Page 65

Bangladesh to pour first concrete for its Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant on November, 30

By
niraj
-
Bangladesh to pour first concrete for its Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant on November, 30

Bangladesh to begin the main phase of the construction of its first Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) this month with the first concrete to be poured on November, 30. The ceremony will witness the participation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, high-level official sources told Nuclear Asia.

“Bangladesh’s nuclear energy programme will reach a significant landmark as the first concrete will be poured on November, 30 for our first nuclear power plant at Rooppur. The First Concrete Pouring Day will mark the beginning of construction the nuclear power plant, a milepost in Bangladesh’s development history,” sources added.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will consist of two units powered by VVER-1200 nuclear reactors. Russia will be supplying the necessary equipment and nuclear fuel. The project management team and the RNPP operational and maintenance personnel will be trained by Moscow. Bangladesh has also signed two inter-governmental and inter-agency agreements with India under which the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) of India will provide training and consultancy services for the implementation of the RNPP project.

view full post »

Closed nuclear fuel cycle is future of nuclear energy industry: Alexey Likhachev

By
niraj
-
The Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station in Russia with the BN-800, the largest fast neutron power reactor in service in the world.
The Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station in Russia with the BN-800, the largest fast neutron power reactor in service in the world.

Dubbing closed nuclear fuel cycle as the future of the nuclear power industry, Russia sought international collaboration on the same. The country’s interest in the closed fuel cycle was made explicit by the Director General of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Alexey Likhachev at the International Ministerial Conference on ‘Nuclear Power in the 21st century organized under the aegis of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Forced by the international sanctions regime following the Pokhran I atomic bomb test, India has also been pursuing the closed nuclear fuel cycle since the inception of its nuclear power programme.

“We are convinced that the future of the global nuclear power industry is going hand in hand with closed nuclear fuel cycle, with the core represented by fast fission reactor technologies,” Likhachev said. The contention made by him in support of his argument has been that the closed NFC will make “the peaceful atom” more environment friendly.

A closed NFC means that a country has mastered the technology of reprocessing and remaking the spent fuel from its nuclear power reactors. India has three-stage nuclear electricity programme that makes the nuclear fuel cycle closed. They are namely: pressurised heavy-water reactors (PHWRs) using natural uranium as fuel; fast breeder reactors (FBRs) using plutonium and depleted uranium from the PHWRs; and reactors using the abundant thorium found in India.

view full post »

Indian scientists developed innovative technique for production of negative hydrogen ions

By
niraj
-
Centre of Plasma Physics – Institute for Plasma Research
Centre of Plasma Physics – Institute for Plasma Research

Indian scientists of the Centre of Plasma Physics – Institute for Plasma Research (CPP-IPR), Sonapur in cooperation with their colleagues from the Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar developed an innovative technique for the production of negative hydrogen ions. Their finding are published in an article called ‘Development of a novel surface assisted volume negative hydrogen ion source’ in a reputed multidisciplinary scientific journal ‘Nature‘.

According to the article, negative hydrogen ions (H−ions) play an important role in many terrestrial as well as extra-terrestrial natural physical phenomena. “The negative ions are often used in many other industrial applications, such as in ion beam deposition studies, for micrometer-sized powder surface modification, damage-free nano-particle formation for quantum devices, bio-compatibility surface treatment in nerve cell engineering fields, tandem accelerators and high energetic Neutral beam injection system for fusion reactor,” it said.

The research was conducted by Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Kausik, Dr. Bharat Kakati and Dr. Bipul Kumar Saikia of CPP-IPR and Dr. Mainak Bandyopadhyay and Dr. Predhiman Krishan Kaw of IPR.

view full post »

Italy backs India’s entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group: Paolo Gentiloni

By
niraj
-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Prime Minister of Italy Paolo Gentiloni
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Prime Minister of Italy Paolo Gentiloni. Source: PIB.

Italy supports India`s bid for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), The Joint Statement said after the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni. The countries also inked six pacts to boost cooperation in key sectors, including energy and trade.

“The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening global non-proliferation efforts. Italy congratulated India on its admission to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Italy also welcomed India’s subscription to the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC) and supported India’s intensified engagement with Wassenaar Arrangement, the Australia Group, and the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) which strengthens global non-proliferation efforts.”

In a first visit by an Italian prime minister in ten years, Gentiloni arrived to India on a two-day state trip, aimed at deepening political and economic relationship, which had suffered a major blow due to Italian marines case.

view full post »

Rift in public, private players mars Indian nuclear industry

By
niraj
-
Rift in public, private players in Indian nuclear industry

At a time when the Narendra Modi government has thrown its weight behind the nuclear power generation, the rift between the public and private players has become the bane for the nuclear energy sector in the country. At the 9th Nuclear Energy Conclave in the capital while the private players sited lack of orders creating existential problems for them, the public major Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in turn used the forum to point out their incompetence.

The conclave organised on October 27, one of only few big congregations of different nuclear firms in the country, turned into a bitter slinging match as many small firm representatives aired their grievances in presence of the Executive Director (Procurement) of NPCIL Lokesh Kumar.

“Transparency in industry will help…. Since 2010 most of industries, which are involved in nuclear sector, are starving. Consider industry your partner, be transparent; and if a company has a lacuna tell them,” Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Pune-based Walchandnagar Industries Ltd GK Pillai said during a Round table session on ‘Industry Perspective and Preparedness to Meet Capacity Addition Targets of Nuclear Power’.

view full post »

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation wants to participate in nuclear power projects in India: Jitendra Singh

By
niraj
-
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation wants to participate nuclear power projects in India

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to work with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) for setting up new nuclear power plants, Minister of State in the Prime Minister Office, in charge of Department of Atomic Energy, Jitendra Singh said while addressing 9th Nuclear Energy Conclave in New Delhi.

“ONGC has come forward with a plan. They have a lot of money they would like to invest and we have the technical expertise,” he said.

The government has recently amended the Atomic Energy Act 1962 to enable the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to form joint ventures (JVs) with public sector undertakings (PSUs) in order to meet the high cost of setting up nuclear plants.

view full post »

Westinghouse hopes to close bankruptcy proceedings by 2018

By
niraj
-
Westinghouse hope to close bankruptcy proceedings by 2018

The much anticipated multi-billion dollar deal with the Toshiba-owned Westinghouse​ to construct 6 nuclear power units in India will have some clarity once the company closes its bankruptcy claim filed under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code and this is going to happen sometime in 2018. Speaking at the 9th Nuclear Energy Conclave, Vice President (India Projects) Westinghouse Electric Company KM Rajan spoke about the issue that has thrown the nuclear power plants deal into turbulence.

The Indian Government has been trying to salvage it as Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought reworking of the deal during his visit to the US earlier in 2017. The modalities of the reworked deal are still not clear but initial reports suggest that Westinghouse will take up consultation and design role, whereas construction will be done by an Indian partner.

The deal with the Westinghouse Electric Company, the US arm for Japan’s Toshiba, to build six nuclear reactors has already missed its deadline in June 2017. “We expect to be out of the bankruptcy Chapter 11 process sometimes mid-next year. We will be out of that, so it will not have any effect on the (project in India),” Rajan said during the conclave organised by the India Energy Forum in response to a question. Under the chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy code the company is allowed to do its business and clear debt over a period of time that also involves reorganization of the firm.

view full post »

Bangladesh Navy to dredge rivers for ferrying heavy equipment for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

By
niraj
-
Bangladesh Navy to dredge rivers for ferrying heavy equipment for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

The Bangladesh Navy has been roped in to dredge the 110 km-long river route from Chittagong-Mongla-Pakshi, via Chandpur-Mawa-Gualanda to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) to make it deep enough for ferrying heavy equipment for the plant. The transportation of the equipment is expected to begin in the second half of the next year, a Bangladesh daily reported.

A Bangladesh newspaper The Independent reported that the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has awarded the contract of dredging the waterways to the Bangladesh Navy at an estimated budget of Tk 895 crore (USD 107.4 million) and the force will be responsible for providing security on the river route till 2025. “It is an important project and the Navy is being assigned the task of ensuring safe transportation of heavy equipment to the RNPP site. Navy will also monitor and look after the river route till 2025,” Chairman of the BIWTA Commodore M Mozammel Huq was quoted by the newspaper.

Bangladesh had mooted a nuclear power plant in the west of the country in 1961. The site in the Pabna district was approved in 1963. And after decades of waiting, the country is now gearing up to have two nuclear power plants with the first one to go operational by 2023 under a trilateral collaboration with Russia and India.

view full post »

Clean Atom, Green Atom: Nuclear technologies for water purification and medical treatment

By
niraj
-
Nuclear technologies for water purification and medical treatments

In popular imagination the power contained in the nucleus can only be utilized to generate energy. However, nuclear engineering is an important field that is proving to be useful from water purification to medicine. Potential application of irradiation and radioactivity is not limited to electricity production. There is a wide range of areas where peaceful atom plays an essential role. Diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions, space exploration, agriculture, archaeology and exploration of chemical and biological processes – the list is by no means exhaustive.

An operation to rescue the mummy of Ramesses II is a good illustration to the point. The Cairo Museum that keeps the mummy discovered in 1974 that it had started to decay. To eliminate a fatal outcome, the Mummy was urgently taken to France for which it had to be issued a current Egyptian passport. The Egyptian citizen, and king by profession (albeit deceased), was given an official welcome at the Paris airport with ceremony and brass music. A subsequent medical inspection revealed that the patient had been infected with bacteria, fungi and worms. The Mummy was subjected to penetrating radiation which destroyed the dangerous microbes and helped preserve a valuable exhibit item.

The Shape of Water: From Disinfection to Desalination

view full post »

Bangladesh to soon pour first concrete for its Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

By
niraj
-
Bangladesh to soon pour first concrete for its Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

Bangladesh’s nuclear energy programme will reach a significant landmark as the first concrete will be poured by mid-November for the country’s first nuclear power plant at Rooppur. The First Concrete Pouring Day will mark the beginning of construction the nuclear power plant, a milepost in Bangladesh’s development history.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) is also exemplary in terms of inter-nation collaboration to promote cleaner energy and to build capacity in developing countries to help them cut down emissions. Russia and Bangladesh have come together to make this project a success. The energy generated from this plant will give fillip to Dhaka’s ambition to push the country into a middle income country by 2021 and a developed country by 2041.

“The country has already made considerable progress in establishing the first ever nuclear power plant at Rooppur. The government is planning to observe the First Concrete Pouring Day (FCD) at the end of October or in mid-November this year. On that day, the construction of the main power plant will be officially launched. It is expected that the first and second unit of RNPP, each with the capacity of 1200MW, will be in commercial operation in 2022 and 2023, respectively,” Project Director of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) Dr Mohammad Shawkat Akbar told the Bangladesh’s English daily Daily Star. The Bangladesh government aims to generate at least 4000 MW electricity from nuclear sources by 2030, which will be about 10 percent of the total targeted electricity generation.

view full post »
1...646566...75Page 65 of 75

Popular posts