Energy neutral phosphate fertilizer production using high temperature reactors; A Philippine case study

Haneklaus, N.*; Reyes, R.*; Lim, W. G.*; Tabora, E. U.*; Palattao, B. L.*; Petrache, C.*; Vargas, E. P.*; Kunitomi, Kazuhiko ; Ohashi, Hirofumi ; Sakaba, Nariaki ; Sato, Hiroyuki ; Goto, Minoru ; Yan, X. ; Nishihara, Tetsuo ; Tulsidas, H.*; Reitsma, F.*; Tarjan, S.*; Sathrugnan, K.*; Jacimovic, R.*; Khaledi, N.*; Birky, B. K.*; Schnug, E.*

The Philippines may profit from extracting uranium (U) from phosphoric acid during fertilizer production in a way that the recovered U can be beneficiated and taken as raw material for nuclear reactor fuel. Used in a high temperature reactor (HTR) that provides electricity and/or process heat for fertilizer processing and U extraction, energy-neutral fertilizer production, an idea first proposed by Haneklaus et al., is possible. This paper presents a first case study of the concept regarding a representative phosphate fertilizer plant in the Philippines and exemplary HTR designs (HTR50S and GTHTR300C) developed by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). Three different arrangements (version I-III), ranging from basic electricity supply to overall power supply including on site hydrogen production for ammonia conversion, are introduced and discussed.