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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Process and Energy Systems Engineering
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2024.1476974

Feasibility of Using Nuclear Microreactor Process Heat for Bioconversion and Agricultural Processes

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Alan Levin Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, United States
  • 2 National Renewable Energy Laboratory (DOE), Golden, Colorado, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: There is a global goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2023. Nuclear microreactors, a subset of small modular reactors, offer a potential solution due to their compact size, transportability, and carbon-neutral power generation capabilities. Methods: This study explores the feasibility of using heat from nuclear microreactors for bioconversion and agricultural processes, including transforming biomass into energy carriers and products such as syngas, bio-oil, and pasteurized milk. Operating requirements for gasification, pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization, hydrothermal liquefaction, hydrothermal gasification, ethanol production, anaerobic digestion, and pasteurization were obtained through a literature review. A Brayton cycle model based on the eVinciTM microreactor was developed to assess the feasibility of powering these processes using nuclear microreactor heat. Results and discussion: Exergetic efficiency values for high-temperature processes ranged from 72–100%, whereas lower-temperature processes ranged from 2–53%. These efficiencies depend on the available source temperature for each microreactor design. There were trade-offs between producing net power and using process heat, particularly for high-temperature processes. Three heat exchanger locations were considered: before the turbine (600℃), between the turbine and regenerator (370℃), and after the regenerator (192℃). High-temperature processes like gasification require temperatures too high for feasibility. Middle temperature processes are better suited to a heat exchanger between the turbine and regenerator, while also operable before the turbine. Lower-temperature processes like pasteurization and anaerobic digestion can use waste heat after the regenerator and do not impact power production. These findings are valuable for optimizing nuclear microreactor heat use and aligning with global climate initiatives.

    Keywords: Microreactor, carbon-neutral energy, Sustainable energy, Biofuels, eVinci TM, waste heat recovery

    Received: 06 Aug 2024; Accepted: 30 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Pakkebier, Skangos and Derby. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Melanie M. Derby, Alan Levin Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, Kansas, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.