The International Atomic Energy Agency Praises Lianyungang's "Heqi-1"
From: Lianyungang Daily Updated: 2024-08-21 09:53
Recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) praised the Tianwan Nuclear Power Steam Energy Supply "Heqi-1" project on Twitter. The IAEA tweet stated: "Currently, China's Tianwan Nuclear Power Station supplies 4.8 million tons of zero-carbon steam annually for industrial use. This zero-carbon steam replaces 400,000 tons of coal and reduces 1.07 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Nuclear energy has taken a step forward in non-electric applications!"
In recent years, China's comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy has been diversifying. Nuclear energy is gradually demonstrating its zero-carbon value in heating, steam supply, and other fields, while also playing a significant role in isotope production, hydrogen production, seawater desalination, and other areas. To further expand the application of nuclear energy and provide a diversified energy supply scheme for the Lianyungang Petrochemical Base, Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation initiated the construction of the "Heqi-1" project. Academician Ye Qizhen of the Chinese Academy of Engineering said that the coupled development of comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy with high-energy-consuming industries will further highlight the zero-carbon value of nuclear energy, meet the diverse energy demands of high-energy-consuming industries, provide decarbonization technical solutions for high-carbon emission industries, support the construction of national large-scale chemical bases and industrial bases, and align highly with the national deployment of green and low-carbon industrial transformation.
"Heqi-1" extracts some of the thermal energy originally used for power generation from the Tianwan Nuclear Power Station's Units 3 and 4 as a heat source. Through multi-stage heat exchange, this heat is transferred to desalinated seawater in the industrial steam pipeline network, heating and vaporizing it into steam. The heated steam is then transmitted to Hongyang Thermoelectric via the industrial steam pipeline network to preheat the water in its steam pipeline network, realizing emission reduction in the "thermal hub" of the petrochemical base. At maximum steam supply capacity, 600 tons of nuclear-powered steam per hour can fill 30% of the steam gap in the park. Annually, this could save approximately 400,000 tons of raw coal for the park, promoting the development of green petrochemical industries.
To ensure safety, the "Heqi-1" project adopts a multi-layered isolation design. Throughout the nuclear steam supply process, only heat exchange is involved, with no material exchange of water or steam. Wu Wenqi, Deputy Director of the Operations Department II at Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, explained that the nuclear steam supply process can be metaphorically described as a combination of "boiling water" and "self-heating pot". The secondary steam loop of Units 3 and 4 at the Tianwan Nuclear Power Station serves as the heat source for "Heqi-1", analogous to the heating pack at the bottom of a "self-heating pot", while the desalinated seawater sits above, akin to the food in the pot. The heating pack exchanges heat with the food without physical contact, ensuring the "self-heating pot" remains clean.
The green effects are evident. As one of the first "Green and Low-Carbon Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects", once completed, "Heqi-1" will continuously supply 4.8 million tons of zero-carbon clean steam annually from the Tianwan Nuclear Power Base to the Lianyungang Petrochemical Base. This is equivalent to reducing the burning of 400,000 tons of standard coal annually, with an equivalent reduction of 1.07 million tons of carbon dioxide, 184 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 263 tons of nitrogen oxides emissions. It is akin to planting an additional 2,900 hectares of trees and saving over 700,000 tons of carbon emission allowances annually for the petrochemical base.