Hydrogen, nuclear energy, and the advanced high-temperature reactor

摘要

Nuclear energy has been proposed as an energy source to produce hydrogen (H_2) from water. An examination of systems issues in this paper indicates that the infrastructure of H_2 consumption is now compatible with the production of H_2 by nuclear reactors. Alternative H_2 production processes were examined to define the requirements such processes would impose on the nuclear reactor. These requirements include supplying heat at a near-constant high temperature, providing a low-pressure interface with the H_2 production processes, isolating the nuclear plant from the chemical plant, and avoiding tritium contamination of the H_2 product. A reactor concept―the advanced high-temperature reactor―was developed to match these requirements for H_2 production.