The construction cost of the Savannah River heavy-water plant, built in 1951/1952, is summarized in Table 13.19 [B6]. The unit investment cost of this plant, capable of producing 454 Mg D20/year, then was $163,000,000/454,000 kg/year = $359/(kg/year).

The cost of Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd.’s 800 Mg/year plant at La Prade, item 21, Table 13.2, was predicted [H5] to be $300 million in 1974, for a unit investment cost of $375/(kg/year), exclusive of escalation and interest during construction.

Heavy water from the Savannah River plant was sold by the U. S. AEC in the 1960s for a price of $61.73/kg. Demand for heavy water subsequently decreased, and two of the three original wings of the plant were shut down. In 1976, when one wing was operating at its full

Source: W. P. Bebbington and V. R. Thayer, Chem. Eng. Progr. 55(9): 70 (1959).

capacity of 177 MT/year, production costs [J5] were as summarized in Table 13.20. In 1977, when the one remaining wing was operating at reduced capacity, the price charged by U. S. ERDA for heavy water was $245/kg [FI].

Utility requirements reported for heavy-water production by the GS process are as follows: