China Experimental Fast Reactor
| China Experimental Fast Reactor | |
|---|---|
.jpg) CEFR under construction on June 4th, 2004 | |
  Location of China Experimental Fast Reactor in China | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Coordinates | 39°44′27″N 116°01′49″E / 39.74083°N 116.03028°ECoordinates: 39°44′27″N 116°01′49″E / 39.74083°N 116.03028°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | October 31, 2012. |
| Owner(s) | China Institute of Atomic Energy |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | Fast-neutron reactor |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 65 MW (thermal), 20 MW (electric) |
The China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) is China's first fast nuclear reactor, and is located outside Beijing at the China Institute of Atomic Energy. It aims to provide China with fast-reactor design, construction, and operational experience, and will be a key facility for testing and researching components and materials to be used in subsequent fast reactors. It achieved first criticality on July 21, 2010.[1] It started generating power a year later on July 21, 2011.[2] Japan's Atomic Energy Agency (AEA) reported that the reactor stopped generating electricity in October 2011 following an accident; the director of the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) denied that any accident had occurred however.[3] CEFR is a 65 MW (thermal), 20 MW (electric), sodium-cooled, pool-type reactor with a 30-year design lifetime and a target burnup of 100 MWd/kg.[4] On 2012-10-31 Xinhua announced that the CEFR has passed official checks. [5]
The CEFR was brought to full power at 5.00pm on 15 December, 2014 and operated at this level continuously for three full days.
The sodium-cooled, pool-type fast reactor was constructed with Russian assistance at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIEA), near Beijing, which undertakes fundamental research on nuclear science and technology. The reactor has a thermal capacity of 65 MW and can produce 20 MW in electrical power. The CEFR was built by Russia's OKBM Afrikantov in collaboration with OKB Gidropress, NIKIET and Kurchatov Institute.
The CEFR project was approved by the Chinese State Council in 1992, with final approval given in 1995. The China Experimental Fast Reactor is one of the major energy projects under the national high-tech research and development program of China's "National 863 Program". The China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) is the organizer of the project's construction.[6]
References
- ↑ "Criticality for China's first fast reactor". Nuclear Engineering International. July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
- ↑ "China's experimental fast neutron reactor begins generating power". xinhuanet. July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ↑ "China denies nuclear accident". Telegraph Media Group. January 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
- ↑ "China's Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) Program". Nuclear Threat Initiative. February 2004. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
- ↑ "China makes nuclear power development". Xinhua. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
- ↑ "Chinese fast reactor completes full-power test run". world nuclear news. December 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-19.