Firm ramps up efforts to promote nuclear tech for industrial and commercial use

The China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), one of the 23 science and research arms of China National Nuclear Corporation, has been ramping up efforts to utilize nuclear technologies for industrial and commercial use.

Set up in 1950, CIAE is widely considered the cradle of nuclear science and technology in the nation, as it pioneered the development and successful construction of China's first nuclear reactor and cyclotron in the 1950s.

Now CIAE has become a fundamental nuclear research base in China with comprehensive capabilities in nuclear energy, nuclear science and technology, and nuclear-related services, with more than 3,000 employees.

"Our large-scale science platforms provide researchers with unique and excellent conditions for fundamental and innovative research and development in nuclear science and related areas," said Wan Gang, Party chief of CIAE.

"Our high-tech products based on nuclear technologies are increasingly being used in civilian markets," he said, adding that the institute is currently developing a 230 million electron volt superconducting cyclotron.

The superconducting cyclotron, a key component for mainstream proton therapy systems, is likely to become fully commissioned next year for clinical trials, making it the first of its kind in China, according to Zhang Tianjue, director of the Cyclotron Research and Design Center of CIAE.

Proton therapy, or proton radiotherapy, is a type of therapy that uses a particle accelerator to irradiate diseased tissue with a beam of protons, most often as treatment for cancer.

Compared with conventional radiotherapy, proton beams will only release a large percentage of radiation dose when they reach a tumor, which means it will kill the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact, according to Zhang.

"Cancer is among the top diseases in China, and it is important for us to help cancer patients with domestically developed devices. We have not only the willingness, but also the technology and capabilities, as the cyclotrons that CIAE makes are among the best in the world."

About 73 percent of installed proton therapy systems in the world use cyclotrons to produce proton beams, according to Lyu Yinlong, deputy director of the center.

With proton therapy systems being used for domestically made accelerators, treatment costs for Chinese cancer patients will be largely reduced, said Zhang and Lyu. If patients opt for proton therapy with imported systems or abroad, the costs could more than double, they said.

Apart from the medical sector, the institute has also designed a new type of safe, economical and environmentally friendly nuclear heating reactor for district heating, with its independently developed pool-type low-temperature reactor Yanlong.

During a demonstration last winter, the reactor was used to supply heat to three buildings of about 10,000 square meters in CIAE continuously for 30 days.

"The demonstration has proved the feasibility of the pool-type low-temperature heating reactor and marked important progress for follow-up commercial use of such nuclear heating technology," said Liu Xingmin, director of the reactor core design section at the institute.

China has built a number of pool-type reactors, which have cumulatively operated for 500 reactor years, proving such reactors are stable and reliable, according to Liu. A reactor year is one year of operations for a reactor.

Pool-type low-temperature reactors run under normal pressure and at low temperatures, with water acting as a neutron moderator, coolant and radiation shield, Liu said.

"The layer of water shields the radiation so completely that as long as there is water above the reactor core, the reactor will be safe and stable even if affected by earthquakes of magnitude between 7 and 8," he added.

Moreover, the nuclear heating system is cost efficient, and a 400-megawatt Yanlong low-temperature heating reactor could heat up to 20 million square meters, equivalent to 200,000 homes, according to Liu.

Its average price is far superior to gas, although it is not as cheap as coal-fired power or heat cogeneration units, Liu said.

Besides, it can be constructed near the sea or on land, making it a good fit for China's northern areas, as the nation attaches great importance to environmental protection, and is seeking clean energy to replace coal-fired heating that aggravates air pollution in North China, Liu said.

He said that a couple of cities in North China have contacted the CIAE for Yanlong reactor-based nuclear heating programs, and researchers at the institute are seeking to further reduce the cost of the nuclear heating system.

Wan, the Party chief of the CIAE, said the institute's other products based on nuclear technologies, including medical isotopes used in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and devices for industrial irradiation, a very effective way to sterilize goods, are also very popular among both domestic and foreign users.