Editing Pebble bed modular reactor

{{Short description|South African nuclear reactor design}}
{{Use South African English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox company
|name             = Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd
|logo             = PBMR logo.svg
|type             = Engineering
|foundation       = 1994
|location_city    = [[Centurion, Gauteng]]
|location_country = South Africa
|location         =
|locations        =
|key_people       = CEO: Alex Tsela (acting since March 2010)
|area_served      = South Africa, International
|industry         = Nuclear
|products         =
|services         = Design, Project Management and Related Services
|revenue          =
|operating_income =
|net_income       =
|num_employees    = Est. 900, reduction to 9
|parent           =
|divisions        =
|subsid           =
|slogan           =
|homepage         = http://www.pbmr.com
|dissolved        =
|footnotes        =
|intl             =
}}

The '''Pebble Bed Modular Reactor''' ('''PBMR''') is a particular design of [[pebble bed reactor]] developed by South African company PBMR (Pty) Ltd from 1994 until 2009.<ref>http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-PBMR_postponed-1109092.html World Nuclear News 11 September 2009</ref> PBMR facilities include gas turbine and heat transfer labs at the Potchefstroom Campus of [[North-West University]], and at [[Pelindaba]], a high pressure and temperature helium test rig, as well as a prototype fuel fabrication plant.<ref name="NEI">{{cite web |title=South Africa seeks to revive PBMR project |url=https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newssouth-africa-seeks-to-revive-pbmr-project-7765057 |website=Nuclear Engineering International |publisher=Progressive Media International |access-date=18 May 2021 |date=10 February 2020}}</ref> A planned test reactor at [[Koeberg Nuclear Power Station]] was not built.

== Reactor design ==
The PBMR is characterised by inherent safety features, which mean that no human error or equipment failure can cause an accident that would harm the public.<ref name=nei-20090401a>{{cite news|url=http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?storyCode=2052590|title=PBMR: hot or not?|author=Steve Thomas|publisher=Nuclear Engineering International|date=1 April 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613104516/http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?storyCode=2052590|archivedate=13 June 2011}}</ref>

Heat from the PBMR can be used for a variety of industrial process applications, including process steam for cogeneration applications, in-situ [[oil sands]] recovery, ethanol applications, refinery and petrochemical applications.<ref name=pbmrweb-tech>{{cite web |url=http://www.pbmr.co.za/index.asp?Content=226 |title=process heat applications |publisher=PBMR Ltd |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216031414/http://www.pbmr.co.za/index.asp?Content=226 |archivedate=16 February 2012}}</ref> The high temperature heat can also be used to reform methane to produce [[syngas]] (where the syngas can be used as feedstock to produce hydrogen, ammonia and methanol); and to produce hydrogen and oxygen by decomposing water thermochemically.

The PBMR is ''modular'' in that only small to mid-sized units will be designed. Larger power stations will be built by combining many of these modules. As of 2008, 400MWt was emerging as an optimum module size, considerably larger than the original concept size.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}

The PBMR is fuelled and [[neutron moderator|moderated]] by graphite fuel spheres each containing [[TRISO]] coated low enriched uranium oxide fuel particles. There are 15000 fuel particles per fuel sphere the size of a [[billiard ball]]. "Each fuel pebble contains 9 g of uranium, and this holds enough generation capacity to sustain a family of four, for a year. Five tons of coal and up to 23 000 m<sup>3</sup> of water will be required to generate one pebble's energy".<ref name=en-20070810a>{{cite news|url=http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/fuel-for-thought-pbmr-fuel-set-for-yearend-production-2007-08-10|title=Fuel for thought – PBMR fuel set for year-end production|author=Esmarie Swanepoel|publisher=Engineering News|date=10 August 2007|accessdate= 2009-05-15 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120219082021/http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/fuel-for-thought-pbmr-fuel-set-for-yearend-production-2007-08-10 |archive-date= 2012-02-19}}</ref>

The concept is based on the [[AVR reactor]] and [[THTR]] in Germany, but modified to drive a [[Brayton cycle|Brayton]] [[closed-cycle gas turbine]].<ref>[http://iaea.org/OurWork/ST/NE/inisnkm/nkm/aws/htgr/abstracts/abst_gtpcs_8.html IAEA Technical Committee Meeting on “Gas Turbine Power Conversion Systems for Modular HTGRs”]{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, held from 14–16 November 2000 in Palo Alto, California. [[International Atomic Energy Agency]], Vienna (Austria). Technical Working Group on Gas-Cooled Reactors. [http://iaea.org/OurWork/ST/NE/inisnkm/nkm/aws/htgr/fulltext/gtpcs_8.pdf IAEA-TECDOC—1238, pp:102–113]{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The core design is annular with a centre column as a [[neutron reflector]].<ref name="en-20070810a"/>

== PBMR (Pty) Ltd – history ==
Since its establishment in 1994, Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd grew into one of the largest nuclear reactor design teams in the world.<ref name=niasa>{{cite news|url=http://www.niasa.co.za/events/event-presentations/HTR%20Conference%20Supplement.pdf|title=Special report published by Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd of South Africa on the High Temperature Reactor Conference (HTR) that was held from 28 September to 1 October 2008 in Washington D.C. |author=PBMR |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901165406/http://www.niasa.co.za/events/event-presentations/HTR%20Conference%20Supplement.pdf|archivedate=1 September 2009}}</ref> In addition to the core team of some 700 people at the PBMR head-office in Centurion near Pretoria, more than 600 people at universities, private companies and research institutes were involved with the project.<ref name=nei-20170402/>

In 2006, the US Department of Energy awarded the PBMR consortium the primary contract for the first phase of its New Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}  The scope for the first phase of this contract, which has now been completed{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}, was for the pre-conceptual engineering of a nuclear co-generation plant for the production of electricity and hydrogen. Requests for proposals for the second phase of the NGNP project will soon be issued, to which the PBMR consortium will be responding within the next few months of 2009.

In 2009 PBMR (Pty) announced that it was looking at employing the technology for process heat applications,<ref name=nei-20090401a/> and some pebble bed reactor contracts had been put on hold to prevent unnecessary spending<ref name=nei-20090401b>{{cite news|url=http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?storyCode=2052595|title=PBMR (Pty)'s Perspective|author=PBMR|publisher=Nuclear Engineering International|date=1 April 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613104928/http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?storyCode=2052595|archivedate=13 June 2011}}</ref>

=== Wind down in 2010 ===
In February 2010 the South Africa government announced it had stopped funding the development of the pebble bed modular reactor, and PBMR (Pty) stated it was considering 75% cuts in staff.<ref name=WNN-20100218>{{cite news|url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C_PBMR_facing_massive_cuts_1802101.html|title=PBMR facing massive cuts|date=18 February 2010|publisher=World Nuclear News|accessdate=2010-03-16}}</ref> The decision was taken because no customer or investor for PBMR was found. Unresolved technical items, a substantial increase of costs and a 2008 report from [[Forschungszentrum Jülich]] about major problems in operation of the [[AVR reactor|German pebble bed reactor AVR]]<ref name=Moormann-2008>{{cite web |url=http://juwel.fz-juelich.de:8080/dspace/bitstream/2128/3136/1/Juel_4275_Moormann.pdf |title=A safety re-evaluation of the AVR pebble bed reactor operation and its consequences for future HTR concepts (archived copy) |accessdate=2015-06-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111154905/http://juwel.fz-juelich.de:8080/dspace/bitstream/2128/3136/1/Juel_4275_Moormann.pdf |archivedate=11 January 2012 }}</ref> had discouraged potential investors.<ref name="Hogan"/> International banks refused to support the PBMR project by loans. PBMR's CEO resigned on March, 8th 2010.

In May 2010 Westinghouse withdrew from the PBMR consortium, which led to an end of the South African engagement in NGNP.<ref name="Hogan"/>

On 25 May 2010 the company announced to staff that it intends to implement a "Care and Maintenance" Strategy. This involves the reduction of staff to 9. The stated purpose of the proposed structure is; preserve PBMR as a legal entity, preserve and optimise IP, preserve HTR license, preserve assets and solicit new investors. The strategy assumes that keeping on 9 employees in the medium term will leave sufficient funding to take PBMR to March 2013. The remaining employees will serve to end of October 2010. Some funding is foreseen for dismantling of the PBMR fuel fabrication laboratories in 2011.

In Sept 2010 the SA govt announced that in future, the [[South African nuclear program]] will concentrate on conventional [[light water reactor]]s.<ref name = "Hogan">{{cite web |url=http://www.info.gov.za/speech/DynamicAction?pageid=461&sid=13029&tid=18561 |title=Address by the Minister of Public Enterprises, Barbara Hogan, to the National Assembly, on the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor |author=Barbara Hogan |publisher=South African Government Information |date=16 September 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060457/http://www.info.gov.za/speech/DynamicAction?pageid=461&sid=13029&tid=18561 |archivedate=21 September 2013}}</ref>

The NGNP project will continue on HTGRs with prismatic fuel elements, not with pebbles as in PBMR, as was announced in February 2012.

[[South African rand|R]]9.244 billion (US$1.3 billion) had been invested in the PBMR project. Over 80% came from the South African government, with smaller amounts from [[Eskom]] (8.8%), [[Westinghouse Electric Company|Westinghouse]] (4.9%), Industrial Development Corporation (4.9%) and [[Exelon]] (1.1%).<ref name=nei-20170402>{{cite news |url=http://www.neimagazine.com/news/newssecond-thoughts-on-south-africas-pebble-bed-reactor-5776340 |title=Second thoughts on South Africa's pebble-bed reactor |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=2 April 2017 |accessdate=6 April 2017}}</ref>

== Legacy ==

=== X-energy ===
{{Main|X-energy}}
About a dozen employees at PBMR later joined X-energy, including:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Whatever became of the PBMR? - Modern Power Systems |url=https://www.modernpowersystems.com/features/featurewhatever-became-of-pbmr-9780039/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=www.modernpowersystems.com}}</ref>

* Eben Mulder, Chief Scientific Officer at PBMR, as Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist at X-energy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Eben Mulder - Leadership |url=https://x-energy.com/team/eben-mulder |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=X-energy |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Martin van Staden, Chief Technical Officer and Director at PBMR, as Senior Vice President and responsible for the technical design of the Xe-100 reactor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Martin van Staden - Leadership |url=https://x-energy.com/team/martin-van-staden |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=X-energy |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Theo Odendaal as the Director of Environmental Safety & Health at X-energy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Theo Odendaal - Leadership |url=https://x-energy.com/team/theo-odendaal |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=X-energy |language=en-US}}</ref>

Other employees joined the [[Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Stratek Global ===
A Pretoria-based South African company created a variant of the PBMR reactor. The differences in the two reactors are the Stratek HTMR-100 reactor functions at a lower temperature (from 940°C to 750°C), the HTMR-100 reactor directs the heat into water to create steam in addition to being helium-cooled. The HTMR-100 reactor is also smaller, with an output of 35 MWe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HTMR-100 team aim for pebble bed SMR in South Africa : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News |url=https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/HTMR-100-team-aim-for-PBMR-SMR-in-South-Africa |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=www.world-nuclear-news.org}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051030043434/http://www.pbmr.co.za/ PBMR (Pty) Ltd]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090901165406/http://www.niasa.co.za/events/event-presentations/HTR%20Conference%20Supplement.pdf Special report published by Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd of South Africa on the High Temperature Reactor Conference  (HTR) that was held from 28 September to 1 October 2008 in Washington D.C.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110720161736/https://odin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/htr-tn/HTR-2004/ Proceedings HTR 2004]
* [https://archive.today/20130202023250/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V4D-4851D9G-1&_user=10&_coverDate=06/30/2003&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=5d0fede59303848d487321503f72c6b2 Abstract of ''PBMR design for the future''], describing PBMR development 1994–2002.

{{Nuclear technology}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pebble Bed Modular Reactor}}
[[Category:Pebble bed reactors]]
[[Category:Nuclear power reactor types]]
[[Category:Nuclear technology in South Africa]]