Nuclear Energy

1. Nuclear Energy Professor Stephen Lawrence Leeds School of Business University of Colorado at Boulder

2. Overview of Nuclear Energy Nuclear Physics Nuclear Fuel Nuclear Power Plants Radiation Nuclear Waste Nuclear Safety Nuclear Power and the Environment Nuclear Power Economics Nuclear Power – Pro & Con Future of Nuclear Power Agenda

3. Overview of Nuclear Power

4. Nuclear energy consumption by area

5. http://www.nei.org

6. http://www.uic.com.au/opinion6.html

7. World Nuclear Power Plants http://www.uic.com.au/opinion6.html

8. Electric Power Generation http://www.uic.com.au/opinion6.html

9. Electric Consumption Profile http://www.uic.com.au/opinion6.html

10. US Nuclear Generation Trends http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/nuc_generation/gensum.html

11. Nuclear Physics

12. Nuclear Binding Energy http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/n/nuclearenergy.htm

13. Nuclear Binding Energy 2 Maximum Stability (Iron) http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/n/nuclearenergy.htm

14. Nuclear Fission http://users.aber.ac.uk/jrp3/nuclear_power.htm

15. Nuclear Chain Reaction http://www.btinternet.com/~j.doyle/SR/Emc2/Fission.htm

16. Nuclear Fuel

17. Uranium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fuel_cycle

18. Creating Uranium Fuel • 50,000 tonnes of ore from mine • 200 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate (U3O8) • Milling process at mine • 25 tonnes of enriched uranium oxide • uranium oxide is converted into a gas, uranium hexafluoride (UF6), • Every tonne of uranium hexafluoride separated into about 130 kg of enriched UF6 (about 3.5% U-235) and 870 kg of 'depleted' UF6 (mostly U-238). • The enriched UF6 is finally converted into uranium dioxide (UO2) powder • Pressed into fuel pellets which are encased in zirconium alloy tubes to form fuel rods.

19. Uranium Mined and Refined

20. Uranium Enrichment

21. Nuclear Fuel Pellet

22. Pellets Encased in Ceramic

23. Pellets Inserted into Rods

24. Sources of Uranium http://www.uic.com.au/opinion6.html

25. World Uranium Production http://www.uic.com.au/opinion6.html

26. Nuclear Power Plants

27. Nuclear Power Plants • Work best at constant power • Excellent for baseload power • Power output range of 40 to 2000 MW • Current designs are 600 to1200 MW • 441 licensed plants operating in 31 countries • Produce about 17% of global electrical energy

28. Nuclear Power Plant

29. Nuclear PP Cooling Tower http://www.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm/printable

30. Core of Nuclear Reactor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactors

31. Nuclear PP Control Room http://www.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm/printable

33. Idea of a Nuclear Power Plant Steam Spinning turbine blades and generator Boiling water

34. Nuclear Heat Steam Generator Steam produced Turbine Electricity Heat

35. Controlling Chain Reaction Fuel Assemblies Control rods Withdraw control rods, reaction increases Insert control rods, reaction decreases

36. Boiling Water Reactor

37. Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) • Reactor core creates heat • Steam-water mixture is produced when very pure water (reactor coolant) moves upward through the core absorbing heat • The steam-water mixture leaves the top of the core and enters the two stages of moisture separation where water droplets are removed before the steam is allowed to enter the steam line • Steam line directs the steam to the main turbine causing it to turn the turbine generator, which produces electricity.

38. Pressurized Water Reactor Steam

39. Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) • Reactor core generates heat • Pressurized-water in the primary coolant loop carries the heat to the steam generator • Inside the steam generator heat from the primary coolant loop vaporizes the water in a secondary loop producing steam • The steam line directs the steam to the main turbine causing it to turn the turbine generator, which produces electricity

40. Reactor Safety Design Containment Vessel 1.5-inch thick steel Shield Building Wall 3 foot thick reinforced concrete Dry Well Wall 5 foot thick reinforced concrete Bio Shield 4 foot thick leaded concrete with 1.5-inch thick steel lining inside and out Reactor Vessel 4 to 8 inches thick steel Reactor Fuel Weir Wall 1.5 foot thick concrete

41. Tour of a Nuclear Power Plant

42. Source: Nuclear Engineering International handbook 1999, but including Pickering A in Canada. http://www.uic.com.au/opinion6.html

43. Advanced Research Designs • Generation IV Reactors • Gas cooled fast reactor • Lead cooled fast reactor • Molten salt reactor • Sodium-cooled fast reactor • Supercritical water reactor • Very high temperature reactor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactor

44. SSTAR Design • SSTAR – Small, sealed, transportable, autonomous reactor • Fast breeder reactor • Tamper resistant, passively safe, self-contained fuel source (U238) • 30 year life • Produce constant power of 10-100 MW • 15m high × 3 m wide; 500 tonnes • Prototype expected by 2015 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSTAR

45. SSTAR Schematic http://www.llnl.gov/str/JulAug04/gifs/Smith1.jpg

46. Radiation

47. Types of Radiation http://www.uic.com.au/wast.htm

48. Types of Radiation • Alpha radiation • Cannot penetrate the skin • Blocked out by a sheet of paper • Dangerous in the lung • Beta radiation • Can penetrate into the body • Can be blocked out by a sheet of aluminum foil • Gamma radiation • Can go right through the body • Requires several inches of lead or concrete, or a yard or so of water, to block it. • Neutron radiation • Normally found only inside a nuclear reactor http://www.uic.com.au/wast.htm

49. Measuring Radioactivity • Half-Life • The time for a radioactive source to lose 50% of its radioactivity • For each half-life time period, radioactivity drops by 50% • 1/2; 1/4; 1/8; 1/16; 1/32; 1/64; 1/128; 1/256; … • A half-life of 1 year means that radioactivity drops to <1% of its original intensity in seven years • Intensity vs. half-life • Intense radiation has a short half life, so decays more rapidly

50. Half-Life Graph