IAEAInternational Atomic Energy Agency

Using High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors for low grade phosphate rock processing

Nils Haneklaus1 , Ewald Schnug2,Harikrishnan Tulsidas3, Frederik Reitsma1

1 Section of Nuclear Power Technology Development, Division of Nuclear Power, IAEA, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria

2 Technical University Braunschweig - Faculty 2 Life Sciences, Pockelsstraße 14, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany

3 Section of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials, Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology, IAEA, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria

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Introduction

(1) High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs)

(2) Phosphate rock – overview and uranium content

(3) HTGRs for energy neutral processing of low-grade phosphate rock

(4) Conclusions - outlook

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High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs)Overview

Structure:

• Thermal reactor• Coolant: Helium• Moderator: Graphite

Characteristics:

• High efficiency• Process heat• Inherent safety

characteristics• Flexible fuel

(Uranium/Thorium)

Helium up to 1000 ˚C

Helium ≈ 250 ˚C

Reactor core (block type)

Reactor core (pebble bed)

Side reflector

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High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs)Past experience – current development

DRAGON(1963-1976)

AVR(1967-1988)

PB-1(1967-1974)

FSR(1976-1989)

THTR(1986-1989)

PBMR(1994-2009)

HTTR(since 1998)

HTR-10(since 2000)

HTR-PM(under construction)

HTR-PM(construction side Shandong Province)

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Phosphate rock – resource that feeds the worldOverview

• Finite resource – presently not recycled

• > 160 million metric tons/yr mined, 90% used for fertilizer production

• No substitute for phosphate rock in fertilizer production

• Lower grade deposits need to be developed

Energy intensive thermal processes/beneficiation methods will have to

be employed

Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5053e/y5053e00.htm#Contents, accessed 2013-07-27

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Phosphate rockUranium content

• Phosphate rock contains considerable concentrations of ‘valuable’ impurities…

• Uranium (up to 400 ppm*)• Thorium (up to 150 ppm*)

• …making it one of the largest unconventional uranium resource worldwide

*ppm = parts per million

Source: 1IAEA Red Book 2011, 2Ulrich, A.E., Schnug E., Prasser H.-M., Frossard E., Uranium endowments in phosphate rock, Science of the Total Environment 478 (2014) 226-234

Conventional uranium resources worldwide (14.413,7*10 t) 1

Estimated recoverable uranium resources from phosphate rock

worldwide (5.665,97*10 t) 2

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High temperature gas-cooled reactors for energy neutral processing of low grade phosphate rock

Phosphate Rock

 Process Heat for

Phosphate conversion and U/Th recovery

(thermal process)

 

Phosphate Fertilizer

 

Uranium/Thorium

 

Reactor Fuel Manufacturing

 

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor

 

          

  

   

   

   

           

    

   

Chemicals for Phosphate

Rock conversion

(wet process)

 

Relatively Large Amounts of Waste

(≈ 2-3 t P-gypsum per t fertilizer)

Limitations in Processing Low Grad

Phosphate Rock

Source: Nils Haneklaus, Ewald Schnug, Harikrishnan Tulsidas, Bismark Tyobeka: Using high temperature gas-cooled reactors for greenhouse gas reduction and energy neutral production of phosphate fertilizers, Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2014

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Conclusions - outlook

Phosphate Rock

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor

Reactor Fuel Manufacturing

Uranium/Thorium

Phosphate Fertilizer

Process Heat for Phosphate

conversion and U/Th recovery

(thermal process)

  

 

 

 

 

           

  

   

   

   

           

    

   

Low grade phosphate rock may* be processed economically using high temperature gas-cooled reactors to power energy intensive thermal processing/beneficiation enabling…

… recovery of presently lost uranium/thorium, (REE) resources

… strongly reduced uranium/thorium contents in final products

*The technological and economical feasibility of this idea will be elaborated within the next four years as part of a coordinated research project at IAEA

“U/Th fuelled HTGR applications for energy neutral sustainable comprehensive extraction and mineral product developments”