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Comparative Economic Prospects of the Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle GFR, M. J. Driscoll
(February 2008)
Abstract
The potential for economic competitiveness of a Gas Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR)
cooled by supercritical CO2 (S-CO2) in a direct Brayton cycle power conversion system
(PCS) is assessed. A differential approach is adopted using published literature values for
other reactor types. Because of its compact PCS, capital cost savings on the order of
10% are foreseeable, arising in part from the ability to house the PCS inside containment,
and thus eliminate the separate turbine building typical of steam Rankine units. A
reduction of 5% in busbar costs should also be achievable because of the higher thermal
efficiency of the S-CO2 cycle. However, fuel cycle costs appear to be more than double
that of current LWRs, enough to offset such reductions, due mostly to the low specific
power (kW/kg) of the GFR core, which has been de-rated to emphasize passive decay
heat removal systems – a circumstance shared with other GEN-IV fast reactors, except
for sodium cooled versions. Complete reliance on active DHRS could remedy this
shortcoming.
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PDF Downloads MIT-NES-TR-004, “Optimization of the Hybrid Sulfur Cycle for Hydrogen Generation," (Jeong, Kazimi, Hohnholt, and Yildiz, 2005).
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