties associated with nuclear graphite.
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NUCLEAR GRAPHITE - general specifications for graphite used in high temperature reactor (HTR) applications. |
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| PRODUCT FEATURES | PRODUCT RANGE | ||||||
| Benefits | Characteristics | Standard Graphite | Selected Graphite | Graphite Combination | Spherical Graphite | ||
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Nuclear grade purities
Size - 10 mm and 5 μm.
Purity: 99.5% C. Tap Density: 1.2 -1.5+ g/cm3 Ash Content: 0.5%
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Nuclear grade purities
Size - 10 mm and 5 μm.
Purity: 99.5% C.
Tap Density: 1.2 -1.5+ g/cm3
Ash Content: 0.5% |
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Latest Graphite Prices
2012 Industrial Minerals Graphite Prices per Tonne
FCL CIF main European port
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