Nuclear Essay

Nuclear power plants use heat created by nuclear reactions to heat water and create steam which turn turbines to produce power.

Thorium reactors based on their safety, cleanness and the ability to produce a large amount of energy has triggered the idea of constructing thorium reactor as an easy way to produce any source of power. There are several thorium reactors that are used to produce power : Heavy Water Reactor( PHWRs) this is a reactor based on thorium fuel due to the combination of neutrons that can be absorbed to produce 233U, an average of neutron energy produced and flexible in recycling fuel ability. High-temperature

In November 2008, the United Kingdom parliament adopted a new Climate Change Act, obligating the UK to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by mid-century (Fankhauser, 2009). Among all sectors, the power sector account for nearly 25% of UK’s Greenhouse gas emissions (Committee on climate change, 2016), which is a crucial decarburization area. Nuclear energy, believed by the UK Government, has an important role to play in delivering a long-term affordable low carbon energy future (Department for Energy and Climate Change, 2013). There are 15 reactors operating currently, generating about 21% of the nation’s electricity, but almost half of this capacity is to be retired by 2025 (World Nuclear Association, 2016). In October 2010, the British Government gave permission for private suppliers to construct up to eight new nuclear power plants, among which the Hinkley Point C (HPC) nuclear power station is the only one having a full construction and operation plan.

Generating power with gas (as an alternative to coal) and increasing the use of renewable energy sources also seem like very suitable options [9]. Additionally, power generation with the use of wind and tidal energy proves a very convenient alternative to nuclear power generation in London and the UK in general. These sources can deliver twice the amount of electricity as new-age nuclear reactors and would require less time to be implemented, thus the convenience [12].

America’s nuclear energy plants are — by a wide margin — the nation’s largest source of carbon-free power. They produce clean, reliable electricity as well as well-paying jobs. Although several dependable nuclear plants have closed in recent years for economic reasons, nuclear energy is getting a fresh look for its ability to produce vast amounts of power without emitting greenhouse gases. And with new reactor designs, both big and small, scientists and technologists are re-engineering the future of nuclear energy for everyone’s benefit.

Nuclear energy was likewise discovered to be useful in naval tactics and in sourcing electricity. As technology has significantly advanced and knowledge has expanded beyond measures, the realm of nuclear engineering has indeed achieved scientific milestones. In practice of modern times, nuclear energy is manufactured within power plants, capable of supporting an outstanding amount of electricity (World Nuclear Association). However, this limited method of energy production is thought to be dangerous. Nuclear engineering is certainly one complex subject and is foreign to the majority of the world population. Within a nuclear power plant, reactors are employed to force uranium ions to undergo the process of nuclear fission; nuclear fission is the separation of atoms, the smallest unit of matter. This splitting of uranium ions releases energy, thus, producing usable heat. Heat is crucial to not only nuclear energy production; rather, heat is necessary in all power plants. Such will then become the steam that gyrates turbines. These turbines are coupled with electromagnets which, finally, yield electricity (How Nuclear Reactors Work). One foremost flaw of nuclear power is the consequential radioactive waste that must be monitored for a long while following disposal. Nevertheless, as resources upon this planet are surely depleting, original forms of energy production are mandatory. In consideration of such, nuclear power plants have proved to be both efficient

There are currently 442 active nuclear power reactors worldwide according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. Of all of the reactors worldwide, 14 have been classified as accidents where the public has been exposed to radiation. The most devastating of these incidents was the core meltdown of reactor 4 at Chernobyl, better known as the Chernobyl disaster.

In the early years of nuclear science, there was great interest and promise towards using nuclear power. In 1954 the U.S was the first to manufacture and launch an atomic-powered submarine. This was the first PWR ever produced as the main energy source. Through the events of World War II, atomic energy was introduced by using nuclear bombs which illustrated a vile image of nuclear technologies. Once World War II was over countries were free to pursue nuclear power as an energy source. After numerous nuclear reactor prototype the first PWR fully assembled reactor was the Yankee Rower NPS which started operation in 1961. PWR power plants came to be successively operational by 1965 in the United States. Throughout history many nuclear reactor

Nuclear energy is energy generated from the fission or fusion of enriched uranium. The power plants in which this type of energy is made are called nuclear power plants, but have many variations in how this energy is achieved. Almost all reactors use heat generated from the enriched uranium pellets to bring water to a boil, and use steam powered generators to create power. In Canada, the type of reactor used is called a Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), a method created by Canada in the 1950’s. In the next sections the inner workings of the PHWR method will be examined and its safety explained.

As reactors get more complicated, construction time and the cost of the plant will only increase exponentially. This leads to cutting edge technologies becoming obsolete during the construction process, safety features suddenly becoming inadequate, and large, expensive renovations required to make the power plant functional. Throwing millions of dollars into renovating an already multimillion dollar “state of the art” reactor is not fiscally logical. This never ending cycle makes nuclear reactors the least cost efficient form of clean energy.

Nuclear energy is one of the safest and cleanest forms of energy used today. At a rate of 1 death per 25 TWh generated, nuclear energy is 11 times safer than solar energy, which has an efficiency rate of 1 death per 2.27 TWh generated and over 4000 times less deadly than coal at 161 deaths per TWh (Wang, 2011). However, the inherent dangers, of a nuclear reactor meltdown still exists, despite the safeguards implemented to make them increasingly unlikely. Meltdowns and breaches can occur due to various factors, such construction defects, aging infrastructure, operator error, and natural disasters as seen in widely

As a result, numerous countries are creating more nuclear power plants. From the 1990s, the rate of nuclear power plants constructed increased because of technological and managerial, deregulation, and safety improvements.

Since the first commercial plant in the 1950s, the nuclear energy sector has increased steadily. From generating 684 billion kilowatt hours worldwide in 1980, nuclear power accounted for 2,345 billion KWh in 2012 (World Bank, n.d.). While the Chernobyl accident in 1986 did not trigger any decline in the global nuclear-generated power in the following years, the Fukushima accident in 2011 did. A drop of almost 200 billion KWh from 2011 to 2012 put a hold on the previously roughly constant numbers. This decline is already visible in the 2011 data, as Japan immediately ordered a shut-down of all their 50 reactors, the last one in 2012 (Hong, Bradshaw, & Brook, May 2013). Today 31 countries operate 438 commercial nuclear power plants (IAEA - PRIS, 2015a). The following table shows the operating and under construction reactors in the world, including their current percent share in their total electricity generation.

1 Introduction One of the major challenges of the reintroduction of nuclear energy into the world energy mix is the development of a nuclear power plant that is competitive with other energy alternatives, such as natural gas, oil or coal. The environmental imperative of nuclear energy is obvious. This report aims to provide an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of the pebble-bed reactor. The pebble-bed reactor (PBR) is a graphite-moderated, gas-cooled nuclear reactor. It is a type of very-high temperature reactor, one of the six classes of nuclear reactors in the Generation IV initiative.

Which meant that the reactor’s moderation level, which was controlled by graphite rods that absorbed neutrons, had to account for the neutrons absorbed by light water. In addition, when light water boils, it’s neutron-absorption capacity just about vanishes. So, in n the event of evaporation of water to steam, the place occupied by water would be occupied by water vapor, which has a density vastly lower than that of liquid water. This results in allowing more neutrons to fission more U-235 nuclei and in that way increases the reactor’s power. Hence, higher temperatures is achieved and more water is boiled. As a result of this, the steam in the coolant water would then produce what scientist call a void, a bubble that does not absorb neutrons. While the moderation of neutrons done by the graphite is reduced by light water; neutrons become easily absorbed to continue the reaction. As a consequence, this would severely change the balance of neutron production, causing a situation in which more and more neutrons are produced. Thus, while the safety procedure was being carried out the operators noticed the power surge being created and realized they needed to reduce the reactivity rapidly by introducing in more control rods. But the control rods had a design flaw that would lead to an engineering disaster. The tips of