Nuclear power plants are an important and efficient source of electrical energy, supplying over 12% of the world’s electricity. Many modern plants use a pressurized water reactor (PWR) due to their improved safety and self-regulating capability. The reactor coolant plays a very important role in the process. In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) is pumped under high pressure to the reactor core where it is heated by the energy generated by the fission of atoms. The higher water pressure enables more heat to be carried from the reactor and the heated, radioactive water then flows to a steam generator where it transfers its thermal energy to a secondary system. Boron is often added in the form of boric acid to the reactor coolant as a neutron absorber to control the nuclear reactivity in the primary reactor.
Contact us now >
