Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
In Person or Zoom Presentation
In-Person
Campus
Daytona Beach
Status
Student
Faculty/Staff Department
Humanities & Communication
Student Year and Major
Senior, Aerospace Engineering
Presentation Description/Abstract
The reliance of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) on energy supplied by Florida Power & Light (FPL), which currently draws large amounts of power from fossil fuel sources, is continuously suboptimal both environmentally and financially. This study proposes assessing the feasibility of deploying a campus scale nuclear reactor tailored to ERAU’s power consumption profile. This serves as a path toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting dependence on external fossil fuel generation. The methods used are primarily literature review(s), and numerical analysis on comparable use cases. The literature reviews focused on design theory and yield of nuclear reactors on a large scale, along with the use of lower yield nuclear reactors in cases with similar power needs, for instance aircraft carrier reactors and nuclear submarine reactors. Numerical analysis included deriving when the university could expect monetary return and the cost of maintenance, among other considerations. Some naval nuclear reactors are capable of providing up to 700 MW of thermal power, and enough steam for 125 MW of electricity, with submarine reactors being in the 50 MW range. Considering the power usage in Daytona is around the 90 MW range, a reactor like the ones researched could power ERAU and potentially oVset the cost by providing power to nearby areas. For the university, this would be an opportunity to have another source of income through power generation, promote academic expansion, and act as a significant step forward in the acceptance of nuclear power in more applications.
Keywords
Fossil Fuels, Small Nuclear, Nuclear Campus, Environmentalism, Power Grid, Clean Energy, Florida Power & Light, Student Learning, Naval Reactors, Nuclear waste
Included in
Business Analytics Commons, Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons, Energy and Utilities Law Commons, Environmental Sciences Commons, Mechanical Engineering Commons, Nuclear Engineering Commons, Power and Energy Commons
Localized Nuclear Utility for ERAU Environmental Improvement
The reliance of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) on energy supplied by Florida Power & Light (FPL), which currently draws large amounts of power from fossil fuel sources, is continuously suboptimal both environmentally and financially. This study proposes assessing the feasibility of deploying a campus scale nuclear reactor tailored to ERAU’s power consumption profile. This serves as a path toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting dependence on external fossil fuel generation. The methods used are primarily literature review(s), and numerical analysis on comparable use cases. The literature reviews focused on design theory and yield of nuclear reactors on a large scale, along with the use of lower yield nuclear reactors in cases with similar power needs, for instance aircraft carrier reactors and nuclear submarine reactors. Numerical analysis included deriving when the university could expect monetary return and the cost of maintenance, among other considerations. Some naval nuclear reactors are capable of providing up to 700 MW of thermal power, and enough steam for 125 MW of electricity, with submarine reactors being in the 50 MW range. Considering the power usage in Daytona is around the 90 MW range, a reactor like the ones researched could power ERAU and potentially oVset the cost by providing power to nearby areas. For the university, this would be an opportunity to have another source of income through power generation, promote academic expansion, and act as a significant step forward in the acceptance of nuclear power in more applications.