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Nuclear waste heat and renewable energy derived hydrogen: Preliminary feasibility analysis

Rupsha Bhattacharyya, Sandeep KC, Sachin Kamath, Krunal Mistry, Kalyan Bhanja

Abstract


Hydrogen, a possible carbon free energy resource of the future, can be obtained in a sustainable manner from abundantly available resource like water through low temperature, low pressure water electrolysis. This work examines the techno-economic feasibility aspects of a water electrolysis based hydrogen production plant of capacity 1000-10000 Nm3/hr, when coupled with a typical nuclear power plant in India and renewable energy resources in novel ways. The nuclear waste heat discharged from the final condenser and moderator circuit is proposed for preheating the electrolyte solution to a temperature greater than ambient before electrolysis, thereby lowering electrical energy demand. Residual waste heat is proposed to be converted to electricity directly via heat-exchange type thermoelectric devices. Supply of electricity from renewable resources like solar photovoltaic technologies and wind turbines has also been taken into account for meeting the energy deficit in low efficiency thermo-electricity generation. The levelised cost of hydrogen from these proposed schemes ranges from US $ 0.56/Nm3 to US $ 9.3/Nm3 depending on scale of production, type of nuclear reactor system and type of hybrid energy system used, not including the savings on carbon taxes which are of the order of $1700 per year to $2.76*10^6 per year.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.37628/jrec.v4i2.615

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