Storing Heat from Nuclear Power Plants Could Improve Output

Storing Heat from Nuclear Power Plants Could Improve Output Storing Heat from Nuclear Power Plants Could Improve Output Storing Heat from Nuclear Power Plants Could Improve OutputThe story of human civilization is very much intertwined with the control of heat. There is evidence that humans started using fire at least 300,000 years ago, and since then we have burned carbon fuels such as wood, coal, oil, and natural gas.While the cooking fire and the gas turbine are different technologies, their economics are similar. The manpower, resources, and money are in collecting the fuel and bringing it to the fire. The cost of the cooking fire or gas turbine is small relative to the cost of fuel. It is economic to operate a cooking fire or gas turbine at low capacity factors, turning these machines off when energy demand is low.Read ASMEs Top Story 6 Ways Engineers Heal a Broken HeartLow-carbon electricity changes the economics of energy. Nuclear, wind, and solar have high capital costs and l ow operating costs thus energy becomes very expensive if these technologies are operated at part load. If these machines are operated at half capacity, the cost of energy production roughly doubles.For non-dispatchable wind and solar facilities, it means that whenever the wind blows or the sun shines, operators will use those plants to produce as much electricity as they can, even if it commands a low price. That sort of revenue collapse has become a growing reality in the last several years in Europe, the United States, Japan, and China, and could produce a real drag on the expansion of those sources in the near future.The reshaping of the power industry has hit nuclear especially hard. Most existing light-water reactors were built to provide consistent baseload power at dependable prices rather than accommodate the volatility and variability inherent in solar and wind power. During certain times of the year in some power markets, the net loadthe difference between electricity dema nd and the power supplied by non-dispatchable wind and solar facilitiescan surge by many gigawatts between the early afternoon and early evening. Nuclear power plants were never designed to handle such swings.The solution that is usually proposed to address such challenges is energy storage. Wind and photovoltaic (PV) systems produce electricity and thus couple well to technologies that store work, such as batteries or pumped hydropower. The work is stored in times of excess electricity production and converted to electricity for sale at times of high prices.Listen to the latest episode of ASME TechCast Breakthrough Could Bring New Cancer TreatmentBut energy can also be stored as heat. Concentrated solar plants have been designed to store thermal energy so as to produce power after sundown, but heat storage should also be of interest to operators of nuclear power plants. With policy goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions creating incentives to bring online as much variable solar a nd wind power as possible, coupling nuclear power and heat storage is a way for nuclear plants to change from primarily base-load providers of electricity to providing variable electricity for the grid and ultimately becoming buyers and sellers of electricity.Adding heat storage to light-water reactors is the enabling technology for a carbon-free electricity industry based on solar, wind, and nuclear power. And it can accomplish this with little disruption to the operations of existing nuclear plants.Grid-Scale PotentialDistrict heating accumulation tower near Krems an der Donau, Austria, with a thermal capacity of 2GWh. ruf Bwag / Wikimedia CommonsHeat storage for variable electricity production is an old technology. The first large-scale heat storage system for electricity production was the Charlottenburg Power Station steam accumulators built in Berlin in 1929. The accumulator system was comprised of 16 tanks, each 4.3 meters in diameter and 20 meters high, that were charged wit h steam from a coal boiler at times of low electricity demand. During high demand, the steam released by the accumulators drove a turbine with a peak electricity output of 50 MWe.From that beginning, heat storage capacity has grown to grid scale. Today heat storage systems coupled to concentrated solar power systems have capacities in excess of a GWh(t) to enable electricity production after sunset at times of higher electricity prices.In contrast, battery storage facilities are limited to the megawatt-hour scale. And potential for each technology is reflected in the long-term cost goals set by the U.S. Department of Energy. The goal for battery storage is to reach $150 per kWh of electricity storage capacity, positiv about the same amount for the installation of power conversion and other required systems to couple to the grid if a battery storage system can reach that goal, it will more than double electricity costs.By comparison, the DOE goal for thermal energy storage for use at a concentrated solar power plant is $15 per kWh of heat storage capacity. Heat storage is much less expensive than work storage.Find out More about Offshore Wind Energy by Registering for ASMEs SummitHeat storage technologies that can be coupled to nuclear power plants can be divided into six classes, each at different states of readiness to be deployed. It is not likely that there will be a single technology because of differences in the market.A market with large-scale solar has a daily cycle of low- and high-priced electricity whereas a market with large-scale wind sees a multiday cycle of low-price electricity.Of those six classes, two can be considered to be viable in the near term Steam accumulation and geschmolzen sensible heat storage.A steam accumulator is a pressure vessel nearly full of water that is heated to its saturation temperature by steam injection. The heat is stored as high-temperature high-pressure water when steam is needed, valves open and some of the water i s flashed to steam that is sent to a turbine or feed-water heaters generating electricity while the remainder of the water decreases in temperature.The technology is commercialremember, it was deployed at Charlottenburg in 1929and has been deployed at several concentrated solar thermal power stations. It has the advantage of a faster response than any other heat storage system, making it well suited for the kind of quick ramp up needed to accommodate highly variable renewable energy.Sensible heat storage is in some ways similar to a steam accumulator. It involves heating a second wandelbar (rather than water) with steam, storing that hot fluid at atmospheric pressure, and using that fluid at a later time to provide the heat to produce steam, which is then sent to a turbine. Many concentrated solar power systems store heat in tanks of hot salt or hot oil to enable electricity output from the steam cycle after the sun sets.Westinghouse has begun development of a sensible heat storage system for light water reactors. In that system, steam heats a low-pressure heat-transfer oil which then transfers its heat to a heat storage module in which vertical concrete plates serve as the primary heat storage medium rather than the heat-transfer oil. Concrete is used because it is a less expensive heat-storage medium than oil. The hot oil flows through narrow channels between slabs of concrete. To recover the heat, the direction of oil flow is reversed. The hot oil would be used to generate steam that can be used in either the main reactor turbine, a separate power system, or as a partial replacement for steam to feed-water heaters.Liquid Air and Solid RockFour other concepts show a great deal of potential for storing heat from light water reactors, but none are ready for deployment. For instance, cryogenic air energy storage systems hold heat in the form of liquefied air that can be stored in facilities similar to those that store liquefied natural gas. The air would be liq uefied when electricity prices are low when electricity demand called for it, the liquid air would be compressed, heated using low-temperature heat from a nuclear power plants cooling water, then further heated with steam from the reactor and sent through an air turbine before being exhausted to the atmosphere. The round-trip efficiency for this technology coupled to a LWR is estimated to be over 70 percent.The distinguishing feature of cryogenic air energy storage is that the peak-to-baseload electricity output is higher than for other heat storage systems. A pilot facility coupled to a biofuels power plant is now operating in the United Kingdom, but it will be some time before a system is optimized for nuclear power plants.Another conceptstoring heat in a volume of crushed rockis simple and features the lowest incremental heat storage costs. To charge the system, steam from the reactor heats air via a heat exchanger, and then that hot air circulates through crushed rock, which abs orbs the heat and can be raised to arbitrarily high temperatures. To extract the heat, the flow of air reverses, carrying energy out of the rock to a heat exchanger to generate steam for a turbine.Read More Energy Insights U.S. Can Learn From Texas Surge in Wind and Solar PowerThis storage technology is being developed for concentrated solar thermal power systems with several pilot plants worldwide where the heat input is hot air from the solar power tower. In addition, Siemens is developing a variant for use with wind systems that relies on electric resistance heaters to produce the hot air.Instead of using steam to create superheated air, the steam can be used directly to heat pebbles or some other solid material. This packed-bed thermal energy storage system consists of a pressure vessel filled with solid pebbles with a steam valve at the top and water outlet at the bottom. Heat is stored as sensible heat in the pebbles. To charge the system, steam is injected into the pebble bed . It condenses as the cold pebbles are heated and exits as water from the bottom of the vessel. At the end of the charging cycle all pebbles are hot, and hot water fills the voids at the bottom of the vessel. To discharge the system, water is injected into the bottom of the vessel and steam produced by the hot pebbles travels up and out the top.While this technology is in the early stages of laboratory development, it should in theory have very high round-trip efficiency since it doesnt incur losses in the heat exchanger and because it operates in a counter-current modethe hottest steam sees the hottest pebbles.Perhaps the most long-term method for storing heat involves geological formations. In geothermal heat storage systems, steam from the reactor heats water that is then injected into a subsurface reservoir the water is later pumped out for use in a conventional geothermal plant to generate electricity.Read More on Energy Efficiency Innovations New Window Film Reduces Energy Cos tsThe concept is derived from steam and hot water injection systems used in the oil industry for heavy oil recovery as well as standard geothermal power systems, but it is in the earliest stages of development and only limited studies have been completed. Even so, it is clear that one unique feature of this technology is that it can provide seasonal heat storage at very low cost.Unfortunately, there is no way to insulate rock deep underground, so losses are unavoidable, and the only way to mitigate that is by increasing the storage capacity. In fact, a geothermal heat storage system would have to have a heat capacity greater than 100 megawatt-years in reservierung to retain enough heat over a seasonal timescale.Adding OnWhen coupled to a heat storage system, a light-water reactor would be able to operate at full poweras it was designedwhile meeting the needs of an electricity market driven by solar and wind power variability. At times of low electricity prices some steam would be di verted from the reactor to heat storage but the main steam turbine would remain on line at part load to allow rapid return to full power when needed. At times of high prices, all steam from the reactor is sent to the turbine and heat from storage (usually in the form of steam) would be sent back to the turbine hall to either the turbine or the feed-water heaters in the steam system.Many existing nuclear power plants already have 5 to 10 percent excess capacity in their turbines and could accommodate a modest amount of additional steam from heat storage. New power plants, on the other hand, could be designed with heat storage in mind. Such plants could be built to enable output swings from 30 to 130 percent of base-load capacity using existing technologies. Adding a second turbine for peak electricity production would be particularly attractive at multi-unit nuclear stations because a relatively large turbine could be built to minimize capital costs.It may also make sense to add an a uxiliary steam boiler fueled by natural gas or biofuels to provide peak steam capability at times when heat storage is depleted.Such an auxiliary system might not be used for more than 100 hours per year, but it would be fairly inexpensiveestimated costs for such a steam boiler are between $100-300 per kWeand would enable the plant to provide assured generating capacity. Today some concentrated solar thermal power systems have natural gas-fired steam boilers to provide assured generating capacity when heat storage is depleted after sunset.Read More on Renewable Energy Startup SunsAnother potential add-on is resistance heaters so that during times of extraordinarily low (or even negative) electricity pricessuch as when wind turbines are generating at full capacity in the middle of the nightelectricity could be converted to heat and stored for later reuse. The round-trip efficiency of such storage would be low, since the rate of conversion from heat to electricity is 30 to 35 percent in LWRs, but it would still be a profitable way to make use of the miss-match between wind power production and consumer demand.Bridging the GapThe electric power industry has entered a new era as a result of technological and policy changes. The plummeting price of wind and solar power has made the large-scale addition of those sources almost irresistible, while at the same time there is a growing realization that the grid must add as much low-carbon electricity as quickly as possible. But electric utilities are conservative organizations and they have slow reaction timespartly because of a mandate to keep the lights on. They will demand high confidence that any new technologies will work.Those various impulses seem irreconcilable, but heat storage is a technology that can bridge the gap. When coupled with a light-water reactor, an appropriately scaled heat storage system can provide hundreds of megawatts or more of dispatchable, low-carbon electricity. Heat storage can also be add ed incrementally, retrofitted to existing generating assets at a relatively low cost compared to that of a light-water reactor or even a fossil-fuel power plant. As the pilot projects prove their worth, utilities can add heat storage systems to more plants at very low risk.Perhaps most importantly to utility decision makers, heat storage is in many cases a proven technology. The concept behind it is well understood and while heat storage has never been deployed on the scale as suggested here, the difference is only a matter of magnitude.Adapting old-fashioned heat storage to help usher in a modern low-carbon power industry seems a bit counterintuitivelike going back to the future. But given the many contradictory pressures being felt by the industry, the time could be now for this robust idea.Charles W. Forsberg is a principal research scientist in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and principle investigator o f the DOE Integrated Research Project on Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactors.Register today for ASMEs Offshore Wind Summit to learn about the latest technologies, opportunities and supply chain strategies from leaders in the oil, gas and wind energy industries. Read More Exclusive Content from ASME.org Game Theory Helps Robot Design Drone Deploys in Just Minutes but Flies for Hours Who Are the Engineers of the Future?An appropriately scaled heat storage system can provide hundreds of megawatts or more of dispatchable, low-carbon electricity. Heat storage can also be added incrementally.Charles Forsberg, MIT

3 ways to axe the filler words in your vocabulary once and for all

3 ways to axe the filler words in your vocabulary once and for all3 ways to axe the filler words in your vocabulary once and for allYou know when youre talking to your manager, and you notice that your speech is littered with a whole bunch of ums and likes, but its already far too late to correct yourself?Here are three ways to stop using filler words like these once and for all.Start tracking these words in your speechLisa B. Marshall, host and creator of The Public Speaker podcast, writes in a blog post that to become a better speaker, you should first become aware of your distracting speech habits by asking a friend or recording yourself.Once youve got some sample recordings, the next step is play back your recordings several times. Listen specifically for your disfluences - go ahead and make of game of it. First just list them and then start counting them. If you are counting past three or four, youll know you have a problem, she writes.Dont freak yourself outWhitson Gordon, cur rently a freelance writer,wrote in Lifehacker that the first thing you should do is relax.Lets start by saying dont fret over this too much. The more stressed you get by it, the more anxious and nervous youre going to sound, which is really what were trying to get away from in the first place, he writes. Its okay to let a few filler words slip out. After all, its a natural part of speaking. No ones going to think less of you if you say um once in awhile. The goal is to avoid saying it every three words. Take your hands out of your pockets, untense your shoulders, and let yourself relax a bit.Dont talk too fastSteven D. Cohen teaches at the the Harvard Division of Continuing Education is an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and president of Summit Presentations, LLC. He wrote in a Harvard Extension School blog post about why its important to slow down if you want to stop saying um.The next time you are asked a question, take a couple seconds to think abou t what you want to say. This pause serves two important purposes it will help you begin powerfully, and it will help you avoid using a filler word. Pause, think, answer, he writes. The same public speaking technique applies when you are transitioning from one idea to another. While you may be tempted to fill the silence between ideas with a filler word, remember to pause and give yourself a moment to think about what you want to say next. It is important that you dont begin speaking until you are ready.Remember Pause, think, answer.

Where the Legal Jobs Are in the Second Half of 2016 (Canada)

Where the Legal Jobs Are in the Second Half of 2016 (Canada)Where the Legal Jobs Are in the Second Half of 2016 (Canada) WHERE THE LEGAL JOBS ARE IN THE SECOND HALF OF 2016Lawyers were asked, Which of the following best describes your companys hiring plans?Second half of 2016First half of 2016Expanding/adding new positions33%23%Maintaining/filling vacated positions53%56%Freezing/not filling vacated or new positions7%17%Reducing/eliminating positions 3%2%Lawyers were asked, Which practice area will offer the greatest number of job opportunities in the second half of 2016?36% Litigation25% General business/corporate law12% Real Estate7% Privacy, data security and information law5% Intellectual property5% Regulatory or complianceLawyers were asked, Which areas of litigation will offer the greatest job opportunities in the second half of 2016?*46% Commercial litigation44% Insurance defence13% Employment8% Personal injury*Multiple responses were permitted.Source Robert Half Legal survey o f 150 lawyers with the largest law firms and legal departments in Canada 2016 Robert Half Legal

The last straw! Starbucks says it will ban all plastic straws by 2020

The last straw Starbucks says it will ban all plastic straws by 2020The last straw Starbucks says it will ban all plastic straws by 2020Slurping your drink by plastic straw may soon be a relic of the past. On Monday, the worlds largest coffee seller, Starbucks, said it plans to ban plastic straws at all of its 28,000 locations by 2020 as part of a sustainability plan. With the decision, Starbucks predicts it will eliminate mora than one billion plastic straws per year from the rotation.Instead of the plastic straw, Starbucks said it will use strawless lids for its tea, ice coffee, and espresso drinks. This is a significant milestone to achieve our global aspiration of sustainable coffee, served to our customers in more sustainable ways, Kevin Johnson, president and chief executive officer for Starbucks, said.Starbucks joins other companies banning plasticStarbucks is part of a growing push from government and businesses to ban plastic. Earlier this year, Alaska Airlines said it was s aying switching out plastic straws with more ocean-friendly options likebirch and bamboo by this summer. The Hilton hotel chain and Royal Caribbean cruise line have pledged to ban plastic straws by the end of 2018. Cities like Seattle and Fort Myers, Florida, have already made bans to the single-use plastic.This movement is encouraging for environmentalists who have long sounded the alarm on plastics harm. The non-biodegradable material clogs up our oceans and hurts marine life. There are 150 million metric tons of plastics in the ocean, according to the World Economic Forum. And if we continue down this path, scientists predict we will have more plastic than fish by 2050.Why is everyone focusing on plastic straws? Environmentalists consider them an everyday plastic that is one of the easiest for us to eliminate from our plastic diet.I think a lot of people feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the plastic problem, Diana Lofflin, the founder ofStrawFree.org, told the New York Times. Giving up plastic straws is a small step and an easy thing for people to get started on. From there, we can move on to larger projects.

Actors Resume Template - an in Depth Anaylsis on What Works and What Doesnt

Actors Resume Template - an in Depth Anaylsis on What Works and What Doesnt The Fundamentals of Actors Resume Template That You Will be Able to Benefit From Starting Right Away Free resume template for children. In virtually all circumstances, your free resume template needs to be chronological. Each resume template ought to be related to the vacant position and shouldnt sound generic. Whatever free resume template you select, make certain it can help you set your very best foot forward. Focusing on a few important areas will let you create a resume that can help you to attain employment. You are prepared to abflug job searching and know that one of the very first steps is to assemble a resume. Legitimate, professional resume writing services might not be for everybody, but they do help a fantastic deal of job seekers. Training demonstrates that youre serious. The New Angle On Actors Resume Template Just Released If you are looking for a free resume template its probably likely to be in your very best interest to take what you like from a couple of different examples and, create your own customized resume template that youll be in a position to easily merge with your present content. No need to acquire fancy paper as it is going to be expensive and totally unnecessary. Ensure you trim any extra paper which may be sticking out if need be. Even when you were to acquire expensive paper, nobody will care to take that into account. The Characteristics of Actors Resume Template There are plenty of categories you will wish to dont forget to include when building your resume. There are many kinds of resume templates readily available online and youll be able to pick the one which is suitable for your need. Resume templates are usually designed by professionals whove been at it for quite some time and so they generally give out a sense of assurance. The issue is that, while templates may offer you a simple format outline, it doesnt tell you exactly w hat to actually write in it or how to write it. The 5-Minute Rule for Actors Resume Template My experience also has methodical administration to deadlines and the application of modern-day leadership procedures. As a guideline, the further technical your occupation is that the mora you will need to take a look at placing your abilities at the summit of your resume only following your outline statement. You ought to know that a whole lot of resumes are screened by software that looks for keywords associated with the job which youre applying for. As a consequence, no 2 resumes will look the exact same. Resume writing for girls which are stay at home moms and are trying to re-enter the workforce may be tricky issue. If you have a couple friends or family members keen to test it out, dont be afraid to send it to three or four. Always be sure you include any relevant skills you might have, as demonstrated in the above mentioned actors resume example. Be certain to stress the q uantity of actor training youve got. The Actors Resume Template Game Ultimately the simple fact a template limits your creativity and uniqueness must be born in mind. If you enjoy the design on our site, please dont be afraid to visit again and get inspiration from all the houses in the plan of our internet design. Your name, which ought to be in the greatest font on the webpage, is an excellent distributionspolitik to modify colors. As a method to type a great resume you first have to comprehend the fundamental components a resume is composed of. Make certain you save the file in a place it is simple to remember. In the majority of cases when saving has stalled, you might be not able to retrieve the present file as-is. Just be certain that your resume looks professional. Even though a normal format is better to use, there are liberties that may be taken to make it more you. What Needs to be Done About Actors Resume Template Remember to ensure you display your contact and affiliate information clearly at the peak of your resume, below your name. Dont offer an email address you dont check regularly. In case you have any questions, dont hesitate to email us A template is usually utilized to create the necessary information which will be utilized to formulate the final resume and customize he same to fulfill the demands of a work opening. Forum Theater intends to teach people how to handle social difficulties. Child Acting Resumes must be equally as competitive as any other in the business. When you have Web Series credits, you can earn a section for that as well. The Child Acting Resume Template was generally created for anybody who can perform a child actor. When you should create a resume or compose an employment letter, it can be mobiltelefon to begin with a template. If you would like more insights on how best to boost your LinkedIn summary, I strongly advise downloading Jena Vivianos Ultimate LinkedIn Summary Template. Job aspirants ou ght to be on the lookout for a resume template in place of a curriculum vitae template. Theres no universal Resume. No employer will be prepared to be set in hold while attempting to get in contact with you. Nobody expects you to have a good deal of work yet. If youve got a strangely formatted resume, itll be problematic for the software to read your resume. There are particular fonts and styles that have to be adhered to when writing a resume. You never need to be worried about figuring out each of the formatting functions unless you wish to. Even if youre emailing your resume, make certain that the formatting is very clear and not crowded.

The Most Incredibly Ignored Solution for Cashier Skills Resume

The Most Incredibly Ignored Solution for Cashier Skills Resume 1 advantage for employers to internet resumes is the substantial cost saving in contrast to traditional hiring methods. Cashiers need to be able to learn quickly as they are often trained at work. The cashier may have to choose whether a refund ought to be given, ascertain whether goods are fit for sale or predict prospective issues. Cashier Skills Resume - Dead or Alive? Resumes may be used for a number of reasons, but most often theyre utilized to secure new employment. They may be organized in different ways. Functional resumes are excellent for highlighting transferable skills that are going to be applicable to your new field of work. Chronological resumes arent the very best fit for fresh graduates due to the fact that they dont have a lot of expertise in the very first place. Instead, you need to showcase your soft skills by producing an achievement-oriented expert experience section. Hard skills have a ten dency to be more technical, and each business or sort of job will often have its personal necessary set. If you would like to display your organization skills, obtaining a tightly structured resume certainly helps. Listing your skills provides a chance to showcase your abilities and experiences to prime employers for the remainder of your resume. The Fight Against Cashier Skills Resume As you proceed through the list of skills above, make a distinct list with the skills which you already possess. Wherever you opt to place your skills on your resume, be certain to tailor your list of skills to the specific job. Skills If there are several kinds of skills which are important to the job that youre applying for, you can include several skills list in your resume. Some skills might be relevant while others arent. If youre notlage certain which skills you wish to share, consider your prior experiences. Job-specific skills vary depending on the position. More technical or computer -centric hard skills are occasionally also known as technical skills. On the flip side, soft abilities, also referred to as interpersonal or social abilities, are those that you have as personal qualities or you get through professional experiences. The Benefits of Cashier Skills Resume Below, youll find which one is most effective for you. Because cashiers handle money, you may also be asked questions regarding integrity. First and foremost, they need to be aware and alert at all times. The Foolproof Cashier Skills Resume Strategy Just make sure to double-check whether adding social media to your particular resume is acceptable for the job For that reason, its much better to highlight your abilities and the simple fact that youve acquired multiple talents, in place of drawing attention to how youve jumped from place to position. Thus when writing down your job skills take some time to strategize and find out the ideal approach to organize them in your resume. Exceptiona l people skills are an important portion of what makes you such a standout employee whod be an asset to any company that provides you with an opportunity to shine.