A Guide to the Russian Academy of Sciences - University of Texas ...

ecological " stage when it became clear that the use of conventional fuels in power
production, transport, chemistry, metallurgy, leads to irreversible catastrophic
consequences (acid rains, green-house effect, ozone deficiency, etc.). The
recognition of the second problem resulted in merging and interpenetration of two
approaches which defines today the basic tasks of hydrogen power and plasma
technologies and brings the ecology into focus.
A wide experience gained by the scientists of the Kurchatov Institute in physics and
engineering of gas-discharge plasma is sufficient to solve already today key tasks
of contemporary technology and ecology. Among these tasks are those of, in
particular, a large-scale plasmochemical and electrochemical production of
hydrogen as a fuel containing no carbon or sulphur, hydrogen safety of NPP,
processing of hydrogen sulfite which is a major oil and gas contaminant, plasma
cleaning of process gases from SO2 and NOx, managing acid rains, gas mixture
separation by high-selectivity membranes, etc.
Thus, one of the basic questions of the present-day ecology is solving the task of largescale
production of cheap hydrogen.
The main highly promising and universal method of hydrogen production is the production
from water using plasmochemical and electrochemical processes. Since hydrogen i
s a secondary fuel, hydrogen power should rely on primary power sources,
enhanced-safety nuclear power, solar, wind, tide etc. All the above problems are
also related directly to gas- and oil refining in the aspect of producing more
ecologically clean fuel, and to metallurgy, transport, etc.
Another important problem is hydrogen safety of nuclear power plants and other
hydrogen-involving productions. Here, integrated studies are required based on
correctly chosen concepts and methods of controlling hydrogen concentrations in
large volumes. The basis for these original research approaches is laid by the
efforts of the Kurchatov Institute Staff.
Institute of Information Technologies
(Director: Aleksandrov P. A.)
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Institute of High Technologies and Experimental Machine Building
(Director: Gnedenko V. G.)
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SCIENTIFIC-TECHNOLOGICAL COMPLEXES:
Scientific-technological complex "Systems Analysis"
(Director: Gorlinskii Iurii E.)
Scientific-technological complex "Electronics"
(Director: Iakovlev G. V.)
Subsidiary enterprise "Information Computer Complex"
(Director: Soldatov A. A.)
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