Sellafield - nuclear waste reprocessing plant
Sellafield Nuclear reprocessing site located on the coast of the Irish sea in Cumbria, England used to be one of the biggest Nuclear plants in Europe. After nearly 50 years of work, in 2003 the decomissioning and dismantling process begun. Currently the plant is used to manufacture nuclear fuel elements
Steam is used here in the waste utilization process. The factory has its own steam source, however, due to the necessity of the highest safety standards - a constant steam supply (even in case of seismic disturbance) must be ensured.
To meet this requirement, in 2003, Clayton EO-125 steam generator was connected to an existing installation as a steam backup source. Whole instalation, supplied by Clayton of Belgium N.V., have been fitted inside the 20 ft container along with the necessary fittings. Although, fully autonomous operation was impossibile due to external water and power supplies. In 2014 Clayton of Belgium N.V. turned to IWT Intech to upgrade the existing installation.
The main objectives were:
- Construction of a 20 ft container with equipment needed for autonomous operation of the steam system delivered in 2003
- Supply of a secondary generator system in a 40 ft container with all necessary auxiliary equipment as a backup for the first installation
The first container is equipped with a 27.7 kW diesel generator, a 4000 l water tank, a softening station and a pump skid. The second container included also a Clayton EO-125 steam generator, a hotwell and a 400 l oil tank.
Both systems were manufacturesd at IWT Intech in Gdańsk in close cooperation with Clayton of Belgium N.V. and the customer. When all the necesarry tests were completed and the installation was approved by the customer, the setup along with the doccumentation was shipped to Sellafield plant.