Nuclear reactors can produce very high outlet temperatures for chemical processes, especially gas cooled reactors. Apart from general heating, hydrogen fuel production, petroleum cracking, and in-situ petroleum production from tar sands, are there any other applications for nuclear reactor heat outputs?
Here are some temperature and pressure outputs for various reactor types at the outlet:
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Pressurized water reactor (PWR) and boiling water reactor (BWR): 286°C temperature and 7 MPa pressure. Uses steam turbines.
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Supercritical steam reactor: 600°C temperature and 30 MPa pressure. Uses steam turbines.
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Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGR): 648°C core outlet temperature, dropping to 2,485 psia (170bar) and 543°C superheater outlet temperature. This design used steam turbines and lost some efficiency relative to a potential gas turbine design, although it is the most advanced commercial gas cooled power reactor built to date.
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Gas Cooled Fast Reactor: A gas cooled reactor with up to 850°C outlet temperature. Uses gas turbines.
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Very high temperature reactor: A gas cooled reactor with up to 1000°C outlet temperature. Uses gas turbines.
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UHTREX: A gas cooled reactor with up to 1316°C outlet temperature. Thermal reactor, no electrical output.