Abstract

In the envisioned hydrogen economy, hydrogen will be used in fuel cells to propel automotive vehicles and power buildings in the future. By making hydrogen the fuel of choice for transportation and building sectors, the nation will be less reliant on imported fossil fuels and will, subsequently, reduce its emissions of climate altering carbon dioxide. To produce hydrogen economically, we need nuclear reactor and the reactor must operate at extremely high temperatures. Thus the VHTR has been selected and proved for future hydrogen production plants. VHTR are graphite-moderated and helium-cooled reactors.The core of VHTR can be built of prismatic blocks such as the Japanese HTTR and the GTMHR under development by General Atomics and others in Russia, or it may be a pebble bed design, such as the Chinese HTR-10 and the PBMR under development in South Africa with international partners. VHTR designed by ULLFR design concept. Neutronic and Thermal hydraulic analysis performed by FI-ITB-CHI software packed. Base on simulation showed that hydrogen production unit thermal power is 7.1 MWt and produce hydrogen 310.03 kmol/h. The surplus reactor power could be utilized for generating electricity.

Keywords : VHTR, Thermochemical Process, Hydrogen Production