KANUPP
Encyclopedia
The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, widely known as KANUPP-I, is a commercial nuclear power plant
, located at Karachi
, Sindh Province
of Pakistan
. In terms of Nuclear industry, the KANUPP-I is Pakistan's first nuclear power plant
and is the first nuclear power plant in the Muslim world to be constructed. With the establishment and inauguration of this reactor, Pakistan became first nuclear power in the Muslim world. The KANUPP-I is a single unit CANDU-type PHWR reactor with a total gross capacity of 137MWe. The plant is situated at the Paradise Point
on the arid Arabian Sea
coast, about 15 miles to the west of Karachi.
from United Kingdom
, Pakistan had repeatedly suffered energy crises
, that contributed to country's economic
slowdown. In 1960, President
Field Marshal Ayub Khan had appointed Dr. Abdus Salam
as his Science Advisor. Soon Abdus Salam became the head of the Pakistan's IAEA
delegation. There, Abdus Salam had, now at the U.N. General Assembly
, repeatedly and tirelessly advocated for the support of nuclear energy in his country. And, due to Abdus Salam's significant influence on President Field Marshal Ayub Khan, Salam succeeded to obtain an approval from Ayub Khan, against the wishes of military government of Ayub Khan in 1965. Due to Abdus Salam
's influence on President Ayub Khan, Salam had the commercial nuclear plant near Karachi personally approved, in spite of the opposition against the project. In 1965, Abdus Salam traveled to United States, where in a ceremony, Canada and Pakistan signed a nuclear energy pact with GE Canada
establishing the country's first nuclear plant. Per agreement, the PAEC's engineers and scientists led the construction of this mega-project. While, GE Canada provided economical funds and HEU based nuclear fuel. Parvez Butt
, a nuclear engineer, was the chief designer of the plant who worked at the GE Canada's designing office. In 1966, the construction was started, and it was completed in 1971, before the starting of Indo-Pak 1971 Winter War
. On November 28 of 1972, as President, later Prime minister
, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, accompanied with Abdus Salam and newly appointed PAEC's Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan , inaugurated the first unit of the Karachi Nuclear Plant.
The technology of the nuclear power plant is highly resembles to India's CIRUS
and DHRUVA reactor
, with another small reactor producing reactor-grade plutonium which was produced in large stocks. Munir Ahmad Khan, now as chairman, ingeniously developed and established the nuclear fuel cycle programme. In 1972, Pakistan under Bhutto, had refused to signed the NPT
. Because the reactor grade plutonium was extremely dangerous to be open in public, the PAEC transferred the reactor-grade plutonium to the New Laboratories (known as The New Labs), and produces the first batch of fresh weapon-grade plutonium. In 1976, Canada had stopped the supply of fuel and spare parts for the plant The high-radioactive material was also left openly in Karachi as Canadian technicians departed from Pakistan. Pakistan media then speculated that in absence of Canadian officials, the city would suffer a major power blackout
. Canadian officials later issued the statement that the reactor will be shut down in a matter of six months. However, the PAEC, under Munir Ahmad Khan, took up this challenge and using indigenous resources produced the feed for KANUPP. In 1978, the PAEC developed its own nuclear fuel and and began loading the feedstock to KANUPP-I. From its establishment and present, the KANUPP-I has nearly 10 billion KWhrs of electricity and has been fuelled by thousands and thousands of Pakistani made fuel bundles without any failure. As of today, the KANUPP-I has been expanded and is currently apart of Karachi Nuclear Power Complex
(KNPC) and is owned and operated by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
(PAEC).
coast, about 11 miles (17.7 km) west of Karachi
. The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) has a heavy water
moderated and cooled natural uranium
fuelled, horizontal pressure tube reactor. Other distinguishing features are once-through, on-power bidirectional fuelling, reactor shutdown by moderator dump, and a reactor building designed for total containment of any pressure or activity resulting from a credible accident.
and the corresponding net output is 125 MWe
. The Nuclear Reactor Building contains the entire reactor system and auxiliaries, and consists of a pre-stressed concrete cylindrical wall, a hemispherical segmental dome of pre-stressed concrete, and a concrete base slab. The Turbine Building houses the turbine-generator and auxiliaries, some process water equipment, electrical distribution equipment, and the control room. The building is a reinforced concrete frame and block structure.
vessel of austenitic stainless steel, which contains the heavy water moderator/reflector and 208 coolant tube assemblies. The moderator system consists of the calandria, coolers, pumps and purification system in the heavy water circuit, and control valves, dump valves and helium blowers in the helium
circuit. The fuel is natural uranium in the form of sintered uranium dioxide pellets sheathed in thin zirconium
alloy tubes to form solid fuel elements about 19.1 inches (48.53 cm) long by 0.6 inches (1.4 cm) diameter.
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
, located at Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Sindh Province
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. In terms of Nuclear industry, the KANUPP-I is Pakistan's first nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
and is the first nuclear power plant in the Muslim world to be constructed. With the establishment and inauguration of this reactor, Pakistan became first nuclear power in the Muslim world. The KANUPP-I is a single unit CANDU-type PHWR reactor with a total gross capacity of 137MWe. The plant is situated at the Paradise Point
Paradise Point
Paradise Point, on the Arabian Sea, is a beach in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Paradise Point is a sandstone rock promontory with a natural arch....
on the arid Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
coast, about 15 miles to the west of Karachi.
History
Since her independencePartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
from United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Pakistan had repeatedly suffered energy crises
Energy crisis
An energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national electricity grids or serve as fuel for vehicles...
, that contributed to country's economic
Economy of Pakistan
The economy of Pakistan is the 47th largest in the world in nominal terms and 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity . Pakistan has a semi-industrialized economy, which mainly encompasses textiles, chemicals, food processing, agriculture and other industries...
slowdown. In 1960, President
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
Field Marshal Ayub Khan had appointed Dr. Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
as his Science Advisor. Soon Abdus Salam became the head of the Pakistan's IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
delegation. There, Abdus Salam had, now at the U.N. General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
, repeatedly and tirelessly advocated for the support of nuclear energy in his country. And, due to Abdus Salam's significant influence on President Field Marshal Ayub Khan, Salam succeeded to obtain an approval from Ayub Khan, against the wishes of military government of Ayub Khan in 1965. Due to Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
's influence on President Ayub Khan, Salam had the commercial nuclear plant near Karachi personally approved, in spite of the opposition against the project. In 1965, Abdus Salam traveled to United States, where in a ceremony, Canada and Pakistan signed a nuclear energy pact with GE Canada
Canadian General Electric
Canadian General Electric was a Canadian manufacturer of various electrical products. The company was a forerunner of General Electric Canada, now known as GE Canada. It was the Canadian counterpart of the American company General Electric.Canadian General Electric Co...
establishing the country's first nuclear plant. Per agreement, the PAEC's engineers and scientists led the construction of this mega-project. While, GE Canada provided economical funds and HEU based nuclear fuel. Parvez Butt
Parvez Butt
Pervez Butt is a Pakistani nuclear engineer and the former chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 2001 to 2006. A nuclear engineer by profession, Parvez Butt played an important role in the development of the Pakistan's nuclear power and weapons program...
, a nuclear engineer, was the chief designer of the plant who worked at the GE Canada's designing office. In 1966, the construction was started, and it was completed in 1971, before the starting of Indo-Pak 1971 Winter War
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
. On November 28 of 1972, as President, later Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, accompanied with Abdus Salam and newly appointed PAEC's Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan , inaugurated the first unit of the Karachi Nuclear Plant.
The technology of the nuclear power plant is highly resembles to India's CIRUS
CIRUS reactor
CIRUS is a research reactor at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center in Trombay near Mumbai, India. CIRUS was supplied by Canada in 1954, but uses heavy water supplied by the United States. It is the second oldest reactor in India. It is modeled on the Canadian Chalk River National Research...
and DHRUVA reactor
Dhruva reactor
The Dhruva reactor is India's largest nuclear research reactor. Located in the Mumbai suburb of Trombay at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre , it is India's primary generator of weapons-grade plutonium-bearing spent fuel for its nuclear weapons program. Originally named the R-5, this pool-type...
, with another small reactor producing reactor-grade plutonium which was produced in large stocks. Munir Ahmad Khan, now as chairman, ingeniously developed and established the nuclear fuel cycle programme. In 1972, Pakistan under Bhutto, had refused to signed the NPT
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
. Because the reactor grade plutonium was extremely dangerous to be open in public, the PAEC transferred the reactor-grade plutonium to the New Laboratories (known as The New Labs), and produces the first batch of fresh weapon-grade plutonium. In 1976, Canada had stopped the supply of fuel and spare parts for the plant The high-radioactive material was also left openly in Karachi as Canadian technicians departed from Pakistan. Pakistan media then speculated that in absence of Canadian officials, the city would suffer a major power blackout
Power outage
A power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
. Canadian officials later issued the statement that the reactor will be shut down in a matter of six months. However, the PAEC, under Munir Ahmad Khan, took up this challenge and using indigenous resources produced the feed for KANUPP. In 1978, the PAEC developed its own nuclear fuel and and began loading the feedstock to KANUPP-I. From its establishment and present, the KANUPP-I has nearly 10 billion KWhrs of electricity and has been fuelled by thousands and thousands of Pakistani made fuel bundles without any failure. As of today, the KANUPP-I has been expanded and is currently apart of Karachi Nuclear Power Complex
Karachi Nuclear Power Complex
Karachi Nuclear Power Complex or KNPC is located in Paradise Point, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It consists of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant and CIAL KARACHI. A new governmental power project "KANUPP-2" which is under construction is also included in this complex...
(KNPC) and is owned and operated by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(PAEC).
Feature of KANUPP
The KANUPP reactor site is on the Arabian SeaArabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
coast, about 11 miles (17.7 km) west of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) has a heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
moderated and cooled natural uranium
Natural uranium
Natural uranium refers to refined uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature. It contains 0.7 % uranium-235, 99.3 % uranium-238, and a trace of uranium-234 by weight. In terms of the amount of radioactivity, approximately 2.2 % comes from uranium-235, 48.6 % uranium-238, and 49.2 %...
fuelled, horizontal pressure tube reactor. Other distinguishing features are once-through, on-power bidirectional fuelling, reactor shutdown by moderator dump, and a reactor building designed for total containment of any pressure or activity resulting from a credible accident.
Engineering Facility and Power Capacity
The gross plant rating is 137 MWeMWE
MWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
and the corresponding net output is 125 MWe
MWE
MWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
. The Nuclear Reactor Building contains the entire reactor system and auxiliaries, and consists of a pre-stressed concrete cylindrical wall, a hemispherical segmental dome of pre-stressed concrete, and a concrete base slab. The Turbine Building houses the turbine-generator and auxiliaries, some process water equipment, electrical distribution equipment, and the control room. The building is a reinforced concrete frame and block structure.
Nuclear Reactor Operations
The reactor consists of a tubed calandriaCalandria
A calandria is the reactor core of the CANDU reactor. The calandria contains heavy water, a moderator used to moderate neutrons to achieve nuclear fission....
vessel of austenitic stainless steel, which contains the heavy water moderator/reflector and 208 coolant tube assemblies. The moderator system consists of the calandria, coolers, pumps and purification system in the heavy water circuit, and control valves, dump valves and helium blowers in the helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
circuit. The fuel is natural uranium in the form of sintered uranium dioxide pellets sheathed in thin zirconium
Zirconium
Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name of zirconium is taken from the mineral zircon. Its atomic mass is 91.224. It is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium...
alloy tubes to form solid fuel elements about 19.1 inches (48.53 cm) long by 0.6 inches (1.4 cm) diameter.