Due to the constantly growing environmental concerns about global warming, there is immense
pressure on the coal-to-liquids (CTL) industry to lower carbon dioxide emissions. This study
evaluates the cogeneration of electricity and process steam, using coal and nuclear heat
obtained from a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGR) such as a Pebble Bed Modular
Reactor (PBMR), for the use in a CTL plant. Three different cogeneration processes were
investigated to resolve what influence nuclear cogenerated electricity and process steam would
have on the carbon dioxide emissions and the unit production cost of electricity and process
steam.
The first process investigated utilises coal as combustion medium and an extraction/condensing
steam turbine, together with the thermodynamic Rankine cycle, for the cogeneration of
electricity and process steam. This process was used as a basis of comparison for the nuclearbased
cogeneration processes.
The second process investigated utilises nuclear heat generated by a HTGR and the same
power conversion system as the coal-based cogeneration system. Utilising a HTGR as a heat
source can decrease the carbon dioxide emissions to approximately zero, with a 91.6%
increase in electricity production cost. The last process investigated is the nuclear-based
closed cycle gas turbine system where a gas turbine and Brayton cycle is coupled with a HTGR
for the cogeneration of electricity and process steam. It was found on technical grounds that
this process would not be viable for the cogeneration of electricity and process steam. The unit production cost of electricity and process steam generated by each process were
determined through an economic analysis performed on each process. Overall it was found that
the CTL industry could benefit a great deal from utilising nuclear heat as a heat source. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/6861 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Gouws, Marizanne Michele |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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