Harnessing Geothermal Energy Potential from High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories
The disposal of high-level nuclear waste (HLW) has been one of the most challenging issues for nuclear energy utilization. In this study, we have explored the potential of extracting decay heat from HLW, taking advantage of recent advances in the technologies to utilize low-temperature geothermal re...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/154908 |
| _version_ | 1811079464121008128 |
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| author | Sarsenbayev, Dauren Zheng, Liange Ermakova, Dinara Sharipov, Rashid Wainwright, Haruko M. |
| author_facet | Sarsenbayev, Dauren Zheng, Liange Ermakova, Dinara Sharipov, Rashid Wainwright, Haruko M. |
| author_sort | Sarsenbayev, Dauren |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The disposal of high-level nuclear waste (HLW) has been one of the most challenging issues for nuclear energy utilization. In this study, we have explored the potential of extracting decay heat from HLW, taking advantage of recent advances in the technologies to utilize low-temperature geothermal resources for the co-generation of electricity and heat. Given that geothermal energy entails extracting heat from natural radioactivity within the Earth, we may consider that our approach is to augment it with an anthropogenic geothermal source. Our study—for the first time—introduces a conceptual model of a binary-cycle geothermal system powered by the heat produced by HLW. TOUGHREACT V3.32 software was used to model the heat transfer resulting from radioactive decay to the surrounding geological media. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of employing the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to generate approximately 108 kWe per HLW canister 30 years after emplacement and a heat pump system to produce 81 kWth of high-potential heat per canister for HVAC purposes within the same timeframe. The proposed facility has the potential to produce carbon-free power while ensuring the safe disposal of radioactive waste and removing the bottleneck in the sustainable use of nuclear energy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:15:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/154908 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:15:26Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1549082024-09-09T04:54:52Z Harnessing Geothermal Energy Potential from High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories Sarsenbayev, Dauren Zheng, Liange Ermakova, Dinara Sharipov, Rashid Wainwright, Haruko M. The disposal of high-level nuclear waste (HLW) has been one of the most challenging issues for nuclear energy utilization. In this study, we have explored the potential of extracting decay heat from HLW, taking advantage of recent advances in the technologies to utilize low-temperature geothermal resources for the co-generation of electricity and heat. Given that geothermal energy entails extracting heat from natural radioactivity within the Earth, we may consider that our approach is to augment it with an anthropogenic geothermal source. Our study—for the first time—introduces a conceptual model of a binary-cycle geothermal system powered by the heat produced by HLW. TOUGHREACT V3.32 software was used to model the heat transfer resulting from radioactive decay to the surrounding geological media. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of employing the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to generate approximately 108 kWe per HLW canister 30 years after emplacement and a heat pump system to produce 81 kWth of high-potential heat per canister for HVAC purposes within the same timeframe. The proposed facility has the potential to produce carbon-free power while ensuring the safe disposal of radioactive waste and removing the bottleneck in the sustainable use of nuclear energy. 2024-05-10T15:50:38Z 2024-05-10T15:50:38Z 2024-04-23 2024-05-10T13:18:02Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1996-1073 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/154908 Sarsenbayev, D.; Zheng, L.; Ermakova, D.; Sharipov, R.; Wainwright, H.M. Harnessing Geothermal Energy Potential from High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories. Energies 2024, 17, 2002 PUBLISHER_CC 10.3390/en17092002 Energies Creative Commons Attribution https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf MDPI AG Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
| spellingShingle | Sarsenbayev, Dauren Zheng, Liange Ermakova, Dinara Sharipov, Rashid Wainwright, Haruko M. Harnessing Geothermal Energy Potential from High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories |
| title | Harnessing Geothermal Energy Potential from High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories |
| title_full | Harnessing Geothermal Energy Potential from High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories |
| title_fullStr | Harnessing Geothermal Energy Potential from High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories |
| title_full_unstemmed | Harnessing Geothermal Energy Potential from High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories |
| title_short | Harnessing Geothermal Energy Potential from High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories |
| title_sort | harnessing geothermal energy potential from high level nuclear waste repositories |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/154908 |
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