Alain Delchambre Université libre de Bruxelles CP 165/41, 50 av. F.D. Roosevelt B-1050 Brussel, Belgium Abstract. In-core temperature measurement is a critical issue for the safe operation of nuclear reactors. Classical thermocouples require shielded connections and are known to drift under high neutron fluence. As an alternative, we propose to take advantage of the multiplexing capabilities of...

Changes in communities of syntrophic acetate-oxidizing bacteria (SAOB) and methanogens caused by elevated ammonia levels were quantified in laboratory-scale methanogenic biogas reactors operating at moderate temperature (37°C) using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The experimental reactor was subjected to gradually increasing ammonia levels (0.8-6.9 g NH4 (+) -N l(-1) ), whereas ...

The Tennessee Eastman chemical process is a well-defined simulation of a chemical process that has been commonly used in process control research. As chemical process plants are getting more complex, the pressure on chemical engineers to develop accurate models for monitoring and control purposes is increased. In this paper, we explore the idea of using Genetic Programming (GP) technique to mod...

As colloidal quantum dot (CQD) optoelectronic devices continue to improve, interest grows in the scaled-up and automated synthesis of high-quality materials. Unfortunately, all reports of record-performance CQD photovoltaics have been based on small-scale batch syntheses. Here we report a strategy for flow reactor synthesis of PbS CQDs and prove that it leads to solar cells having performance s...

A novel high flux bright light-driven high temperature spinning disc processor operating at ∼720 °C can effectively synthesise carbon nanofibres from fructose, a natural feedstock, in polyethylene glycol-200, within minutes and with multiple reactor passes being a pivotal operating parameter in controlling the growth of the fibres.

The production of biodiesel through batch and existing continuous-flow processes requires the use of a much higher excess alcohol, typically 100%, than the stoichiometric molar requirement in order to drive the transesterification reaction to completion. This excess alcohol must be recovered in a separate process, which involves additional capital and operating costs. In this study, a novel rea...

The purpose of the paper is to examine the factors that influence the deterioration of denitrification in open anoxic reactors. For this investigation an ASM 1-based simulation model was developed and successfully applied to fit data from batch experiments carried out in lab-scale reactor vessels (uncovered and covered) using both clarified domestic wastewater and synthetic wastewater. Applying...

This study (1) investigates the neutronic characteristics of the Pebble Bed Advanced High Temperature Reactor (PB-AHTR); (2) compares the PB-AHTR neutronic performance against those of the alternative design options of He-cooled high temperature reactors using either pebble (PBMR) or prismatic (VHTR) fuel and against a liquid-salt cooled design version of the latter (LS-VHTR); (3) studies the p...

Abstract The HTR-PM600 high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant is based on the technology of pebble-bed module (HTR-PM) demonstration project. It utilizes proven HTR-PM and steam generator modules with a thermal 250 MW th generation approximately 100 e per module. Six in parallel, connected to turbine, form 600-MW plant. In addition, its system configuration island identical tha...