I just thought that statement displayed a lack of understanding of how a steam generator works. The tubes separate the reactor coolant side from the steam side
So, it sounds like an accurate description to me. The inside of the lots of tubes flow pressurized water from the reactor do they not? Then since the water is pressurized, it has a higher boiling point which is a good thing if you want the water on the outside of the myriad of tubes to expand to drive the turbine, yes? I see what you're talking about though, it really doesn't matter which side of the tube fails, it's still a failure.
Your earlier comment about “being sure” the plant has enough energy to desalinize the once-through cooling water is an example of people commenting on subjects they know nothing about. It’s very frustrating.
I mean, you openly wondered why the plant doesn’t boil their cooling water before use!
I assume this is part of the same statement. My comment was that it seems to me that salt water is corrosive and using it causes shorter life spans in the equipment that carries it does it or does it not? I was assuming they would use reverse osmosis, not a still to desalinate.
Yes, I am aware they need access to lots of water, hell, Rancho Seco had a huge lake, well maybe not that big, it's been over twenty years since I've seen it although I've never seen the three eyed fish like in the lake in the nuk plant on the Simpsons.
While it shouldn't be in the news (maybe), most news readers are lefties and next to W, nuclear power is the worse thing on the planet, with hydro being next since it kills some fish.
I read a long article on the problems they were having maybe a year ago and from what I read, they didn't have this many problems with the old steam generators. What's the point of having two separate systems if the water commingles although it seems like it's a tiny amount. The problem is, any problem with a nuk plant, no matter how inconsequential, becomes more fodder to get rid of them.
I just saw a special on the Grand Coulee damn and of course the environmentalists were whining about all the damage it did/does (it was on PBS). Since Seattle and Portland get a lot of their power from there, I'm all for removing the damn, let them go dark like North Korea does at night.
Okay you do have San understanding of what a steam generator is and how it works. I just though the statement you made about thinking the leak was on the reactor side was odd.
Of course it’s on the reactor side, but it’s also on the steam side at the same time because the steam generator tubes are exactly what separates the two sides.
What you said read to me like, “I think the leak in my windshield is on the inside of my car.”
That’s an absurd statement as the windshield is part of what separates the inside from the outside. You wouldn’t make that statement. It would come across very odd.
As for the salt water cooling, it still doesn’t appear you are grasping just how much cooling a steam plant needs to condense the turbine exhaust steam. You can stand up and walk in the seawater cooling pipes. They’re massive.
When the unit is on line, these humongous pipes are continuously feeding pumped water from the ocean through the condenser and back out to sea (with the excess heat removed from exhaust steam). An interruption of the water supply will trip the unit within seconds (on condenser high pressure measured on the steam side of the condenser). If the unit fails to trip on a loss of salt water cooling, the condensers will explode. (Maybe that was overly dramatic. Actually, they usually have a rupture disc on the turbine exhaust hood as a back up.)
So much water is needed it would be practically impossible to desalinize it. We’re talking about removing at least a third of the energy of the fuel (nuclear or conventional) Most steam plants are only about 30-35% efficient to begin with. Now you suggest using more fuel to boil the cooling water, then cool it (with what? Seawater?) then send it through the condenser to remove the turbine exhaust heat.
The only way to not need salt water cooling is to build those expensive, high maintenance hour-glass shaped evaporative cooling towers as seen at plants not located by a river or large body of water.