Chemical Technology November 2015

NIASA roundtable discusses nuclear technology’s role in environmental preservation

Global energy expert and environmental sci- entist, Tom Blees, addressed students and members of the public on the role nuclear technology should play in South Africa’s en- ergy mix. Blees, who is an advanced energy expert from Davis, California and president of the Science Council for Global Initiatives, contends that in order to mitigate against climate change and make environmental preservation a priority globally, there must be a move to eliminate the burning of fos- sil fuels. Speaking at the Nuclear Industry Asso- ciation of South Africa’s (NIASA) roundtable discussions in Johannesburg at the end of October, Blees said that the contrast is starker for a country like South Africa that is focused on elevating the living standards of its people and the development of its infrastructure. “Nuclear power for a country like South Africa will, andmust, play a critical role in the country’s economic and social de- velopment. The building and development of nuclear power plants in South Africa will not only secure South Africa’s energy future but generate thousands of jobs, develop a high specialised technical skill set and stimulate further interest in the sciences, generating a legacy of employment, skills development and science focused education,” he stated. Blees is world-renowned for his balanced and pragmatic view of the energy needs of a modern world. While he acknowledges the role and importance of renewables, he is realistic about the technology’s inability to support base-load power needs of modern societies. He referred the audience to his book, entitled ‘Prescription for the planet: the painless remedy for our energy and

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Roundtable on Nuclear Energy in South Africa panel: Chris Yelland, Managing Director - EE Publishers and Panel Facilitator; Des Muller (Director and General Manager, Nuclear Construc- tion Services - Group 5); Jason VanderPoel (Partner, Allen & Overy); Knox Msebenzi (Managing Director – NIASA); Tom Blees (President - Science Council for Global Initiatives); Anthonie Cilliers (Extraordinary Senior Lecturer and Program Manager: Nuclear Engineering at the School of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering - North West University).

aeroplanes, mass-produced inmodular form and then assembled on-site. Blees believes that this will enable prices to fall to the point where economics, not to mention enhanced safety, can drive a global energy transforma- tion to bring dependable, abundant, emis- sion-free energy to everyone on the planet, and he says that we’re ready to do this now. He believes that the newly designed nuclear reactors, such as the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR), are key to the future of nuclear energy, being as they are clean, safe, economical and able to convert waste products into abundant energy for the planet.

environmental crises’. He explained that since hydroelectric power is near its maximum potential in many developed countries already, the bulk of the renewable energy will have to come from biomass, wind, and solar power. But biomass presents its own problems, and the intermittency and seasonality dependen- cies of wind and solar make these option extremely problematic.” He also has a view on pricing and pro- duction of nuclear and states that, in his view, advanced nuclear power systems are now designed so that they can be built like

Complete the grid so that every row across, every column down and every 3x3 box is filled with the numbers 1 to 9. That’s all there is to it! No mathematics are involved. The grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else. You solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic. For an introduction to Sudoku see http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Sudoku SUDOKU NO. 109 Chemical Technology is the only publication in Africa for chemical engineers focusing on all unit operations in a comprehensive way

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Solution for SUDOKU 108

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Chemical Technology • November 2015