# A Feasibility Study of Utilizing Nuclear Energy for an Existing MED-TVC Desalination Plant
###### Abstract
Nuclear energy is a clean and reliable energy source; nuclear reactors have been contributing to supplying baseload energy to the global energy mix since the nineteen-sticies. The nuclear sector contributed roughly 10% of global electricity generation in 2018 and that share is expected to double by 2030, meaning that nuclear energy is needed for clean energy transitions worldwide [7]. In addition to electricity production using nuclear energy, the heat produced by the nuclear fission reaction can be utilized for other applications, including seawater desalination and hydrogen production. Nowadays, new opportunities can be offered by advanced nuclear technologies such as SMRs (Small Modular Reactors), which are defined as nuclear reactors producing energy of up to 300 MW [9]. On a global scale, there has been a growing interest in SMRs because of the various benefits offered by such technologies, which include flexibility in power generation, improved safety because of the inherent passive safety features, lower upfront capital cost, and lastly, the options of co-generation and non-power applications [9]. Currently, there are more than 70 different SMR designs for different applications, including electricity production, district heating, process heat, and water desalination. Technology readiness for these designs ranges from conceptual design level, passing through all different levels down to a small number of designs currently at the demonstration phase [10]. Nuclear desalination can meet the huge demands for water for in-house and other applications if demonstrated to be feasible and economically competitive without any compromise in the quality of produced water through a properly designed coupling system between a nuclear reactor and a desalination plant. Nuclear desalination has been successfully operated for many years in Japan, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan without any recorded reactor abnormalities or leakage of radioactive materials into the desalinated water [11]. An interesting SMR technology is the nuclear heating reactor, namely NHR-200. The reactor, which was developed by Tsinghua University in China, is a heat-dedicated single-purpose reactor. The NHR-200 is capable of supplying heat in the form of steam at 127 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 2.5 bar, which can be used as motive steam for seawater desalination plants [12]. Several studies presented in the literature have reported water production costs for different nuclear reactor technologies with different production capacities. For a MED desalination plant with a capacity of 100,000 m\({}^{3}\)/day, [PERSON] and [PERSON] reported the water production cost as 1.803 USD/m\({}^{3}\)[13]. [PERSON] found the cost of producing water using NHR-200 coupled with low-temperature MED to be USD 0.72/m\({}^{3}\) for a capacity of 120,000 m\({}^{3}\)/day [14]. This study aims to investigate the suitability and feasibility of using a nuclear heating reactor to supply steam to an existing MED-TVC desalination plant located in Saudi Arabia. A comparison between the nuclear heating reactor and the conventional oil-fired steam boilers will be conducted. A sensitivity analysis will be performed to determine the price of oil, which makes the nuclear heating source more competitive.