NANJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The nuclear heating and power plant in Xuwei, east China's Jiangsu Province began construction on Friday, as the nuclear island of the first unit started pouring concrete.

This is the world's first project to use nuclear energy to supply low-carbon steam to the petrochemical industry, significantly reducing the use of fossil fuels and providing an innovative solution for a green transformation in high-carbon industries, according to the developer China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

This project marks the first time that a pressurized water reactor and a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor have been coupled for steam heating. It integrates Hualong One, China's third-generation nuclear power technology, with advanced fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology.

The project is designed to use the main steam from the pressurized water reactor of Hualong One to heat desalted water, producing large quantities of saturated steam. This saturated steam is then further superheated by main steam from the high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, resulting in the production of high-quality industrial steam.

After all the heading processes, the majority of the industrial steam will be sent to the nearby petrochemical industrial base in Lianyungang. Additionally, the project will also generate electricity.

The Lianyungang's petrochemical industrial base is one of the country's major petrochemical hubs. To ensure its normal operation, a large amount of industrial steam is required in addition to petrochemical raw materials.

In the petrochemical industry, steam is mainly used for process heating and reaction driving. Most petrochemical reactions, such as crude oil distillation, catalytic cracking, hydrotreating and esterification, require high-temperature conditions. Steam provides stable heat for the entire reaction system, ensuring efficient and controllable processes.

Steam is also used as a heat source in the fine separation of petrochemical products, allowing them to reach boiling points for gas-liquid separation or to remove impurities such as water, thereby improving purity.

Moreover, steam plays a vital role in the operation of power equipment like steam turbines in petrochemical facilities, pipeline insulation and freeze protection, as well as in equipment cleaning.

Currently, the Lianyungang's industrial base needs up to 13,000 tonnes of steam every hour. The daily steam production of such scale has relied on fossil fuels such as coal, bringing growing environmental challenge as China intensifies the efforts to reduce carbon emission.

However, the new project can significantly cut the carbon emission. The carbon footprint of nuclear-powered steam is only 1/600th of that of coal-fired cogeneration steam, and 1 percent of that of natural gas cogeneration steam, according to industrial data.

CNNC stated that the first phase of the project plans to construct two Hualong One units and one high-temperature gas-cooled reactor unit. Once operational, the first phase will supply 32.5 million tonnes of industrial steam annually, with a maximum power generation exceeding 11.5 billion kWh. It is expected to reduce the use of standard coal by 7.26 million tonnes per year and cut CO2 emissions by 19.6 million tonnes annually.