We traveled to the town of Cofrentes, in Valencia, to visit the nuclear power plant that provides energy to Spain. The Cofrentes nuclear power plant It is 100% owned by the company Iberdrola Generación Nuclear SA. This nuclear power plant has had numerous incidents that have made it the target of environmentalists and detractors of nuclear energy. The management of the plant is governed by principles and commitments that have been approved by the Board of Directors of Iberdrola.
In this post we are going to scan all the characteristics of the nuclear power plant. We will start by explaining how it works and how much energy it contributes to the Spanish electricity grid. Finally, we will discuss the most important incidents you have had to date. Do you want to know the Cofrentes nuclear power plant in depth? You just have to keep reading 🙂
Objectives of the Cofrentes nuclear power plant
The company's capabilities and objectives policy pursues some main objectives, among which are:
- Keep the nuclear power plant in perfect condition.
- Maintain good security and improve technology to always have it active.
- Train workers on occupational risks to avoid possible accidents.
- Develop policies that help employees have experiences of their own and those outside the headquarters.
- Inform the media in a truthful and open way about the current situation of the plant. In this way, a public opinion can be formulated and all interest groups will be informed.
Technical characteristics
The Cofrentes nuclear power plant has an electrical power of 1.092MW. This makes it one of the largest in production in all of Spain. It is equipped with a BWR type boiling water reactor. It is a direct cycle water reactor. This means that there is only one primary fluid or coolant that is responsible for vaporizing in the reactor.
It is also the only central that belongs to those called of the second generation. The rest of the plants use a pressurized water system, while this is boiling.
Operation of the Cofrentes nuclear power plant
We are going to divide the description of the operation of the nuclear power plant into parts. In each part it must be taken into account that there are delicate processes.
Fuel used
To obtain energy, the system requires a steam generating mechanism. This mechanism that is responsible for generating steam is nothing more than the nuclear reactor. It is placed between the auxiliary and control elements inside a pressure vessel. This is where it is produced nuclear fission of uranium atoms. The process begins to provide more and more heat until the water vaporizes.
For this reaction a fuel known as 4,2% lightly enriched uranium. It is a ceramic material that is capable of withstanding very high temperatures and high radiation doses. We remember that radiation is very dangerous for humans and that at the slightest concentration it can be very harmful. This ceramic material is contained in hollow zircaloy-2 (zirconium alloy) rods that are grouped into sets of 11 × 11 rods. This is what makes forming elements easier to handle.
Steps to get the energy
The steps that are followed to obtain energy are as follows.
- The first thing is to raise the temperature of the water inside the reactor. The water flows in an upward direction along the core. The zircaloy rods are heated by the fission of the uranium atoms and allow the production of about 1,6 Tm per second of saturated steam. The vapor is separated from the liquid phase and dried in the upper part of the reactor vessel. It then goes on to expand to the high pressure turbine.
- The expanded steam is dried and reheated again in two heaters and humidity dryers.
- The superheated and dry steam is finally admitted by the two low-pressure bodies of the turbine where its expansion ends up to a pressure of 75mm column of mercury absolute. Finally, it is sent to the double pressure condenser where it is transformed back into water to return it to the reactor through a conventional regenerative cycle.
The mechanical energy that the turbine has is transformed into electrical energy in a similar way to how it is done in a thermal power plant. The amount of energy that is generated is used and transported to the main single-phase transformers.
The cooling of the plant is carried out in a closed circuit by means of two natural draft towers. The towers have dimensions of 129 meters high and 90 meters in base diameter. In these towers where the water arrives through a closed pipe and is cooled by mixing it with the rising air. The power level of the reactor is regulated by means of recirculation pumps and control rods that penetrate the core from the bottom.
Nuclear power plant incidents
During 2017 10 incidents were registered that forced the plant to close. The most serious was a breakdown that cost him in December the classification of level 1 ("anomaly") in the International Scale of Nuclear and Radiological Events (INES) of the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN).
Turbines and bearings failed and the nuclear power plant had to shut down many times. And it is that the nuclear reactor with which it works, General electric, is the same model as the rugged Fukushima. It has the same containment system. Faced with the continued failures after 35 years of service (it is destined to have a useful life of around 40 years), Iberdrola intends to continue making it work.
Environmental defenders are crying out for the closure of the nuclear power plant to avoid possible catastrophes such as Chernobyl or Fukushima.
Things are not being explained correctly and the elements that fail are key to the operation of the plant.
Let's hope that the Cofrentes nuclear power plant does not cause a serious problem and they do things well.