The present invention concerns a process heating plant comprising a plurality of reaction chambers, preferably tubular cracking ovens intended for the production of hydrogen, which are heated by the cooling gas derived from a high-temperature reactor whereby the reaction chambers are installed together with the high-temperature reactor in one common pressure vessel made of pre-stressed concrete, and whereby additional energy-consuming components, such as steam generators, are installed in the gas cooling circuit of the reactor.
It is known practice to build nuclear power plants by the integrated construction method whereby, in addition to the reactor core, also a gas turbine, a compressor and components for heat exchange are all installed inside a common concrete pressure vessel. In German Offenlegungsschrift (DOS) No. 2,062,934 a gas-cooled nuclear reactor is described wherein the gas turbine has been installed in a hollow space in the wall of the pressure vessel which encloses the reactor core. Another nuclear reactor of similar construction is described in DOS No. 1,764,249. In that disclosure the nuclear reactor together with all components comprising the circuit are installed in tightly spaced, parallel and vertical bores inside the concrete pressure vessel and the components are accessible from the outside. Passages for the cooling medium are provided both in the wall of the pressure vessel and also between the several bores.
Furthermore, a nuclear plant with a closed gas-cooling circuit supplying the necessary process heat has been proposed wherein the heat generated by a high-temperature reactor is first transferred to an intermediate circuit before being applied to its ultimate purpose, the process. The heat can be used, for instance, for the cracking of process gas in tubular cracking ovens and for the generation of electric power in steam turbine circuits. For such purposes, the components comprising the primary circuit, i.e., the reactor, heat exchangers, and blowers, are installed in cavities inside a concrete vessel, while the components comprising the process circuit as well as the circuit for the steam turbine are installed outside the safety vessel surrounding the reactor.
The two plants first referred to have two features in common: they are both equipped with a gas-cooling circuit completely integrated inside the concrete pressure vessel, and the energy generated by the reactor is utilized to drive a gas turbine and, subsequently, generate electric power. In contrast to the above, in the power plant mentioned last, the energy is first transferred to an intermediate circuit and then subsequently used for the generation of process gas.
The medium circulating in the secondary circuit may be a gas, for instance, helium. But a liquid heat-transfer medium may also be used. Such a plant is described in the German Auslegeschrift (DAS) No. 1,933,695, wherein the heat derived from the cooling medium in a nuclear reactor is transferred in a heat exchanger to molten lead, which, in turn, transfers it to a reaction system. The heat exchangers and the assembly of components in which the reaction takes place are installed in a common vessel and this vessel itself is installed, together with the nuclear reactor, in a common pressure vessel.
Also, from German Pat. Nos. 1,298,233 and 1,589,999 a method is known whereby the heat contained in the medium of a cooling circuit is directly applied to the components utilizing the process heat, without the use of an intermediate circuit. In the first disclosure, heated helium is conveyed so that it flows directly around the catalyst-filled tubes of a methane cracking plant. In the second patent, a process for the production of hydrogen is described wherein the energy obtained form the reactor is brought to a reaction chamber charged with a granulated metal oxide through which streams a mixture of steam and carbon monoxide.