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Has anyone proposed nuclear reactors on the coast, that use their fuel rods to exclusively desalinate ocean water that can be used by coastal regions so those a

Has anyone proposed nuclear reactors on the coast, that use their fuel rods to exclusively desalinate ocean water that can be used by coastal regions so those areas aren't pulling from the fresh water river systems? *edit, I just mean use traditional desalination powered by a dedicated nuclear plant. (If fresh water is that scarce)

chomp 5y ago
How would that work? I’d imagine salt and mineral buildup would impede heat transfer and wind up melting the reactor down.
barathr 5y ago
There's little need for nuclear for this when there's surplus solar power in the West these days during the middle of the day. Desalination is the perfect kind of load for this suprlus power: flexible, its output can be stored, water demand is highest during the day when there's sunlight, irrigation demand is highest during the summer when there's more sunlight, etc. (In the coming decade there's going to be too much solar power production but only during the day, and not enough renewable generation in the evening.)
- bostik 5y ago
  Desalination is indeed a nice way to drain excess energy from the grid, because the end product is directly usable. But let's keep in mind that large-scale desalination comes with its own externalities. Removing salt from sea water leaves behind a concentrated brine, which in turn has to be handled and managed properly. Otherwise you'll risk endangering the coastal ecosystems.[0] On the other hand, there is research indicating that the waste and side products could themselves be used to enhance the desalination process (to make it less destructive to surroundings) as well as generate secondary income streams from the side products themselves.[1] 0: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0227589 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal... 1: https://news.mit.edu/2019/brine-desalianation-waste-sodium-hydroxide-0213 https://news.mit.edu/2019/brine-desalianation-waste-sodium-h...
elsonrodriguez 5y ago
A safer way of doing this is just using the electricity to run a desalination plant. Which is probably something we should be looking into. What's a drought except a lack of fresh water? It's just another problem so solve and a great way to create jobs.
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chomp 5y ago

How would that work? I’d imagine salt and mineral buildup would impede heat transfer and wind up melting the reactor down.

barathr 5y ago

There's little need for nuclear for this when there's surplus solar power in the West these days during the middle of the day. Desalination is the perfect kind of load for this suprlus power: flexible, its output can be stored, water demand is highest during the day when there's sunlight, irrigation demand is highest during the summer when there's more sunlight, etc. (In the coming decade there's going to be too much solar power production but only during the day, and not enough renewable generation in the evening.)

bostik 5y ago
Desalination is indeed a nice way to drain excess energy from the grid, because the end product is directly usable. But let's keep in mind that large-scale desalination comes with its own externalities. Removing salt from sea water leaves behind a concentrated brine, which in turn has to be handled and managed properly. Otherwise you'll risk endangering the coastal ecosystems.[0] On the other hand, there is research indicating that the waste and side products could themselves be used to enhance the desalination process (to make it less destructive to surroundings) as well as generate secondary income streams from the side products themselves.[1] 0: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0227589 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal... 1: https://news.mit.edu/2019/brine-desalianation-waste-sodium-hydroxide-0213 https://news.mit.edu/2019/brine-desalianation-waste-sodium-h...

elsonrodriguez 5y ago

A safer way of doing this is just using the electricity to run a desalination plant. Which is probably something we should be looking into. What's a drought except a lack of fresh water? It's just another problem so solve and a great way to create jobs.

deleted 5y ago

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