coal2nuclear.com                Ending Global Warming to Gain Energy Independence
MAGAZINE 1  page.      to Home Page                                      READER NOTICE>  Many pages will have continuation links located here. ---- Previous<  Coal  >Next

Converting a coal-burning power plant to a nuclear power plant.
Why?  Cleaning up just the 10 largest coal burning power plants in the world will do more to end Global Warming than all the world's windmills (Data) 


ENDING COAL


Abstract 
Conversion is the easy kill   And it pays the most valuable Global Warming dividend: Time.

Introduction
Basics
of repowering a coal burning plant with a small nuclear reactor.

Advantages
What are the advantages of repowering from coal to nuclear rather than building from new?

Jobs
Power plant operator's jobs are at risk in America's growing energy technology turmoil.

Details  
Coal Conversion Reactor Installation Details

Coal to Nuclear Conversion Issues
Things to keep in mind when repowering from coal to nuclear.


'Clean Coal' Overview 
Modifying coal power plants to reduce their CO2
emissions.  What is being done to clean up coal.

Chinese Example  
Chinese HTR-PM steam/pebble nuclear power plant drawing shows identical thinking.

 (Right) Very low cost HYBRID nuclear power plant made out of standard coal power plant parts and a reactor>

When Can We Buy These Reactors? 
These reactors are just beginning to emerge as commercial products.  We need them NOW!

The HYBRID      Fort St Vrain  ran a total of 17 years (1972 - 1989)  Still an excellent idea.
Low cost, quick to build alternative to conventional nuclear power plants.

Nuclear Waste Burner
GE-Hitachi have come up with a reactor that runs on everyone else's 'Spent Nuclear Fuel' or SNF.>

MAKING CONVERSION HAPPEN                          

Doing It 
IMPLEMENTING COAL YARD NUKES and HYBRID NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Demonstration Coal-to-Nuclear Conversion Projects 
Three suggested demonstration projects in Michigan and Florida.


Project Merlin: The Three to Five Year Plan 
We did it before - World War II - and we can do it again.

THE TECHNOLOGY

About the newer nuclear reactors.    
NOT YOUR FATHER'S REACTOR  Small reactors for medicine, teaching, aircraft carriers, and submarines.
 

PBMR Pebble Bed Reactor             
TRISO pebble, 180 MWe, the strongest candidate for replacing coal-burning power plant boilers.

General Atomics GT-MHR Reactor    
TRISO prismatic, 325 MWe, most powerful of the TRISOs, another strong candidate.


Hyperion TRIGA MicroNuke Reactor  
25 MWe Hyperion SELF-REGULATING reactor.  Heat, electricity for hospitals, College Campuses, Shopping Malls, etc.

NuScale Conventional MicroNuke     
40 MWe that uses a very small bundle of conventional nuclear fuel rods.  Designed to grow to clusters of ten units.


Liquid Nuclear Reactors 
The Liquid Reactor Family: 8 MWe to 1,000 MWe Micro-nukes to Mega-nukes
.  There is also a liquid TRISO.

TRISO Nuclear Fuel  
COAL'S CLEAN REPLACEMENT  TRISO Nuclear Fuels.  Not your father's uranium pellet.

Understanding Nuclear Energy, Reactor Licensing    
Links to Wikipedia nuclear pages, Nuclear Regulatory Commission small and medium reactor licensing.