Burevestnik and Poseidon reactors can be used for peaceful purposes

Announcements of new Russian weapons — the Burevestnik missile and the Poseidon torpedo — have once again brought attention to compact nuclear reactors. According to experts, the reactors, which are likely to be installed on these systems, are based on fast neutron reactors and have characteristics that can be used not only in military but also in civil energy.

What are these installations and what is their fundamental feature

Burevestnik and Poseidon are weapon systems with nuclear power plants that provide an almost unlimited range. According to statements, their reactors are significantly smaller in size than submarine reactors: the Burevestnik's is ~1000 times smaller, and the Poseidon's is ~100 times smaller. Such compact capacities require different approaches to design: higher fuel enrichment, a different coolant, and possibly the use of fast neutron reactors.

Types of reactors

Fast neutron reactors do not use (or almost do not use) a moderator, keeping neutrons fast and requiring more highly enriched fuel or plutonium, which allows the core to be made more compact and increase its power. Unlike water-cooled systems, these installations often use metal coolants, such as sodium or lead-bismuth, which have a wide range of operating temperatures at atmospheric pressure and provide a simpler and lighter heat transfer system. At the same time, to improve safety, industrial fast reactors, such as BN-600 and BN-800, use multi-stage coolant circuits, separating the radioactive part from the steam part, which complicates the design but reduces risks.

Peaceful application

Such reactors can be used peacefully as compact energy sources in remote areas where autonomous power plants are needed. They can be used for desalination of sea water and heating of remote settlements, as well as installed on floating or underwater facilities to provide energy to research stations and platforms. In the future, such reactors can help in space, providing power for long-distance flights with strict safety measures. In addition, they are suitable for nuclear fuel reprocessing: they are capable of "afterburning" dangerous elements and reducing the amount of long-lived waste, as well as using recycled materials, reducing the need for mining new uranium.

Reactors similar to those potentially installed on the Burevestnik and Poseidon have properties that make them useful not only in the interests of the military, but also in peaceful industries.

Earlier www1.ru reported that the Poseidon carrier, the Khabarovsk submarine, received a water-jet propulsion unit to reduce noise.

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