Analysis and Assessment of a Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor for Nuclear Desalination

A thermodynamic analysis of the coupling of a reverse osmosis (RO) process with the gas turbine-modular helium reactor (GT-MHR) is presented in which the waste heat is utilized for the generation of steam as it is expanded in a steam turbine. A comprehensive parametric study is carried out to reveal the effect of some parameters such as compression ratio, turbine inlet temperature, recovery ratio, and preheated feed seawater inlet temperature on the exergy efficiencies of the RO process, electricity generation process, electricity generation without steam turbine work output, and overall system. The analysis shows that the exergy efficiency of the electric generation process is increased by 10.3%, if the waste heat from the reactor is utilized. The exergy efficiencies of the RO process, electricity generation process, electricity generation without steam turbine work output, and overall system are found to be 89.0%, 40.0%, 29.7%, and 41.0%, respectively.