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Clean Imperatives of Energy- Nuclear Power can Meet the Challenge

Clean Imperatives of Energy- Nuclear Power can Meet the Challenge. S A Bhardwaj DAE Homi Bhabha Chair sabhardwaj@npcil.co.in. James Watt Steam Engine. Natural Resources for Nuclear Power. Uranium Thorium. Initiates power production in current reactors of the world.

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Clean Imperatives of Energy- Nuclear Power can Meet the Challenge

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  1. CleanImperatives of Energy-Nuclear Power can Meet the Challenge S A Bhardwaj DAE HomiBhabha Chair sabhardwaj@npcil.co.in Securing India's Clean Energy Future- Role of Nuclear Energy, 14 October 2014, New Delhi

  2. James Watt Steam Engine

  3. Natural Resources for Nuclear Power Uranium Thorium

  4. Initiates power production in current reactors of the world Only 0.7% ( the Uranium 235 isotope) of this is fissile fuel Rest is Uranium 238 Mined Uranium

  5. the small Uranium 235 isotope produces On operation of current reactors Electricity Unused Uranium Radioactive waste Small quantity of synthetic fuel Plutonium ( from uranium 238)

  6. SPENT FUEL- RADIOACTIVE WASTE Radioactive waste Smaller quantity of synthetic fuel Plutonium Unused Uranium Plutonium and radioactive waste remain embedded in the unused uranium. The whole spent fuel is treated as radioactive nuclear waste in many countries at present.

  7. Radioactive waste Smaller quantity of synthetic fuel Plutonium Unused Uranium On the contrary, if the spent fuel is reprocessed through chemical process it opens possibility of accessing energy potential of large unused uranium -a precious resource. This is the objective of the THREE STAGE NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAMME conceived by Dr Bhabha way back in mid fifties

  8. Reprocessing A unique feature of nuclear energy is that used fuel may be chemically reprocessed to recover recyclable materials to provide fresh fuel for future nuclear power plants. Reprocessing of spent fuel also reduces the volume of high-level wastes

  9. Recycling the reprocessed Plutonium and uranium synthetic fuel Plutonium + portion of unused uranium Unused Uranium Make fuel for FAST BREEDER REACTORS without any additional mining

  10. FAST BREEDER REACTORS Plutonium mixed with used uranium(mostly uranium 238) when used as fuel produce more plutonium from uranium than the consumption of plutonium. They BREED fuel. The nuclear installed capacity grows. No mining required. The large amount of unused uranium from previous thermal reactor becomes a resource. Long half life plutonium gets consumed

  11. FAST BREEDER REACTORS Make fuel for more FAST BREEDER REACTORS without any additional mining More Plutonium, thus Reactors possible Electricity Unused Uranium

  12. September 24, 2013 Atomic Goal: 800 Years of Power From Waste BELLEVUE, Wash. — In a drab one-story building here, set between an indoor tennis club and a home appliance showroom, dozens of engineers, physicists and nuclear experts are chasing a radical dream of Bill Gates.

  13. Use nuclear waste to power UK, says top scientist Global supplies of uranium will begin to run out in 2023 when UK will rely on domestic nuclear supply, predicts Sir David King

  14. Fast reactor starts clean nuclear energy era in RussiaJune 27, 2014 Controlled nuclear fission has been started in Russia’s newest fast breeder reactor in the Urals, heralding a closed nuclear fuel cycle and a future without nuclear waste. Russia is the only country that operates fast neutron reactors industrially. The next generation BN-800 breeder reactor (880 megawatts) assembled at Russia’s Beloyarskaya nuclear power plant has been put in the so-called critical state on Friday, a week after all necessary nuclear fuel was loaded into the active zone. The press service of Rosenergoatom, the electric energy generation branch of Russia’s nuclear monopoly, Rosatom, has confirmed to the RIA news agency that nuclear reaction in the BN-800 reactor has been initiated.

  15. Thorium – uranium233 Power plants Thorium Thorium Thorium Uranium233 Unused Uranium Electricity

  16. A unique feature of nuclear energy is that used fuel may be reprocessed to recover recyclable materials to provide fresh fuel for future nuclear power plants. Reprocessing of spent fuel also reduces the volume of high-level wastes – though small in volume is high in radioactivity and a small fraction of this has very long radioactive life.

  17. The waste is composed of different elements. In principle the chemical reprocessing can be extended to separate out very long lived components of waste- PARTITION the waste.

  18. Clean Energy Nuclear power produce no green house gases. The very small highly radioactive waste generated so far is being vitrified. In coming times partitioning of waste will be possible and it can be transmuted in fast neutron reactors to make such waste negligibly small. Thorium will not add to long term waste.

  19. Nuclear power is a clean energy source potential to be available for coming centuries, in large capacity and with round the clock availability. Thanks for your kind attention

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