Preliminary Risk Analysis of Nuclear Co-located Hydrogen and Syngas Production

Abstract

This paper presents recent updates on the risk analysis of a co-located integrated energy system (IES) comprised of a hydrogen facility, a synthesis gas (syngas) facility, and a nuclear power plant (NPP) that provides both thermal steam and electrical power. The syngas used in this report would be produced for a synthetic fuel facility. Oftentimes, the syngas facility will be a part of the larger synthetic fuel plant. The updates include the safe distance determination of the plants in compliance with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regulatory Guide 1.91. Mass balance of key process flows in this IES schema are listed. Overpressure resulting from cloud hydrogen detonation and hydrogen jet leaks and fires are calculated using the Bauwens-Durofeev (Bauwens) method and trinitrotoluene equivalent mass method (TNT EM). Syngas mixture properties are calculated with the Peng-Robinson equation of state and Le Chaterlier equation. Atmospheric dispersion of syngas release is simulated using the Gaussian dispersion and heavy gas models. Distances from the syngas facility to the surrounding syngas toxicity, detonation overpressure, and flammability heat flux levels of concern are determined for two hypothetical reference IES sites. The separation distance for the reference 500 MWnom hydrogen production facility is about 200 meters, while the separation distance for the syngas reactor is in the range of several kilometers.