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An Alternative Nuclear Future Professor Bob Cywinski BSc, PhD, CPhys , FInstP , SFHEA

An Alternative Nuclear Future Professor Bob Cywinski BSc, PhD, CPhys , FInstP , SFHEA Dean of the Graduate School Special Advisor (Research) International Institute for Accelerator Applications University of Huddersfield. The energy crisis. UK’s CO 2 equivalent emissions by sector.

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An Alternative Nuclear Future Professor Bob Cywinski BSc, PhD, CPhys , FInstP , SFHEA

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  1. An Alternative Nuclear Future Professor Bob Cywinski BSc, PhD, CPhys, FInstP, SFHEA Dean of the Graduate School Special Advisor (Research) International Institute for Accelerator Applications University of Huddersfield

  2. The energy crisis

  3. UK’s CO2 equivalent emissions by sector Total: 553Mt CO2 Other (waste etc) 33 Agriculture 50 72 Residential 88 Business 116 Target: 159Mt CO2 Transport 194Mt 159Mt Electricity supply 2050 target 2011 CO2 equivalent emissions Source: UK GHG Inventory (UNFCCC coverage) (Ricard0-AEA, 2013) (1.5% of the world’s total emissions)

  4. Current UK energy usage DECC figures indicate that in the UK we currently use 5 KW per person: 66GW losses 36% 108GW 32% 96 GW 32% 96GW 42GW Electricity Transport Heating Electricity Generation 2.9 tonnes 2.9 tonnes 2.6 tonnes CO2 emission per person per year 0.21kg/kWhr 0.21kg/kWhr 0.43kg/kWhr CO2 emission

  5. The enormity of the task ahead…… We have to “clean up” not just electricity generation, but transport and heating: 48 GW Electricity 48 GW Electricity 48 GW 48 GW 42GW Electricity Transport Heating Electricity Generation Total UK annual CO2 emissions 228Mt 1.6 tonnes 1.6 tonnes 0.01kg/kWhr 0.6 tonnes CO2 emission CO2 emission per person per year 0.11kg/kWhr 0.11kg/kWhr So: Even if we more than triple our electricity generation to 138GW using only “clean” fuels (10g of CO2 per kWhr) we will still exceed 2050 target by 43%

  6. The options for cleaner electricity: Requires back-up generation Requires back-up generation source: Government Energy Technology Support Unit (confirmed by OECD)

  7. Land usage: Current UK rate of energy consumption is ~1W/m2 Requires back-up generation Requires back-up generation source: Government Energy Advisor David Mackay (Sustainable energy without the hot air)

  8. Summary so far: We need to increase our generating capacity to 140GW using low carbon technology. Whilst we might get 10% of this with wave and tidal the two more realistic options are: Wind Nuclear 140 GW is 14 times existing capacity and 35 times present generation Turbines would occupy approximately 70000 km2 (6 times area of Yorkshire or about 5km deep around the UK coast) and backup would be needed Cost would be ~£2,100bn 140 GW is equivalent to ~40 Hinckley Cs They would occupy approximately 40 km2 Cost would be ~£640bn No backup is required

  9. Intermittency: UK wind generation 2013 Source: U.K. National Grid status www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ 10.5GW Installed capacity (5276 turbines) Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan

  10. Intermittency:

  11. Global nuclear capacity Country No. Reactors GW capacity % Total Electricity France 58 63 75 Sweden 10 9 37 South Korea 21 19 31 Japan 55 47 29 Germany 17 20 26 United States 104 101 20 Russia 32 23 18 United Kingdom 19 11 17 Canada 18 13 15 India 20 5 3 21 Others 87 69 Totals: 441 380 14 A comparable global increase in nuclear capacity (x13) similar to that suggested for the UK would consume known U reserves in 20 years !!

  12. Annual global use of energy resources 5x109 tonnes of coal An alternative fuel? 27x109 barrels of oil 2.5x1012 m3 natural gas 5x103 tonnes of thorium 65x103 tonnes of uranium

  13. Breeding fuel from thorium g 232Th Advantages Does not need processing Generates virtually no plutonium and less of the higher actinides 233U has superior fissile properties 233Th n b 22 mins 233U 233Pa b Disadvantages Requires introduction of fissile seed (235U or Pu) The decay of parasitic 232U results in high gamma activity from 208Tl. 27 days

  14. Past experience with thorium

  15. Potential modes of thorium deployment 1. Conventional Systems (LWR, PWR, HTGR) 3. Accelerator Driven Subcritical Reactors (ADSRs) 2. Molten Salt Reactors After Weinberg’s Oak Ridge MSRE

  16. Applications of ADSRs (Ferficon)

  17. Summary Thorium has been used in the past and could now be deployed in conventional, molten salt or ADS reactors providing an alternative, sustainable, safe, low waste and proliferation-resistant technology for nuclear power generation 780kg of thorium = 200 tonnes of uranium (as currently used) No plutonium need be used and very little is produced After 70 years the radiotoxicity is 20,000 times less than an equivalent conventional nuclear power station Thorium systems provide means of burning existing legacy waste Waste can be mixed with thorium and burnt as fuel, reducing radiotoxicityby orders of magnitude and turning a liability into an asset

  18. The Stone Age didn't end because we ran out stones…….

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