Candu Nuclear Power Plant

Name ‫يوسف محمد عبدالرحمن المصيلحى‬

Section 4

BN 50

Submitted to Dr/ Galal M.Mostafa

 Table of Contents
|Introduction: ........................................................................................................ 3
|Design and Operation: ......................................................................................... 6
|Safety Features: ................................................................................................. 12
|Fuel Cycle: ........................................................................................................ 14
|Economics: ........................................................................................................ 15
|Advantages of CANDU Technology: ................................................................ 18
| Disadvantages of CANDU Technology: ........................................................... 19
| Conclusion: ...................................................................................................... 20
| References: ....................................................................................................... 20

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|Introduction:

Uranium is a naturally-occurring element in the Earth's crust. Traces of it

occur almost everywhere, although mining takes place in locations where
it is naturally concentrated. To make nuclear fuel from the uranium ore
requires first for the uranium to be extracted from the rock in which it is
found, then enriched in the uranium-235 isotope, before being made into
pellets that are loaded into assemblies of nuclear fuel rods. These fuel rods
are then grouped together to form fuel assemblies, which make up the core
of a reactor. In the reactor core the uranium-235 isotope fissions or splits,
producing a lot of heat in a continuous process called a chain reaction. At
a nuclear power plant, the heat from fission is used to produce steam, that
steam turns a turbine to generate an electricity flow to the grid

Nuclear plants are the most efficient source of electricity, operating 24/7
at a more than 92 percent average capacity, which is a measure of how
much electricity a plant could potentially generate versus how much it
actually did. During the 2014 polar vortex, U.S. plants operated at 95
percent capacity. Nuclear plants can achieve these numbers because of
world-class operations and because a plant only refuels once every 18-24
months

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It protects our air quality by generating electricity without harmful
pollutants like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate
matter or mercury.
The CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized
heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym
refers to its deuterium oxide (heavy water) moderator and its use of
(originally, natural) uranium fuel. CANDU reactors were first developed
in the late 1950s and 1960s by a partnership between Atomic Energy of
Canada Limited (AECL), the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of
Ontario, Canadian General Electric, and other companies.
There have been two major types of CANDU reactors, the original design
of around 500 MWe that was intended to be used in multi-reactor
installations in large plants, and the rationalized CANDU 6 in the 600
MWe class that is designed to be used in single stand-alone units or in
small multi-unit plants. CANDU 6 units were built in Quebec and New
Brunswick, as well as Pakistan, Argentina, South Korea, Romania, and
China. A single example of a non-CANDU 6 design was sold to India.
The multi-unit design was used only in Ontario, Canada, and grew in size
and power as more units were installed in the province, reaching ~880
MWe in the units installed at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.
An effort to rationalize the larger units in a fashion similar to CANDU 6
led to the CANDU 9.
By the early 2000s, sales prospects for the original CANDU designs were
dwindling due to the introduction of newer designs from other companies.
AECL responded by cancelling CANDU 9 development and moving to
the Advanced CANDU reactor (ACR) design. ACR failed to find any
buyers; its last potential sale was for an expansion at Darlington, but this
was cancelled in 2009. In October 2011, the Canadian Federal
Government licensed the CANDU design to Candu Energy (a wholly
owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin), which also acquired the former
reactor development and marketing division of AECL at that time.

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 Candu Energy offers support services for existing sites and is completing
formerly stalled installations in Romania and Argentina through a
partnership with China National Nuclear Corporation. SNC Lavalin, the
successor to AECL, is pursuing new CANDU 6 reactor sales in Argentina
(Atucha 3), as well as China and Britain. Sales effort for the ACR reactor
has ended.
There are 19 operable CANDU reactors at four nuclear generating
stations in Canada:
▪ The Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is the largest operating nuclear power
facility in the world based on its eight reactors, which generate 6,288 MWe. It is
located on the shore of Lake Huron, 190 km from downtown Toronto, Ontario, and
first delivered power to the grid in 1976. It is operated by Bruce Power, but is owned
by Ontario Power Generation (OPG)
▪ The Darlington nuclear generating station is Canada’s second-largest nuclear
facility by total energy output. Its CANDU reactors are owned and operated by
OPG. Capable of producing up to 31 million MWh annually, the Darlington station
powers up to 2.5 million households. All four Darlington units are undergoing mid-
life refurbishment, so they can generate clean, reliable electricity for the decades to
come.
▪ The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is Ontario’s smallest commercial
nuclear facility. Its four CANDU reactors are owned and operated by OPG. Despite
its smaller size, the Pickering station powers up to 2.5 million households.
▪ Point Lepreau was the first CANDU 6 reactor to be licensed for operation, the first
to achieve criticality and first to begin commercial operation. It is owned and
operated by New Brunswick Power. This one nuclear reactor supplies almost one-
third of the entire province’s electricity!

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|Design and Operation:

The basic operation of the CANDU design is similar to other nuclear

reactors. Fission reactions in the reactor core heat pressurized water in a
primary cooling loop. A heat exchanger, also known as a steam generator,
transfers the heat to a secondary cooling loop, which powers a steam
turbine with an electric generator attached to it (for a typical Rankine
thermodynamic cycle). The exhaust steam from the turbines is then
cooled, condensed and returned as feedwater to the steam generator. The
final cooling often uses cooling water from a nearby source, such as a
lake, river, or ocean.

Newer CANDU plants, such as the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station

near Toronto, Ontario, use a diffuser to spread the warm outlet water over
a larger volume and limit the effects on the environment.
Although all CANDU plants to date have used open-cycle cooling,
modern CANDU designs are capable of using cooling towers instead.
Where the CANDU design differs from most other designs is in the details
of the fissile core and the primary cooling loop. Natural uranium consists
of a mix of mostly uranium-238 with small amounts of uranium-235 and
trace amounts of other isotopes. Fission in these elements releases high-

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energy neutrons, which can cause other 235U atoms in the fuel to undergo
fission as well. This process is much more effective when the neutron
energies are much lower than what the reactions release naturally. Most
reactors use some form of neutron moderator to lower the energy of the
neutrons, or "thermalize" them, which makes the reaction more efficient.
The energy lost by the neutrons during this moderation process heats the
moderator, and this heat is extracted for power.
Most commercial reactor designs use normal water as the moderator.
Water absorbs some of the neutrons, enough that it is not possible to keep
the reaction going in natural uranium. CANDU replaces this "light" water
with heavy water. Heavy water's extra neutron decreases its ability to
absorb excess neutrons, resulting in a better neutron economy. This allows
CANDU to run on unenriched natural uranium, or uranium mixed with a
wide variety of other materials such as plutonium and thorium. This was
a major goal of the CANDU design; by operating on natural uranium the
cost of enrichment is removed. This also presents an advantage in nuclear
proliferation terms, as there is no need for enrichment facilities, which
might also be used for weapons.
Calandria and fuel design
In conventional light-water reactor (LWR) designs, the entire fissile core
is placed in a large pressure vessel. The amount of heat that can be
removed by a unit of a coolant is a function of the temperature; by
pressurizing the core, the water can be heated to much greater
temperatures before boiling, thereby removing more heat and allowing
the core to be smaller and more efficient.
Building a pressure vessel of the required size is a significant challenge,
and at the time of the CANDU's design, Canada's
heavy industry lacked the requisite experience and
capability to cast and machine reactor pressure
vessels of the required size. This problem is
amplified by natural uranium fuel's lower fissile
density, which requires a larger reactor core. This issue was so major that
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even the relatively small pressure vessel originally intended for use in the
NPD prior to its mid-construction redesign could not be fabricated
domestically and had to be manufactured in Scotland instead. Domestic
development of the technology required to produce pressure vessels of the
size required for commercial-scale heavy water moderated power reactors
was thought to be very unlikely.
In CANDU the fuel bundles of about 10 cm diameter are composed of
many smaller metal tubes. The bundles are contained in pressure tubes
within a larger vessel containing additional heavy water acting purely as
a moderator. This larger vessel, known as a calandria, is not pressurized
and remains at much lower temperatures, making it much easier to
fabricate. In order to prevent the heat from the pressure tubes from leaking
into the surrounding moderator, each pressure tube is enclosed in a
calandria tube. Carbon dioxide gas in the gap between the two tubes acts
as an insulator. The moderator tank also acts as a large heat sink that
provides an additional safety feature.
In a conventional pressurized water reactor, refuelling the system requires
to shut down the core and to open the pressure vessel. In CANDU, only
the single tube being refuelled needs to be depressurized. This allows the
CANDU system to be continually refuelled without shutting down,
another major design goal. In modern systems, two robotic machines
attach to the reactor faces and open the end caps of a pressure tube. One
machine pushes in the new fuel, whereby the depleted fuel is pushed out
and collected at the other end. A significant operational advantage of
online refuelling is that a failed or leaking fuel bundle can be removed
from the core once it has been located, thus reducing the radiation levels
in the primary cooling loop.
Each fuel bundle is a cylinder assembled from thin tubes filled with
ceramic pellets of uranium oxide fuel (fuel elements). In older designs,
the bundle had 28 or 37 half-meter-long fuel elements with 12–13 such
assemblies lying end-to-end in a pressure tube. The newer CANFLEX
bundle has 43 fuel elements, with two element sizes (so the power rating

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can be increased without melting the hottest fuel elements). It is about 10
centimetres (3.9 in) in diameter, 0.5 metres (20 in) long, weighs about 20
kilograms (44 lb), and is intended to eventually replace the 37-element
bundle. To allow the neutrons to flow freely between the bundles, the
tubes and bundles are made of neutron-transparent zircaloy (zirconium +
2.5% wt niobium).
Purpose of using heavy water
Natural uranium is a mix of isotopes, mainly uranium-238, with 0.72%
fissile uranium-235 by weight. A reactor aims for a steady rate of fission
over time, where the neutrons released by fission cause an equal number
of fissions in other fissile atoms. This balance is referred to as criticality.
The neutrons released in these reactions are fairly energetic and don't
readily react with (get "captured" by) the surrounding fissile material. In
order to improve this rate, they must have their energy moderated, ideally
to the same energy as the fuel atoms themselves. As these neutrons are in
thermal equilibrium with the fuel, they are referred to as thermal neutrons.
During moderation it helps to separate the neutrons and uranium, since
238U has a large affinity for intermediate-energy neutrons ("resonance"
absorption), but is only easily fissioned by the few energetic neutrons
above ≈1.5–2 MeV. Since most of the fuel is usually 238U, most reactor
designs are based on thin fuel rods separated by moderator, allowing the
neutrons to travel in the moderator before entering the fuel again. More
neutrons are released than are needed to maintain the chain reaction; when
uranium-238 absorbs just the excess, plutonium is created, which helps to
make up for the depletion of uranium-235. Eventually the build-up of
fission products that are even more neutron-absorbing than 238U slows
the reaction and calls for refuelling.
Light water makes an excellent moderator: the light hydrogen atoms are
very close in mass to a neutron and can absorb a lot of energy in a single
collision (like a collision of two billiard balls). However, light hydrogen
is also fairly effective at absorbing neutrons, leaving too few left over to
react with the small amount of 235U in natural uranium, preventing
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criticality. In order to allow criticality, the fuel must be enriched,
increasing the amount of 235U to a usable level. In light-water reactors,
the fuel is typically enriched to between 2% and 5% 235U (the leftover
fraction with less 235U is called depleted uranium). Enrichment facilities
are expensive to build and operate. They are also a proliferation concern,
as they can be used to enrich the 235U much further, up to weapons-grade
material (90% or more 235U). This can be remedied if the fuel is supplied
and reprocessed by an internationally approved supplier.
The main advantage of heavy-water moderator over light water is the
reduced absorption of the neutrons that sustain the chain reaction,
allowing a lower concentration of active atoms (to the point of using
unenriched natural uranium fuel). Deuterium ("heavy hydrogen") already
has the extra neutron that light hydrogen would absorb, reducing the
tendency to capture neutrons. Deuterium has twice the mass of a single
neutron (vs light hydrogen, which has about the same mass); the mismatch
means that more collisions are needed to moderate the neutrons, requiring
a larger thickness of moderator between the fuel rods. This increases the
size of the reactor core and the leakage of neutrons. It is also the practical
reason for the calandria design, otherwise, a very large pressure vessel
would be needed.[7] The low 235U density in natural uranium also
implies that less of the fuel will be consumed before the fission rate drops
too low to sustain criticality, because the ratio of 235U to fission products
+ 238U is lower. In CANDU most of the moderator is at lower
temperatures than in other designs, reducing the spread of speeds and the
overall speed of the moderator particles. This means that most of the
neutrons will end up at a lower energy and be more likely to cause fission,
so CANDU not only "burns" natural uranium, but it does so more
effectively as well. Overall, CANDU reactors use 30–40% less mined
uranium than light-water reactors per unit of electricity produced. This is
a major advantage of the heavy-water design; it not only requires less fuel,
but as the fuel does not have to be enriched, it is much less expensive as
well.

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A further unique feature of heavy-water moderation is the greater stability
of the chain reaction. This is due to the relatively low binding energy of
the deuterium nucleus (2.2 MeV), leading to some energetic neutrons and
especially gamma rays breaking the deuterium nuclei apart to produce
extra neutrons. Both gammas produced directly by fission and by the
decay of fission fragments have enough energy, and the half-lives of the
fission fragments range from seconds to hours or even years. The slow
response of these gamma-generated neutrons delays the response of the
reactor and gives the operators extra time in case of an emergency. Since
gamma rays travel for meters through water, an increased rate of chain
reaction in one part of the reactor will produce a response from the rest of
the reactor, allowing various negative feedbacks to stabilize the reaction.
On the other hand, the fission neutrons are thoroughly slowed down
before they reach another fuel rod, meaning that it takes neutrons a longer
time to get from one part of the reactor to the other. Thus if the chain
reaction accelerates in one section of the reactor, the change will
propagate itself only slowly to the rest of the core, giving time to respond
in an emergency. The independence of the neutrons' energies from the
nuclear fuel used is what allows such fuel flexibility in a CANDU reactor,
since every fuel bundle will experience the same environment and affect
its neighbors in the same way, whether the fissile material is uranium-235,
uranium-233 or plutonium.

Canada developed the heavy-water-moderated design in the post–World

War II era to explore nuclear energy while lacking access to enrichment
facilities. War-era enrichment systems were extremely expensive to build
and operate, whereas the heavy water solution allowed the use of natural
uranium in the experimental ZEEP reactor. A much less expensive
enrichment system was developed, but the United States classified work
on the cheaper gas centrifuge process. The CANDU was therefore
designed to use natural uranium.

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|Safety Features:

The CANDU includes a number of active and passive safety features in

its design. Some of these are a side effect of the physical layout of the
system.
CANDU designs have a positive void coefficient, as well as a small power
coefficient, normally considered bad in reactor design. This implies that
steam generated in the coolant will increase the reaction rate, which in
turn would generate more steam. This is one of the many reasons for the
cooler mass of moderator in the calandria, as even a serious steam incident
in the core would not have a major impact on the overall moderation cycle.
Only if the moderator itself starts to boil would there be any significant
effect, and the large thermal mass ensures that this will occur slowly. The
deliberately "sluggish" response of the fission process in CANDU allows
controllers more time to diagnose and deal with problems.
The fuel channels can only maintain criticality if they are mechanically
sound. If the temperature of the fuel bundles increases to the point where
they are mechanically unstable, their horizontal layout means that they
will bend under gravity, shifting the layout of the bundles and reducing
the efficiency of the reactions. Because the original fuel arrangement is
optimal for a chain reaction, and the natural uranium fuel has little excess
reactivity, any significant deformation will stop the inter-fuel pellet
fission reaction. This will not stop heat production from fission product
decay, which would continue to supply a considerable heat output. If this
process further weakens the fuel bundles, the pressure tube they are in will
eventually bend far enough to touch the calandria tube, allowing heat to
be efficiently transferred into the moderator tank.
The moderator vessel has a considerable thermal capability on its own
and is normally kept relatively cool.

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Heat generated by fission products would initially be at about 7% of full
reactor power, which requires significant cooling. The CANDU designs
have several emergency cooling systems, as well as having limited self-
pumping capability through thermal means (the steam generator is well
above the reactor). Even in the event of a catastrophic accident and
core meltdown, the fuel is not critical in light water.[8] This means that
cooling the core with water from nearby sources will not add to the
reactivity of the fuel mass.
Normally the rate of fission is controlled by light-water compartments
called liquid zone controllers, which absorb excess neutrons, and by
adjuster rods, which can be raised or lowered in the core to control the
neutron flux. These are used for normal operation, allowing the
controllers to adjust reactivity across the fuel mass, as different portions
would normally burn at different rates depending on their position. The
adjuster rods can also be used to slow or stop criticality. Because these
rods are inserted into the low-pressure calandria, not the high-pressure
fuel tubes, they would not be "ejected" by steam, a design issue for many
pressurized-water reactors.
There are two independent, fast-acting safety shutdown systems as well.
Shutoff rods are held above the reactor by electromagnets and drop under
gravity into the core to quickly end criticality. This system works even in
the event of a complete power failure, as the electromagnets only hold the
rods out of the reactor when power is available. A secondary system
injects a high-pressure gadolinium nitrate neutron absorber solution into
the calandria.

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|Fuel Cycle:

A heavy-water design can sustain a chain reaction with a lower

concentration of fissile atoms than light-water reactors, allowing it to use
some alternative fuels; for example, "recovered uranium" (RU) from used
LWR fuel. CANDU was designed for natural uranium with only 0.7%
235U, so reprocessed uranium with 0.9% 235U is a comparatively rich
fuel. This extracts a further 30–40% energy from the uranium. The
Qinshan CANDU reactor in China has used recovered uranium. The
DUPIC (Direct Use of spent PWR fuel in CANDU) process under
development can recycle it even without reprocessing. The fuel is sintered
in air (oxidized), then in hydrogen (reduced) to break it into a powder,
which is then formed into CANDU fuel pellets.
CANDU reactors can also breed fuel
from the more abundant thorium.
This is being investigated by India to
take advantage of its natural thorium
reserves.
Even better than LWRs, CANDU
can utilize a mix of uranium and
plutonium oxides (MOX fuel), the
plutonium either from dismantled
nuclear weapons or reprocessed
reactor fuel.
The mix of isotopes in reprocessed plutonium is not attractive for
weapons, but can be used as fuel (instead of being simply nuclear waste),
while consuming weapons-grade plutonium eliminates a proliferation
hazard. If the aim is explicitly to utilize plutonium or other actinides from
spent fuel, then special inert-matrix fuels are proposed to do this more
efficiently than MOX. Since they contain no uranium, these fuels do not
breed any extra plutonium.

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|Economics:

The neutron economy of heavy-water moderation and precise control of

on-line refueling allow CANDU to use a wide range of fuels other than
enriched uranium, e.g., natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, thorium,
plutonium, and used LWR fuel. Given the expense of enrichment, this can
make fuel much cheaper. There is an initial investment into the tonnes of
99.75% pure heavy water to fill the core and heat-transfer system. In the
case of the Darlington plant, costs released as part of a freedom of
information act request put the overnight cost of the plant (four reactors
totalling 3,512 MWe net capacity) at $5.117 billion CAD (about US$4.2
billion at early-1990s exchange rates). Total capital costs including
interest were $14.319 billion CAD (about US$11.9 billion) with the heavy
water accounting for $1.528 billion, or 11%, of this.
Since heavy water is less efficient than light water at slowing neutrons,
CANDU needs a larger moderator-to-fuel ratio and a larger core for the
same power output. Although a calandria-based core is cheaper to build,
its size increases the cost for standard features like the containment
building. Generally nuclear plant construction and operations are ≈65%
of overall lifetime cost; for CANDU, costs are dominated by construction
even more. Fueling CANDU is cheaper than other reactors, costing only
≈10% of the total, so the overall price per kWh electricity is comparable.
The next-generation Advanced CANDU reactor (ACR) mitigates these
disadvantages by having light-water coolant and using a more compact
core with less moderator.
When first introduced, CANDUs offered much better capacity factor
(ratio of power generated to what would be generated by running at full
power, 100% of the time) than LWRs of a similar generation. The light-
water designs spent, on average, about half the time being refueled or
maintained. Since the 1980s, dramatic improvements in LWR outage
management[which?] have narrowed the gap, with several units achieving
capacity factors ~90% and higher, with an overall US fleet performance
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of 92% in 2010. The latest-generation CANDU 6 reactors have an 88–
90% CF, but overall performance is dominated by the older Canadian
units with CFs on the order of 80%. Refurbished units had historically
demonstrated poor performance, on the order of 65%. This has since
improved with the return of Bruce units A1 and A2 to operation, which
have post-refurbishment (2013+) capacity factors of 90.78% and 90.38%,
respectively.
Some CANDU plants suffered from cost overruns during construction,
often from external factors such as government action. For instance, a
number of imposed construction delays led to roughly a doubling of the
cost of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station near Toronto, Ontario.
Technical problems and redesigns added about another billion to the
resulting $14.4 billion price. In contrast, in 2002 two CANDU 6 reactors
at Qinshan in China were completed on-schedule and on-budget, an
achievement attributed to tight control over scope and schedule.

Nuclear power plants are a highly efficient and reliable source of

electricity – operating 24/7 at a more than 92 percent average capacity.
(Source: Nuclear Energy Institute)

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The International Panel on
Climate Change found in 2014
that nuclear energy’s life cycle
carbon emissions were lower
than solar, geothermal and
hydropower and comparable to
wind-generated
power. Electricity generated
with nuclear energy is
estimated to avoid the
emissions of more than 555
million metric tons of carbon
dioxide, in the United States alone, every year.
(Source: Nuclear Energy Institute)

Nuclear energy strengthens local

and national economies by creating
high paying jobs, paying millions
of dollars in taxes, stabilizing the
production of power and
contributing to energy security.
(Source: Nuclear Energy Institute)

Nuclear energy provides diversity

and reliability to our grid. A diverse
supply of fuels balances the benefits
and risks associated with each
source. With a view of meeting the
world’s growing demand for clean
electricity, the WNA’s Harmony
programme calls for nuclear energy
capacity to expand in order to supply approximately 25% of electricity
by 2050 as part of a diverse energy mix.
(Source: Harmony Programme)
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|Advantages of CANDU Technology:

1. Flexibility in Fuel Choice:

• One of the primary advantages of CANDU reactors is their ability to utilize a
wide range of fuel types, including natural uranium, depleted uranium, and
thorium. This flexibility in fuel choice enhances energy security by reducing
dependence on specific fuel sources and mitigating supply chain risks.
• CANDU reactors can efficiently burn natural uranium fuel without the need
for enrichment, which significantly reduces fuel cycle costs and simplifies fuel
fabrication processes. Additionally, the ability to use depleted uranium as fuel
provides a means of recycling nuclear waste and utilizing a resource that would
otherwise be discarded.
2. Enhanced Proliferation Resistance:
• CANDU reactors produce plutonium isotopes that are less suitable for
weapons proliferation compared to other reactor types. The presence of
neutron-absorbing elements in the reactor core, combined with the use of
natural uranium fuel, results in lower plutonium isotopic quality.
3. Continuous Refuelling Capability:
• CANDU reactors are designed with a unique feature which allows for the
continuous addition and removal of fuel bundles during operation. This
capability enables CANDU reactors to maintain high levels of power output
while minimizing downtime for refuelling.
4. High Thermal Efficiency:
• CANDU reactors boast high thermal efficiency, resulting in cost-effective
electricity generation. The use of heavy water as a moderator and coolant
allows for efficient heat transfer from the reactor core to the secondary coolant
loop, maximizing the conversion of thermal energy into electrical power. It
contributes to their competitiveness in the energy market, as they can produce
electricity at relatively low operating costs compared to other reactor designs.

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| Disadvantages of CANDU Technology:

1. Cost and Complexity:

• Higher upfront capital costs compared to some other reactor designs.
• Construction complexity due to heavy water requirements and
specialized infrastructure.
2. Heavy Water Requirements:
• Dependence on heavy water for moderation and coolant.
• Costly production and procurement, especially for countries lacking
indigenous heavy water production capabilities.
3. Size and Scalability:
• Larger footprint compared to some reactor designs, posing challenges in
siting and grid integration.
• Limited scalability compared to smaller modular reactor designs.
4. Maintenance and Refurbishment:
• Ongoing maintenance, refurbishment, and upgrades required for aging
reactors.
• Complexity of systems and components, requiring specialized expertise
and extended outage periods.
5. Waste Management:
• Production of radioactive waste necessitates safe and secure
management and disposal.
• Development of long-term solutions for nuclear waste storage and
disposal remains a challenge.

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| Conclusion:

CANDU nuclear power plants offer numerous advantages such as fuel

flexibility, enhanced proliferation resistance, and continuous refueling
capability, they also face several challenges. These include cost and
complexity, heavy water requirements, size limitations, maintenance
demands, and waste management concerns. Addressing these challenges
will be vital for maximizing the potential of CANDU technology and
ensuring its continued contribution to global energy security and
sustainability.

| References:

➢ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANDU_reactor

➢ https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/CANDU_reactor

➢ https://cna.ca/reactors-and-smrs/how-a-nuclear-reactorworks/

➢ "CANDU Evolution" Archived 6 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine,

AECL.

➢ "Enhanced CANDU 6 Technical Summary". SNC Lavalin. p. 10.

➢ "First Candu reactor powers Canadian homes", CBC News, 4 June 1962.

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