Submitted To:-

Submitted By:-
Mr. Pankaj Sharma
Sakshi Sachdeva

B.Tech MBA (ECE)

R209A24
 Topic:- Nuclear Power
Production

I Sakshi Sachdeva, hereby express my deep gratitude to all

those who helped me in the accomplishment of my Chemistry
project. First of all, I would like to express my thanks to GOD
almighty, whose grace and bliss gave me the strength and confidence
to accomplish this project.
Then I would express my hearty and gratitude to my Chemistry
Teacher, Mr.Pankaj Sharma,whose guidance and teaching helped me
with uncountable ability to complete this project. It was he who
provided me with best of his knowledge to make me able to cope up
with most complexities of Chemistry.
Last but not least, I would like to thanks my all near and dear who
helped me whether a bit or lot.
 Contents
 1. Nuclear Power
 2. Use
 3. History
 4. Future of the industry
 5. Nuclear reactor technology
 6. History-Nuclear Reactor
 7. Life Cycle
 8. Components of Nuclear Reactor
 9. The People in Nuclear Power Plant
 10. Future developing technology
 11. Nuclear Reactor Technology
 12. Natural Reactor
Nuclear power
This article is about applications of nuclear reactors as power sources. For the underlying
energy itself, see Nuclear energy. For the nuclear power debate, see Nuclear debate. For
countries which possess nuclear weapons, see List of states with nuclear weapons.
"Atomic Power" redirects here. For the 1946 documentary film, see Atomic Power (film).

The Ikata Nuclear Power Plant, a pressurized water reactor that cools by secondary coolant
exchange with the ocean.

The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, a boiling water reactor. The nuclear reactors are
located inside the rectangular containment buildings towards the front of the cooling towers.

Nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in 1964: its crew members are spelling out Einstein's
mass-energy equivalence formula E=mc² on the flight deck.
Nuclear power is any nuclear technology
designed to extract usable energy from atomic
nuclei via controlled nuclear reactions. The most
common method today is through nuclear
fission, though other methods include nuclear
fusion and radioactive decay. All utility-scale
reactors[1] heat water to produce steam, which is
then converted into mechanical work for the
purpose of generating electricity or propulsion.
Today, more than 15% of the world's electricity
comes from nuclear power, more than 150
nuclear-powered naval vessels have been built,
 and a few radioisotope rockets have been
produced.

Use

Historical and projected world energy use by energy source, 1980-2030, Source: International
Energy Outlook 2007, EIA.

As of 2005, nuclear power provided 6.3% of the world's energy and 15% of the world's
electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for 56.5% of nuclear
generated electricity.[2] As of 2007, the IAEA reported there are 439 nuclear power reactors in
operation in the world,[3] operating in 31 countries.
The United States produces the most nuclear energy, with nuclear power providing 19%[5] of
the electricity it consumes, while France produces the highest percentage of its electrical
energy from nuclear reactors—78% as of 2006.[6] In the European Union as a whole, nuclear
energy provides 30% of the electricity. Nuclear energy policy differs between European
Union countries, and some, such as Austria and Ireland, have no active nuclear power
stations. In comparison, France has a large number of these plants, with 16 multi-unit stations
in current use.
In the US, while the Coal and Gas Electricity industry is projected to be worth $85 billion by
2013, Nuclear Power generators are forecast to be worth $18 billion.
Many military and some civilian (such as some icebreaker) ships use nuclear marine
propulsion, a form of nuclear propulsion. A few space vehicles have been launched using
full-fledged nuclear reactors: the Soviet RORSAT series and the American SNAP-10A.
International research is continuing into safety improvements such as passively safe plants,[10]
the use of nuclear fusion, and additional uses of process heat such as hydrogen production (in
support of a hydrogen economy), for desalinating sea water, and for use in district heating
systems.

History
Origins
Nuclear fission was first experimentally achieved by Enrico Fermi in 1934 when his team
bombarded uranium with neutrons. In 1938, German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz
Strassmann, along with Austrian physicists Lise Meitner and Meitner's nephew, Otto Robert
Frisch, conducted experiments with the products of neutron-bombarded uranium. They
determined that the relatively tiny neutron split the nucleus of the massive uranium atoms
into two roughly equal pieces, which was a surprising result. Numerous scientists, including
Leo Szilard who was one of the first, recognized that if fission reactions released additional
neutrons, a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction could result. This spurred scientists in many
countries (including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Soviet
Union) to petition their government for support of nuclear fission research.
In the United States, where Fermi and Szilard had both emigrated, this led to the creation of
the first man-made reactor, known as Chicago Pile-1, which achieved criticality on December
2, 1942. This work became part of the Manhattan Project, which built large reactors at the
Hanford Site (formerly the town of Hanford, Washington) to breed plutonium for use in the
first nuclear weapons. A parallel uranium enrichment effort also was pursued.
After World War II, the fear that reactor research would encourage the rapid spread of
nuclear weapons and technology, combined with what many scientists thought would be a
long road of development, created a situation in which reactor research was kept under strict
government control and classification. In addition, most reactor research centered on purely
military purposes.
Electricity was generated for the first time by a nuclear reactor on December 20, 1951 at the
EBR-I experimental station near Arco, Idaho, which initially produced about 100 kW (the
Arco Reactor was also the first to experience partial meltdown, in 1955). In 1952, a report by
the Paley Commission (The President's Materials Policy Commission) for President Harry
Truman made a "relatively pessimistic" assessment of nuclear power, and called for
"aggressive research in the whole field of solar energy." A December 1953 speech by
President Dwight Eisenhower, "Atoms for Peace," emphasized the useful harnessing of the
atom and set the U.S. on a course of strong government support for international use of
nuclear power.
Early years

Calder Hall nuclear power station in England was the world's first nuclear power station to
produce electricity in commercial quantities.
The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Shippingport, Pennsylvania was the first
commercial reactor in the USA and was opened in 1957.
On June 27, 1954, the USSRs Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant became the world's first nuclear
power plant to generate electricity for a power grid, and produced around 5 megawatts
electric power.
Later in 1954, Lewis Strauss, then chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission
(U.S. AEC, forerunner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the United States
Department of Energy) spoke of electricity in the future being "too cheap to meter."[19] The
U.S. AEC itself had issued far more conservative testimony regarding nuclear fission to the
U.S. Congress only months before, projecting that "costs can be brought down... [to] ... about
the same as the cost of electricity from conventional sources..." Strauss may have been
making vague reference to hydrogen fusion - which was secret at the time - rather than
uranium fission, but whatever his intent Strauss's statement was interpreted by much of the
public as a promise of very cheap energy from nuclear fission. Significant disappointment
would develop later on, when the new nuclear plants did not provide energy "too cheap to
meter."
In 1955 the United Nations' "First Geneva Conference", then the world's largest gathering of
scientists and engineers, met to explore the technology. In 1957 EURATOM was launched
alongside the European Economic Community (the latter is now the European Union). The
same year also saw the launch of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The world's first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall in Sellafield, England was
opened in 1956 with an initial capacity of 50 MW (later 200 MW). The first commercial
nuclear generator to become operational in the United States was the Shippingport Reactor
(Pennsylvania, December, 1957).
One of the first organizations to develop nuclear power was the U.S. Navy, for the purpose of
propelling submarines and aircraft carriers. It has a good record in nuclear safety, perhaps
because of the stringent demands of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who was the driving force
behind nuclear marine propulsion as well as the Shippingport Reactor. The U.S. Navy has
operated more nuclear reactors than any other entity, including the Soviet Navy, with no
publicly known major incidents. The first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus (SSN-
571), was put to sea in December 1954.[22] Two U.S. nuclear submarines, USS Scorpion and
USS Thresher, have been lost at sea. These vessels were both lost due to malfunctions in
systems not related to the reactor plants. Also, the sites are monitored and no known leakage
has occurred from the onboard reactors.
Enrico Fermi and Leó Szilárd in 1955 shared U.S. Patent 2,708,656  for the nuclear reactor,
belatedly granted for the work they had done during the Manhattan Project.
Development

History of the use of nuclear power (top) and the number of active nuclear power plants
(bottom).
Installed nuclear capacity initially rose relatively quickly, rising from less than 1 gigawatt
(GW) in 1960 to 100 GW in the late 1970s, and 300 GW in the late 1980s. Since the late
1980s worldwide capacity has risen much more slowly, reaching 366 GW in 2005. Between
around 1970 and 1990, more than 50 GW of capacity was under construction (peaking at over
150 GW in the late 70s and early 80s) — in 2005, around 25 GW of new capacity was
planned. More than two-thirds of all nuclear plants ordered after January 1970 were
eventually cancelled.

Washington Public Power Supply System Nuclear Power Plants 3 and 5 were never
completed.
During the 1970s and 1980s rising economic costs (related to extended construction times
largely due to regulatory changes and pressure-group litigation)[23] and falling fossil fuel
prices made nuclear power plants then under construction less attractive. In the 1980s (U.S.)
and 1990s (Europe), flat load growth and electricity liberalization also made the addition of
large new baseload capacity unattractive.
The 1973 oil crisis had a significant effect on countries, such as France and Japan, which had
relied more heavily on oil for electric generation (39% and 73% respectively) to invest in
nuclear power. Today, nuclear power supplies about 80% and 30% of the electricity in those
countries, respectively.
A general movement against nuclear power arose during the last third of the 20th century,
based on the fear of a possible nuclear accident, fears of radiation, nuclear proliferation, and
on the opposition to nuclear waste production, transport and final storage. Perceived risks on
the citizens' health and safety, the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island and the 1986 Chernobyl
disaster played a part in stopping new plant construction in many countries,[26] although the
public policy organization Brookings Institution suggests that new nuclear units have not
been ordered in the U.S. because the Institution's research concludes they cost 15–30% more
over their lifetime than conventional coal and natural gas fired plants.
Unlike the Three Mile Island accident, the much more serious Chernobyl accident did not
increase regulations affecting Western reactors since the Chernobyl reactors were of the
problematic RBMK design only used in the Soviet Union, for example lacking "robust"
containment buildings. Many of these reactors are still in use today. However, changes were
made in both the reactors themselves (use of low enriched uranium) and in the control system
(prevention of disabling safety systems) to prevent the possibility of a duplicate accident.
An international organization to promote safety awareness and professional development on
operators in nuclear facilities was created: WANO; World Association of Nuclear Operators.
Opposition in Ireland, New Zealand and Poland prevented nuclear programs there, while
Austria (1978), Sweden (1980) and Italy (1987) (influenced by Chernobyl) voted in
referendums to oppose or phase out nuclear power.

Future of the industry

Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County, California, USA
As of 2007, Watts Bar 1, which came on-line in February 7, 1996, was the last U.S.
commercial nuclear reactor to go on-line. This is often quoted as evidence of a successful
worldwide campaign for nuclear power phase-out. However, political resistance to nuclear
power has only ever been successful in New Zealand, parts of Europe, and the Philippines.
Even in the U.S. and throughout Europe, investment in research and in the nuclear fuel cycle
has continued, and some experts[29] predict that electricity shortages, fossil fuel price
increases, global warming and heavy metal emissions from fossil fuel use, new technology
such as passively safe plants, and national energy security will renew the demand for nuclear
power plants.
According to the World Nuclear Association, globally during the 1980s one new nuclear
reactor started up every 17 days on average, and by the year 2015 this rate could increase to
one every 5 days.
Many countries remain active in developing nuclear power, including Japan, China and India,
all actively developing both fast and thermal technology, South Korea and the United States,
developing thermal technology only, and South Africa and China, developing versions of the
Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR). Several EU member states actively pursue nuclear
programs, while some other member states continue to have a ban for the nuclear energy use.
Japan has an active nuclear construction program with new units brought on-line in 2005. In
the U.S., three consortia responded in 2004 to the U.S. Department of Energy's solicitation
under the Nuclear Power 2010 Program and were awarded matching funds—the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 authorized loan guarantees for up to six new reactors, and authorized the
Department of Energy to build a reactor based on the Generation IV Very-High-Temperature
Reactor concept to produce both electricity and hydrogen. As of the early 21st century,
nuclear power is of particular interest to both China and India to serve their rapidly growing
economies—both are developing fast breeder reactors. See also energy development. In the
energy policy of the United Kingdom it is recognized that there is a likely future energy
supply shortfall,
History - Early reactors
The first artificial nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, was constructed at the University of
Chicago by a team led by Enrico Fermi in 1942. It achieved criticality on December 2, 1942at
3:25 PM. The reactor support structure was made of wood, which supported a pile of graphite
blocks, embedded in which was natural Uranium-oxide 'pseudospheres' or 'briquettes'.
Inspiration for such a reactor was provided by the discovery by Lise Meitner, Fritz Strassman
and Otto Hahn in 1938 that bombardment of Uranium with neutrons (provided by an Alpha-
on-Beryllium fusion reaction, a "neutron howitzer") produced a Barium residue, which they
reasoned was created by the fissioning of the Uranium nuclei. Subsequent studies revealed
that several neutrons were also released during the fissioning, making available the
opportunity for a chain reaction. Shortly after the discovery of fission, Hitler's Germany
invaded Poland in 1939, starting World War II in Europe, and all such research became
militarily classified. On August 2, 1939 Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D.
Roosevelt suggesting that the discovery of Uranium's fission could lead to the development
of "extremely powerful bombs of a new type", giving impetus to the study of reactors and
fission.
Soon after the Chicago Pile, the U.S. military developed nuclear reactors for the Manhattan
Project starting in 1943. The primary purpose for these reactors was the mass production of
plutonium (primarily at the Hanford Site) for nuclear weapons. Fermi and Leo Szilard applied
for a patent on reactors on 19 December, 1944. Its issuance was delayed for 10 years because
of wartime secrecy.
"World's first nuclear power plant" is the claim made by signs at the site of the EBR-I, which
is now a museum near Arco, Idaho. This experimental LMFBR operated by the U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission produced 0.8 kW in a test on December 20, 1951 [17] and 100 kW
(electrical) the following day,[18] having a design output of 200 kW (electrical).
Besides the military uses of nuclear reactors, there were political reasons to pursue civilian
use of atomic energy. U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower made his famous Atoms for Peace
speech to the UN General Assembly on December 8, 1953. This diplomacy led to the
dissemination of reactor technology to U.S. institutions and worldwide.
The first nuclear power plant built for civil purposes was the AM-1 Obninsk Nuclear Power
Plant, launched on June 27, 1954 in the Soviet Union. It produced around 5 MW (electrical).
After World War II, the U.S. military sought other uses for nuclear reactor technology.
Research by the Army and the Air Force never came to fruition; however, the U.S. Navy
succeeded when they steamed the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) on nuclear power January 17,
1955.
The first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall in Sellafield, England was opened in
1956 with an initial capacity of 50 MW (later 200 MW)
The first portable nuclear reactor "Alco PM-2A" used to generate electrical power (2 MW)
for Camp Century from 1960.

Life cycle

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle begins when uranium is mined, enriched, and manufactured into
nuclear fuel, (1) which is delivered to a nuclear power plant. After usage in the power plant,
the spent fuel is delivered to a reprocessing plant (2) or to a final repository (3) for geological
disposition. In reprocessing 95% of spent fuel can be recycled to be returned to usage in a
power plant (4).
A nuclear reactor is only part of the life-cycle for nuclear power. The process starts with
mining (see Uranium mining). Uranium mines are underground, open-pit, or in-situ leach
mines. In any case, the uranium ore is extracted, usually converted into a stable and compact
form such as yellowcake, and then transported to a processing facility. Here, the yellowcake
is converted to uranium hexafluoride, which is then enriched using various techniques. At
this point, the enriched uranium, containing more than the natural 0.7% U-235, is used to
make rods of the proper composition and geometry for the particular reactor that the fuel is
destined for. The fuel rods will spend about 3 operational cycles (typically 6 years total now)
inside the reactor, generally until about 3% of their uranium has been fissioned, then they will
be moved to a spent fuel pool where the short lived isotopes generated by fission can decay
away. After about 5 years in a cooling pond, the spent fuel is radioactively and thermally cool
enough to handle, and it can be moved to dry storage casks or reprocessed.
Conventional fuel resources
Uranium is a fairly common element in the Earth's crust. Uranium is approximately as
common as tin or germanium in Earth's crust, and is about 35 times more common than
silver. Uranium is a constituent of most rocks, dirt, and of the oceans. The world's present
measured resources of uranium, economically recoverable at a price of 130 USD/kg, are
enough to last for "at least a century" at current consumption rates.[49][50] This represents a
higher level of assured resources than is normal for most minerals. On the basis of analogies
with other metallic minerals, a doubling of price from present levels could be expected to
create about a tenfold increase in measured resources, over time. The fuel's contribution to
the overall cost of the electricity produced is relatively small, so even a large fuel price
escalation will have relatively little effect on final price. For instance, typically a doubling of
the uranium market price would increase the fuel cost for a light water reactor by 26% and
the electricity cost about 7%, whereas doubling the price of natural gas would typically add
70% to the price of electricity from that source. At high enough prices, eventually extraction
from sources such as granite and seawater become economically feasible.
Current light water reactors make relatively inefficient use of nuclear fuel, fissioning only the
very rare uranium-235 isotope. Nuclear reprocessing can make this waste reusable and more
efficient reactor designs allow better use of the available resources.
Breeding
As opposed to current light water reactors which use uranium-235 (0.7% of all natural
uranium), fast breeder reactors use uranium-238 (99.3% of all natural uranium). It has been
estimated that there is up to five billion years’ worth of uranium-238 for use in these power
plants.
Breeder technology has been used in several reactors, but the high cost of reprocessing fuel
safely requires uranium prices of more than 200 USD/kg before becoming justified
economically. As of December 2005, the only breeder reactor producing power is BN-600 in
Beloyarsk, Russia. The electricity output of BN-600 is 600 MW — Russia has planned to
build another unit, BN-800, at Beloyarsk nuclear power plant. Also, Japan's Monju reactor is
planned for restart (having been shut down since 1995), and both China and India intend to
build breeder reactors.
Another alternative would be to use uranium-233 bred from thorium as fission fuel in the
thorium fuel cycle. Thorium is about 3.5 times as common as uranium in the Earth's crust,
and has different geographic characteristics. This would extend the total practical fissionable
resource base by 450%.[56] Unlike the breeding of U-238 into plutonium, fast breeder reactors
are not necessary — it can be performed satisfactorily in more conventional plants. India has
looked into this technology, as it has abundant thorium reserves but little uranium.
Fusion
Fusion power advocates commonly propose the use of deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, as
fuel and in many current designs also lithium. Assuming a fusion energy output equal to the
current global output and that this does not increase in the future, then the known current
lithium reserves would last 3000 years, lithium from sea water would last 60 million years,
and a more complicated fusion process using only deuterium from sea water would have fuel
for 150 billion years.
Water
Like all forms of power generation using steam turbines, Nuclear power plants use large
amounts of water for cooling. At Sellafield, which is no longer producing electricity, a
maximum of 18,184.4 m³ a day (over 4 million gallons) and 6,637,306 m³ a year (figures
from the Environment Agency) of fresh water from Wast Water is still abstracted to use on
site for various processes. As with most power plants, two-thirds of the energy produced by a
nuclear power plant goes into waste heat (see Carnot cycle), and that heat is carried away
from the plant in the water (which remains uncontaminated by radioactivity). The emitted
water either is sent into cooling towers where it goes up and is emitted as water droplets
(literally a cloud) or is discharged into large bodies of water — cooling ponds, lakes, rivers,
or oceans.[58] Droughts can pose a severe problem by causing the source of cooling water to
run out.
The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station near Phoenix, AZ is the only nuclear generating
facility in the world that is not located adjacent to a large body of water. Instead, it uses
treated sewage from several nearby municipalities to meet its cooling water needs, recycling
20 billion US gallons (76,000,000 m³) of wastewater each year.
Like conventional power plants, nuclear power plants generate large quantities of waste heat
which is expelled in the condenser, following the turbine. Colocation of plants that can take
advantage of this thermal energy has been suggested by Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) as a way to take advantage of process synergy for added energy efficiency. One
example would be to use the power plant steam to produce hydrogen from water. The
hydrogen would cost less, and the nuclear power plant would exhaust less heat into the
atmosphere and water vapor, which is a short-lived greenhouse gas.
Solid waste.
The safe storage and disposal of nuclear waste is a significant challenge. The most important
waste stream from nuclear power plants is spent fuel. A large nuclear reactor produces 3
cubic metres (25–30 tonnes) of spent fuel each year.[62] It is primarily composed of
unconverted uranium as well as significant quantities of transuranic actinides (plutonium and
curium, mostly). In addition, about 3% of it is made of fission products. The actinides
(uranium, plutonium, and curium) are responsible for the bulk of the long term radioactivity,
whereas the fission products are responsible for the bulk of the short term radioactivity.
High level radioactive waste
Spent fuel is highly radioactive and needs to be handled with great care and forethought.
However, spent nuclear fuel becomes less radioactive over time. After 40 years, the radiation
flux is 99.9% lower than it was the moment the spent fuel was removed, although still
dangerously radioactive.
Spent fuel rods are stored in shielded basins of water (spent fuel pools), usually located on-
site. The water provides both cooling for the still-decaying fission products, and shielding
from the continuing radioactivity. After a few decades some on-site storage involves moving
the now cooler, less radioactive fuel to a dry-storage facility or dry cask storage, where the
fuel is stored in steel and concrete containers until its radioactivity decreases naturally
("decays") to levels safe enough for other processing. This interim stage spans years or
decades, depending on the type of fuel. Most U.S. waste is currently stored in temporary
storage sites requiring oversight, while suitable permanent disposal methods are discussed.
As of 2007, the United States had accumulated more than 50,000 metric tons of spent nuclear
fuel from nuclear reactors. Underground storage at Yucca Mountain in U.S. has been
proposed as permanent storage. After 10,000 years of radioactive decay, according to United
States Environmental Protection Agency standards, the spent nuclear fuel will no longer pose
a threat to public health and safety.
The amount of waste can be reduced in several ways, particularly reprocessing. Even so, the
remaining waste will be substantially radioactive for at least 300 years even if the actinides
are removed, and for up to thousands of years if the actinides are left in. Even with separation
of all actinides, and using fast breeder reactors to destroy by transmutation some of the
longer-lived non-actinides as well, the waste must be segregated from the environment for
one to a few hundred years, and therefore this is properly categorized as a long-term problem.
Subcritical reactors or fusion reactors could also reduce the time the waste has to be stored. It
has been argued that the best solution for the nuclear waste is above ground temporary
storage since technology is rapidly changing. The current waste may well become a valuable
resource in the future.
France is one of the world's most densely populated countries. According to a 2007 story
broadcast on 60 Minutes, nuclear power gives France the cleanest air of any industrialized
country, and the cheapest electricity in all of Europe. France reprocesses its nuclear waste to
reduce its mass and make more energy. However, the article continues, "Today we stock
containers of waste because currently scientists don't know how to reduce or eliminate the
toxicity, but maybe in 100 years perhaps scientists will ... Nuclear waste is an enormously
difficult political problem which to date no country has solved. It is, in a sense, the Achilles
heel of the nuclear industry ... If France is unable to solve this issue, says Mandil, then 'I do
not see how we can continue our nuclear program.Further, reprocessing itself has its critics,
such as the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Low-level radioactive waste
The nuclear industry also produces a volume of low-level radioactive waste in the form of
contaminated items like clothing, hand tools, water purifier resins, and (upon
decommissioning) the materials of which the reactor itself is built. In the United States, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission has repeatedly attempted to allow low-level materials to be
handled as normal waste: landfilled, recycled into consumer items, et cetera. Most low-level
waste releases very low levels of radioactivity and is only considered radioactive waste
because of its history. For example, according to the standards of the NRC, the radiation
released by coffee is enough to treat it as low level waste.
Comparing radioactive waste to industrial toxic waste
In countries with nuclear power, radioactive wastes comprise less than 1% of total industrial
toxic wastes, which remain hazardous indefinitely unless they decompose or are treated so
that they are less toxic or, ideally, completely non-toxic.[53] Overall, nuclear power produces
far less waste material than fossil-fuel based power plants. Coal-burning plants are
particularly noted for producing large amounts of toxic and mildly radioactive ash due to
concentrating naturally occurring metals and radioactive material from the coal. Contrary to
popular belief, coal power actually results in more radioactive waste being released into the
environment than nuclear power. The population effective dose equivalent from radiation
from coal plants is 100 times as much as nuclear plants.
Reprocessing
Reprocessing can potentially recover up to 95% of the remaining uranium and plutonium in
spent nuclear fuel, putting it into new mixed oxide fuel. This produces a reduction in long
term radioactivity within the remaining waste, since this is largely short-lived fission
products, and reduces its volume by over 90%. Reprocessing of civilian fuel from power
reactors is currently done on large scale in Britain, France and (formerly) Russia, soon will be
done in China and perhaps India, and is being done on an expanding scale in Japan. The full
potential of reprocessing has not been achieved because it requires breeder reactors, which
are not yet commercially available. France is generally cited as the most successful
reprocessor, but it presently only recycles 28% (by mass) of the yearly fuel use, 7% within
France and another 21% in Russia.
Unlike other countries, the US stopped civilian reprocessing from 1976 to 1981 as one part of
US non-proliferation policy, since reprocessed material such as plutonium could be used in
nuclear weapons: however, reprocessing is now allowed in the U.S. Even so, in the U.S.
spent nuclear fuel is currently all treated as waste.
In February, 2006, a new U.S. initiative, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership was
announced. It would be an international effort to reprocess fuel in a manner making nuclear
proliferation unfeasible, while making nuclear power available to developing countries.
Depleted uranium
Uranium enrichment produces many tons of depleted uranium (DU) which consists of U-238
with most of the easily fissile U-235 isotope removed. U-238 is a tough metal with several
commercial uses — for example, aircraft production, radiation shielding, and armor — as it
has a higher density than lead. Depleted uranium is also useful in munitions as DU
penetrators (bullets or APFSDS tips) 'self sharpen', due to uranium's tendency to fracture
along adiabatic shear bands.
There are concerns that U-238 may lead to health problems in groups exposed to this material
excessively, like tank crews and civilians living in areas where large quantities of DU
ammunition have been used. In January 2003 the World Health Organization released a
report finding that contamination from DU munitions were localized to a few tens of meters
from the impact sites and contamination of local vegetation and water was 'extremely low'.
The report also states that approximately 70% of ingested DU will leave the body after
twenty four hours and 90% after a few days.

Nuclear reactor technology

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Core of CROCUS, a small nuclear reactor used for research at the EPFL in Switzerland.
This article is a subarticle of Nuclear power.
A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and
sustained at a steady rate, as opposed to a nuclear bomb, in which the chain reaction occurs in
a fraction of a second and is uncontrolled causing an explosion.
The most significant use of nuclear reactors is as an energy source for the generation of
electrical power (see Nuclear power) and for the power in some ships (see Nuclear marine
propulsion). This is usually accomplished by methods that involve using heat from the
nuclear reaction to power steam turbines. There are also other less common uses as discussed
below.

How it works

An induced nuclear fission event. A neutron is absorbed by the nucleus of a uranium-235

atom, which in turn splits into fast-moving lighter elements (fission products) and free
neutrons.
The physics of operating a nuclear reactor are explained in Nuclear reactor physics.
Just as many conventional thermal power stations generate electricity by harnessing the
thermal energy released from burning fossil fuels, nuclear power plants convert the thermal
energy released from nuclear fission.
Reactor
The reactor is used to convert nuclear (inaccurately also known as 'atomic') energy into heat.
While a reactor could be one in which heat is produced by fusion or radioactive decay, this
description focuses on the basic principles of the fission reactor.
Fission
When a relatively large fissile atomic nucleus (usually uranium-235 or plutonium-239)
absorbs a neutron it is likely to undergo nuclear fission. The original heavy nucleus splits into
two or more lighter nuclei also releasing kinetic energy, gamma radiation and free neutrons;
collectively known as fission products.[1] A portion of these neutrons may later be absorbed
by other fissile atoms and trigger further fission events, which release more neutrons, and so
on.
The nuclear chain reaction can be controlled by using neutron poisons and neutron
moderators to change the portion of neutrons that will go on to cause more fissions. In
nuclear engineering, a neutron moderator is a medium which reduces the velocity of fast
neutrons, thereby turning them into thermal neutrons capable of sustaining a nuclear chain
reaction involving uranium-235.
Commonly used moderators include regular (light) water (75% of the world's reactors), solid
graphite (20% of reactors) and heavy water (5% of reactors).[1] Beryllium has also been used
in some experimental types, and hydrocarbons have been suggested as another possibility.[2]
Increasing or decreasing the rate of fission will also increase or decrease the energy output of
the reactor.
Heat Generation
The reactor core generates heat in a number of ways:
 The kinetic energy of fission products is converted to thermal energy when these
nuclei collide with nearby atoms.
 Some of the gamma rays produced during fission are absorbed by the reactor in the
form of heat.
 Heat produced by the radioactive decay of fission products and materials that have
been activated by neutron absorption. This decay heat source will remain for some
time even after the reactor is shutdown.
 The heat power generated by the nuclear reaction is 1,000,000 times that of the equal
amount of coal.
Cooling
A cooling source - often water but sometimes a liquid metal - is circulated past the reactor
core to absorb the heat that it generates. The heat is carried away from the reactor and is then
used to generate steam. Most reactor systems employ a cooling system that is physically
separate from the water that will be boiled to produce pressurized steam for the turbines, but
in some reactors the water for the steam turbines is boiled directly by the reactor core.[3]
Reactivity control
The power output of the reactor is controlled by controlling how many neutrons are able to
create more fissions.
Control rods that are made of a nuclear poison are used to absorb neutrons. Absorbing more
neutrons in a control rod means that there are fewer neutrons available to cause fission, so
pushing the control rod deeper into the reactor will reduce its power output, and extracting
the control rod will increase it.
In some reactors, the coolant also acts as a neutron moderator. A moderator increases the
power of the reactor by causing the fast neutrons that are released from fission to lose energy
and become thermal neutrons. Thermal neutrons are more likely than fast neutrons to cause
fission, so more neutron moderation means more power output from the reactors. If the
coolant is a moderator, then temperature changes can affect the density of the
coolant/moderator and therefore change power output. A higher temperature coolant would
be less dense, and therefore a less effective moderator.
In other reactors the coolant acts as a poison by absorbing neutrons in the same way that the
control rods do. In these reactors power output can be increased by heating the coolant, which
makes it a less dense poison.
Nuclear reactors generally have automatic and manual systems to insert large amounts of
poison (boron) into the reactor to shut the fission reaction down if unsafe conditions are
detected.[4]
Electrical power generation
The energy released in the fission process generates heat, some of which can be converted
into usable energy. A common method of harnessing this thermal energy is to use it to boil
water to produce pressurized steam which will then drive a steam turbine that generates
electricity.[4]

Components

The control room of NC State's Pulstar Nuclear Reactor.

The key components common to most types of nuclear power plants are:
 Nuclear fuel
 Nuclear reactor core
 Neutron moderator
 Neutron poison
 Coolant (often the Neutron Moderator and the Coolant are the same, usually both
purified water)
 Control rods
 Reactor vessel
 Boiler feedwater pump
 Steam generators (not in BWRs)
 Steam turbine
 Electrical generator
 Condenser
 Cooling tower (not always required)
 Radwaste System (a section of the plant handling radioactive waste)
 Refueling Floor
 Spent fuel pool
 Reactor Protective System (RPS)
 Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCS)
 Standby Liquid Control System (emergency boron injection, in BWRs only)
 Containment building
 Control room
 Emergency Operations Facility

The people in a nuclear power plant

Nuclear power plants typically employ just under a thousand people per reactor (including
security guards and engineers associateed with the plant but working elsewhere).
  Nuclear engineers
 Reactor operators
 Health physicists
In the United States and Canada, all non-management and non-security workers may be
members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers or the Utility Workers Union
of America (AFL-CIO).
Seniority maybe used to bid to higher paying work. The IBEW and IUWUA do not have a
mandatory retirement age. This differs from workers that manage air traffic. FAA has a
mandatory retirement age of 56 for Air_traffic_controllers who manage air traff, "The
Nuclear Tourist", section on "Operation of a nuclear power plant", sub-section on
"Operations".
Reactor types

NC State's PULSTAR Reactor is a 1 MW pool-type research reactor with 4% enriched, pin-

type fuel consisting of UO2 pellets in zircaloy cladding.
Classifications
Nuclear Reactors are classified by several methods; a brief outline of these classification
schemes is provided.
Classification by type of nuclear reaction
 Nuclear fission. Most reactors, and all commercial ones, are based on nuclear fission.
They generally use uranium as fuel, but research on using thorium is ongoing (an
example is the liquid fluoride reactor). This article assumes that the technology is
nuclear fission unless otherwise stated. Fission reactors can be divided roughly into
two classes, depending on the energy of the neutrons that are used to sustain the
fission chain reaction:
o Thermal reactors use slow or thermal neutrons. Most power reactors are of this
type. These are characterized by neutron moderator materials that slow
neutrons until they approach the average kinetic energy of the surrounding
particles, that is, until they are thermalized. Thermal neutrons have a far
higher probability of fissioning uranium-235, and a lower probability of
capture by uranium-238 than the faster neutrons that result from fission. As
well as the moderator, thermal reactors have fuel (fissionable material),
containments, pressure vessels, shielding, and instrumentation to monitor and
control the reactor's systems.
 o Fast neutron reactors use fast neutrons to sustain the fission chain reaction.
They are characterized by an absence of moderating material. Initiating the
chain reaction requires enriched uranium (and/or enrichment with plutonium
239), due to the lower probability of fissioning U-235, and a higher probability
of capture by U-238 (as compared to a moderated, thermal neutron). Fast
reactors have the potential to produce less transuranic waste because all
actinides are fissionable with fast neutrons,[6] but they are more difficult to
build and more expensive to operate. Overall, fast reactors are less common
than thermal reactors in most applications. Some early power stations were
fast reactors, as are some Russian naval propulsion units. Construction of
prototypes is continuing (see fast breeder or generation IV reactors).
 Nuclear fusion. Fusion power is an experimental technology, generally with hydrogen
as fuel. While not currently suitable for power production, Farnsworth-Hirsch fusors
are used to produce neutron radiation.
 Radioactive decay. Examples include radioisotope thermoelectric generators and
atomic batteries, which generate heat and power by exploiting passive radioactive
decay.
Classification by moderator material
Used by thermal reactors:
 Graphite moderated reactors
 Water moderated reactors
o Heavy water reactors
o Light water moderated reactors (LWRs). Light water reactors use ordinary
water to moderate and cool the reactors. When at operating temperature, if the
temperature of the water increases, its density drops, and fewer neutrons
passing through it are slowed enough to trigger further reactions. That
negative feedback stabilizes the reaction rate. Graphite and heavy water
reactors tend to be more thoroughly thermalised than light water reactors. Due
to the extra thermalization, these types can use natural uranium/unenriched
fuel.
 Light element moderated reactors. These reactors are moderated by lithium or
beryllium.
o Molten salt reactors (MSRs) are moderated by a light elements such as lithium
or beryllium, which are constituents of the coolant/fuel matrix salts LiF and
BeF2.
o Liquid metal cooled reactors, such as one whose coolant is a mixture of Lead
and Bismuth, may use BeO as a moderator.
 Organically moderated reactors (OMR) use biphenyl and terphenyl as moderator and
coolant.
Classification by coolant
In thermal nuclear reactors (LWRs in specific), the coolant acts as a moderator that must slow
down the neutrons before they can be efficiently absorbed by the fuel.
 Water cooled reactor
o Pressurized water reactor (PWR)
 A primary characteristic of PWRs is a pressurizer, a specialized
pressure vessel. Most commercial PWRs and naval reactors use
pressurizers. During normal operation, a pressurizer is partially filled
with water, and a steam bubble is maintained above it by heating the
water with submerged heaters. During normal operation, the
pressurizer is connected to the primary reactor pressure vessel (RPV)
and the pressurizer "bubble" provides an expansion space for changes
in water volume in the reactor. This arrangement also provides a means
of pressure control for the reactor by increasing or decreasing the
steam pressure in the pressurizer using the pressurizer heaters.
 Pressurised channels. Channel-type reactors can be refueled under
load.
o Boiling water reactor (BWR)
 BWRs are characterized by boiling water around the fuel rods in the
lower portion of primary reactor pressure vessel. During normal
operation, pressure control is accomplished by controlling the amount
of steam flowing from the reactor pressure vessel to the turbine.
o Pool-type reactor
 Liquid metal cooled reactor. Since water is a moderator, it cannot be used as a coolant
in a fast reactor. Liquid metal coolants have included sodium, NaK, lead, lead-
bismuth eutectic, and in early reactors, mercury.
o Sodium-cooled fast reactor
o Lead-cooled fast reactor
 Gas cooled reactors are cooled by a circulating inert gas, usually helium. Nitrogen and
carbon dioxide have also been used. Utilization of the heat varies, depending on the
reactor. Some reactors run hot enough that the gas can directly power a gas turbine.
Older designs usually run the gas through a heat exchanger to make steam for a steam
turbine.
 Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) are cooled by circulating a molten salt, typically a
eutectic mixture of fluoride salts, such as LiF and BeF2. In a typical MSR, the coolant
is also used a matrix in which the fissile material is dissolved.
Classification by generation
 Generation I reactor
 Generation II reactor
 Generation III reactor
 Generation IV reactor
The "Gen IV"-term was dubbed by the DOE for developing new plant types in 2000.[7] In
2003 the French CEA was the first to refer to Gen II types in Nucleonics Week; "Etienne
Pochon, CEA director of nuclear industry support, outlined EPR's improved performance and
enhanced safety features compared to the advanced Generation II designs on which it was
based.".[8] First mentioning of Gen III was also in 2000 in conjunction with the launch of the
GIF plans.
Classification by phase of fuel
 Solid fueled
 Fluid fueled
  Gas fueled
Classification by use
 Electricity
o Nuclear power plants
 Propulsion, see nuclear propulsion
o Nuclear marine propulsion
o Various proposed forms of rocket propulsion
 Other uses of heat
o Desalination
o Heat for domestic and industrial heating
o Hydrogen production for use in a hydrogen economy
 Production reactors for transmutation of elements
o Breeder reactors. Fast breeder reactors are capable of enriching Uranium
during the fission chain reaction (by converting fertile U-238 to Pu-239)
which allows an operational fast reactor to generate more fissile material than
it consumes. Thus, a breeder reactor, once running, can be refueled with
natural or even depleted uranium.[9]
o Creating various radioactive isotopes, such as americium for use in smoke
detectors, and cobalt-60, molybdenum-99 and others, used for imaging and
medical treatment.
o Production of materials for nuclear weapons such as weapons-grade plutonium
 Providing a source of neutron radiation (for example with the pulsed Godiva device)
and positron radiation[clarification needed]) (e.g. neutron activation analysis and potassium-
argon dating[clarification needed])
 Research reactor: Typically reactors used for research and training, materials testing,
or the production of radioisotopes for medicine and industry. These are much smaller
than power reactors or those propelling ships, and many are on university campuses.
There are about 280 such reactors operating, in 56 countries. Some operate with high-
enriched uranium fuel, and international efforts are underway to substitute low-
enriched fuel.
 Current technologies
There are two types of nuclear power in current use:
 The Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
These systems produces heat through passive radioactive decay. Some radioisotope
thermoelectric generators have been created to power space probes (for example, the
Cassini probe), some lighthouses in the former Soviet Union, and some pacemakers.
The heat output of these generators diminishes with time; the heat is converted to
electricity utilising the thermoelectric effect.
 Nuclear fission reactors
The nuclear fission reactor produces heat through a controlled nuclear chain reaction
in a critical mass of fissile material. All current nuclear power plants are critical
fission reactors, which are the focus of this article. The output of fission reactors is
controllable. There are several subtypes of critical fission reactors, which can be
classified as Generation I, Generation II and Generation III. All reactors will be
compared to the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), as that is the standard modern
reactor design.
Diablo Canyon - a PWR
o Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR)
These reactors use a pressure vessel to contain the nuclear fuel, control rods,
moderator, and coolant. They are cooled and moderated by high pressure liquid water.
The hot radioactive water that leaves the pressure vessel is looped through a steam
generator, which in turn heats a secondary (non-radioactive) loop of water to steam
that can run turbines. They are the majority of current reactors, and are generally
considered the safest and most reliable technology currently in large scale
deployment.[citation needed] This is a thermal neutron reactor design, the newest of which
are the Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor and the European Pressurized Reactor.
United States Naval reactors are of this type.

Laguna Verde nuclear power plant - a BWR

o Boiling Water Reactors (BWR)
A BWR is like a PWR without the steam generator. A boiling water reactor is cooled
and moderated by water like a PWR, but at a lower pressure, which allows the water
to boil inside the pressure vessel producing the steam that runs the turbines. Unlike a
PWR, there is no primary and secondary loop. The thermal efficiency of these
reactors can be higher, and they can be simpler, and even potentially more stable and
safe. This is a thermal neutron reactor design, the newest of which are the Advanced
Boiling Water Reactor and the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor.

The CANDU Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant

o Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)
A Canadian design, (known as CANDU) these reactors are heavy-water-cooled and
-moderated Pressurized-Water reactors. Instead of using a single large pressure vessel
as in a PWR, the fuel is contained in hundreds of pressure tubes. These reactors are
fueled with natural uranium and are thermal neutron reactor designs. PHWRs can be
refueled while at full power, which makes them very efficient in their use of uranium
(it allows for precise flux control in the core). CANDU PHWR's have been built in
Canada, Argentina, China, India (pre-NPT), Pakistan (pre-NPT), Romania, and South
Korea. India also operates a number of PHWR's, often termed 'CANDU-derivatives',
built after the Government of Canada halted nuclear dealings with India following the
1974 Smiling Buddha nuclear weapon test.

The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant - a still operating RBMK

o Reaktor Bolshoy Moshchnosti Kanalniy (High Power Channel Reactor)
(RBMK)
A Soviet Union design, built to produce plutonium as well as power. RBMKs are
water cooled with a graphite moderator. RBMKs are in some respects similar to
CANDU in that they are refuelable during power operation and employ a pressure
tube design instead of a PWR-style pressure vessel. However, unlike CANDU they
are very unstable and too large to have containment buildings, making them
dangerous in the case of an accident. A series of critical safety flaws have also been
identified with the RBMK design, though some of these were corrected following the
Chernobyl accident. RBMK reactors are generally considered one of the most
dangerous reactor designs in use. The Chernobyl plant had four RBMK reactors.
Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor
These are generally graphite moderated and CO2 cooled. They can have a high thermal
efficiency compared with PWRs due to higher operating temperatures. There are a
number of operating reactors of this design, mostly in the United Kingdom, where the
concept was developed. Older designs (i.e. Magnox stations) are either shut down or
will be in the near future. However, the AGCRs have an anticipated life of a further
10 to 20 years. This is a thermal neutron reactor design. Decommissioning costs can
be high due to large volume of reactor core.
o Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR)
This is a reactor design that is cooled by liquid metal, totally unmoderated, and
produces more fuel than it consumes. They are said to "breed" fuel, because they
produce fissionable fuel during operation because of neutron capture. These reactors
can function much like a PWR in terms of efficiency, and do not require much high
pressure containment, as the liquid metal does not need to be kept at high pressure,
even at very high temperatures. Superphénix in France was a reactor of this type, as
was Fermi-I in the United States. The Monju reactor in Japan suffered a sodium leak
in 1995 and was approved for restart in 2008. All three use/used liquid sodium. These
reactors are fast neutron, not thermal neutron designs. These reactors come in two
types:
 The Superphenix, one of the few FBRs
 Lead cooled
Using lead as the liquid metal provides excellent radiation shielding, and allows for
operation at very high temperatures. Also, lead is (mostly) transparent to neutrons, so
fewer neutrons are lost in the coolant, and the coolant does not become radioactive.
Unlike sodium, lead is mostly inert, so there is less risk of explosion or accident, but
such large quantities of lead may be problematic from toxicology and disposal points
of view. Often a reactor of this type would use a lead-bismuth eutectic mixture. In this
case, the bismuth would present some minor radiation problems, as it is not quite as
transparent to neutrons, and can be transmuted to a radioactive isotope more readily
than lead.
 Sodium cooled
Most LMFBRs are of this type. The sodium is relatively easy to obtain and work with,
and it also manages to actually prevent corrosion on the various reactor parts
immersed in it. However, sodium explodes violently when exposed to water, so care
must be taken, but such explosions wouldn't be vastly more violent than (for example)
a leak of superheated fluid from a SCWR or PWR. EBR-I, the first reactor to have a
core meltdown, was of this type.
o Aqueous Homogeneous Reactor

Future and developing technologies

Advanced reactors
More than a dozen advanced reactor designs are in various stages of development.[11] Some
are evolutionary from the PWR, BWR and PHWR designs above, some are more radical
departures. The former include the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), two of which
are now operating with others under construction, and the planned passively safe ESBWR
and AP1000 units (see Nuclear Power 2010 Program).
 The Integral Fast Reactor was built, tested and evaluated during the 1980s and then
retired under the Clinton administration in the 1990s due to nuclear non-proliferation
policies of the administration. Recycling spent fuel is the core of its design and it
therefore produces only a fraction of the waste of current reactors.[12]
 The Pebble Bed Reactor, a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGCR), is
designed so high temperatures reduce power output by doppler broadening of the
fuel's neutron cross-section. It uses ceramic fuels so its safe operating temperatures
exceed the power-reduction temperature range. Most designs are cooled by inert
helium. Helium is not subject to steam explosions, resists neutron absorption leading
to radioactivity, and does not dissolve contaminants that can become radioactive.
Typical designs have more layers (up to 7) of passive containment than light water
reactors (usually 3). A unique feature that may aid safety is that the fuel-balls actually
form the core's mechanism, and are replaced one-by-one as they age. The design of
the fuel makes fuel reprocessing expensive.
  SSTAR, Small, Sealed, Transportable, Autonomous Reactor is being primarily
researched and developed in the US, intended as a fast breeder reactor that is
passively safe and could be remotely shut down in case the suspicion arises that it is
being tampered with.
 The Clean And Environmentally Safe Advanced Reactor (CAESAR) is a nuclear
reactor concept that uses steam as a moderator - this design is still in development.
 Subcritical reactors are designed to be safer and more stable, but pose a number of
engineering and economic difficulties. One example is the Energy amplifier.
 Thorium based reactors. It is possible to convert Thorium-232 into U-233 in reactors
specially designed for the purpose. In this way, Thorium, which is more plentiful than
uranium, can be used to breed U-233 nuclear fuel. U-233 is also believed to have
favourable nuclear properties as compared to traditionally used U-235, including
better neutron economy and lower production of long lived transuranic waste.
o Advanced Heavy Water Reactor — A proposed heavy water moderated
nuclear power reactor that will be the next generation design of the PHWR
type. Under development in the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
o KAMINI — A unique reactor using Uranium-233 isotope for fuel. Built by
BARC and IGCAR Uses thorium.
o India is also building a bigger scale FBTR or fast breeder thorium reactor to
harness the power with the use of thorium.
Generation IV reactors
Generation IV reactors are a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being
researched. These designs are generally not expected to be available for commercial
construction before 2030. Current reactors in operation around the world are generally
considered second- or third-generation systems, with the first-generation systems having been
retired some time ago. Research into these reactor types was officially started by the
Generation IV International Forum (GIF) based on eight technology goals. The primary goals
being to improve nuclear safety, improve proliferation resistance, minimize waste and natural
resource utilization, and to decrease the cost to build and run such plants.[13]
 Gas cooled fast reactor
 Lead cooled fast reactor
 Molten salt reactor
 Sodium-cooled fast reactor
 Supercritical water reactor
 Very high temperature reactor
Generation V+ reactors
Designs which are theoretically possible, but which are not being actively considered or
researched at present. Though such reactors could be built with current or near term
technology, they trigger little interest for reasons of economics, practicality, or safety.
 Liquid Core reactor. A closed loop liquid core nuclear reactor, where the fissile
material is molten uranium cooled by a working gas pumped in through holes in the
base of the containment vessel.
 Gas core reactor. A closed loop version of the nuclear lightbulb rocket, where the
fissile material is gaseous uranium-hexafluoride contained in a fused silica vessel. A
working gas (such as hydrogen) would flow around this vessel and absorb the UV
light produced by the reaction. In theory, using UF6 as a working fuel directly (rather
than as a stage to one, as is done now) would mean lower processing costs, and very
small reactors. In practice, running a reactor at such high power densities would
probably produce unmanageable neutron flux.
  Gas core EM reactor. As in the Gas Core reactor, but with photovoltaic arrays
converting the UV light directly to electricity.
 Fission fragment reactor
Fusion reactors
Controlled nuclear fusion could in principle be used in fusion power plants to produce power
without the complexities of handling actinides, but significant scientific and technical
obstacles remain. Several fusion reactors have been built, but as yet none has 'produced' more
thermal energy than electrical energy consumed. Despite research having started in the 1950s,
no commercial fusion reactor is expected before 2050. The ITER project is currently leading
the effort to commercialize fusion power.

Nuclear fuel cycle

Thermal reactors generally depend on refined and enriched uranium. Some nuclear reactors
can operate with a mixture of plutonium and uranium (see MOX). The process by which
uranium ore is mined, processed, enriched, used, possibly reprocessed and disposed of is
known as the nuclear fuel cycle.
Under 1% of the uranium found in nature is the easily fissionable U-235 isotope and as a
result most reactor designs require enriched fuel. Enrichment involves increasing the
percentage of U-235 and is usually done by means of gaseous diffusion or gas centrifuge. The
enriched result is then converted into uranium dioxide powder, which is pressed and fired
into pellet form. These pellets are stacked into tubes which are then sealed and called fuel
rods. Many of these fuel rods are used in each nuclear reactor.
Most BWR and PWR commercial reactors use uranium enriched to about 4% U-235, and
some commercial reactors with a high neutron economy do not require the fuel to be enriched
at all (that is, they can use natural uranium). According to the International Atomic Energy
Agency there are at least 100 research reactors in the world fueled by highly enriched
(weapons-grade/90% enrichment uranium). Theft risk of this fuel (potentially used in the
production of a nuclear weapon) has led to campaigns advocating conversion of this type of
reactor to low-enrichment uranium (which poses less threat of proliferation)
It should be noted that fissionable U-235 and non-fissionable U-238 are both used in the
fission process. U-235 is fissionable by thermal (i.e. slow-moving) neutrons. A thermal
neutron is one which is moving about the same speed as the atoms around it. Since all atoms
vibrate proportionally to their absolute temperature, a thermal neutron has the best
opportunity to fission U-235 when it is moving at this same vibrational speed. On the other
hand, U-238 is more likely to capture a neutron when the neutron is moving very fast. This
U-239 atom will soon decay into plutonium-239, which is another fuel. Pu-239 is a viable
fuel and must be accounted for even when a highly enriched uranium fuel is used. Plutonium
fissions will dominate the U-235 fissions in some reactors, especially after the initial loading
of U-235 is spent. Plutonium is fissionable with both fast and thermal neutrons, which make
it ideal for either nuclear reactors or nuclear bombs.
Most reactor designs in existence are thermal reactors and typically use water as a neutron
moderator (moderator means that it slows down the neutron to a thermal speed) and as a
coolant. But in a fast breeder reactor, some other kind of coolant is used which will not
moderate or slow the neutrons down much. This enables fast neutrons to dominate, which can
effectively be used to constantly replenish the fuel supply. By merely placing cheap
unenriched uranium into such a core, the non-fissionable U-238 will be turned into Pu-239,
"breeding" fuel.
Fueling of nuclear reactors
The amount of energy in the reservoir of nuclear fuel is frequently expressed in terms of
"full-power days," which is the number of 24-hour periods (days) a reactor is scheduled for
operation at full power output for the generation of heat energy. The number of full-power
days in a reactor's operating cycle (between refueling outage times) is related to the amount
of fissile uranium-235 (U-235) contained in the fuel assemblies at the beginning of the cycle.
A higher percentage of U-235 in the core at the beginning of a cycle will permit the reactor to
be run for a greater number of full-power days.
At the end of the operating cycle, the fuel in some of the assemblies is "spent" and is
discharged and replaced with new (fresh) fuel assemblies, although in practice it is the
buildup of reaction poisons in nuclear fuel that determines the lifetime of nuclear fuel in a
reactor. Long before all possible fission has taken place, the buildup of long-lived neutron
absorbing fission byproducts impedes the chain reaction. The fraction of the reactor's fuel
core replaced during refueling is typically one-fourth for a boiling-water reactor and one-third
for a pressurized-water reactor.
Not all reactors need to be shut down for refueling; for example, pebble bed reactors, RBMK
reactors, molten salt reactors, Magnox, AGR and CANDU reactors allow fuel to be shifted
through the reactor while it is running. In a CANDU reactor, this also allows individual fuel
elements to be situated within the reactor core that are best suited to the amount of U-235 in
the fuel element.
The amount of energy extracted from nuclear fuel is called its "burn up," which is expressed
in terms of the heat energy produced per initial unit of fuel weight. Burn up is commonly
expressed as megawatt days thermal per metric ton of initial heavy metal.

Natural nuclear reactors

Although nuclear fission reactors are often thought of as being solely a product of modern
technology, the first nuclear fission reactors were in fact naturally occurring. A natural
nuclear fission reactor can occur under certain circumstances that mimic the conditions in a
constructed reactor.[22] Fifteen natural fission reactors have so far been found in three separate
ore deposits at the Oklo mine in Gabon, West Africa. First discovered in 1972 by French
physicist Francis Perrin, they are collectively known as the Oklo Fossil Reactors. Self-
sustaining nuclear fission reactions took place in these reactors approximately 1.5 billion
years ago, and ran for a few hundred thousand years, averaging 100 kW of power output
during that time.[23] The concept of a natural nuclear reactor was theorized as early as 1956 by
Paul Kuroda at the University of Arkansas.
Such reactors can no longer form on Earth: radioactive decay over this immense time span
has reduced the proportion of U-235 in naturally occurring uranium to below the amount
required to sustain a chain reaction.
The natural nuclear reactors formed when a uranium-rich mineral deposit became inundated
with groundwater that acted as a neutron moderator, and a strong chain reaction took place.
The water moderator would boil away as the reaction increased, slowing it back down again
and preventing a meltdown. The fission reaction was sustained for hundreds of thousands of
years.
These natural reactors are extensively studied by scientists interested in geologic radioactive
waste disposal. They offer a case study of how radioactive isotopes migrate through the
earth's crust. This is a significant area of controversy as opponents of geologic waste disposal
fear that isotopes from stored waste could end up in water supplies or be carried into the
environment.

Future of the industry

Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County, California, USA
As of 2007, Watts Bar 1, which came on-line in February 7, 1996, was the last U.S.
commercial nuclear reactor to go on-line. This is often quoted as evidence of a successful
worldwide campaign for There is a possible impediment to production of nuclear power
plants, due to a backlog at Japan Steel Works, the only factory in the world able to
manufacture the central part of a nuclear reactor's containment vessel in a single piece, which
reduces the risk of a radiation leak. The company can only make four per year of the steel
forgings. It will double its capacity in the next two years, but still will not be able to meet
current global demand alone. Utilities across the world are submitting orders years in advance
of any actual need. Other manufacturers are examining various options, including making the
component themselves, or finding ways to make a similar item using alternate methods.
Other solutions include using designs that do not require single piece forged pressure vessles
such as Canada's Advanced CANDU Reactors or Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors.
Other companies able to make the large forgings required for reactor pressure vessels
include: Russia's OMZ, which is upgrading to be able to manufacture three or four pressure
vessels per year; South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries; and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,
which is doubling capacity for reactor pressure vessels and other large nuclear components.
The UK's Sheffield Forgemasters is evaluating the benefit of tooling-up for nuclear forging
work.
A 2007 status report from the anti-nuclear European Greens claimed that, "even if Finland
and France build a European Pressurized water Reactor (EPR), China started an additional 20
plants and Japan, Korea or Eastern Europe added one or the other plant, the overall global
trend for nuclear power capacity will most likely be downwards over the next two or three
decades. With extremely long lead times of 10 years and more [for plant construction], it is
practically impossible to increase or even maintain the number of operating nuclear power
plants over the next 20 years, unless operating lifetimes would be substantially increased
beyond 40 years on average." In fact, China plans to build more than 100 plants, while in the
US the licenses of almost half its reactors have already been extended to 60 years, and plans
to build more than 30 new ones are under consideration. In 2008, the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) predicted that nuclear power capacity could double by 2030, though
that would not be enough to increase nuclear's share of electricity generation.
However, political resistance to nuclear power has only ever been successful in New
Zealand, parts of Europe, and the Philippines. Even in the U.S. and throughout Europe,
investment in research and in the nuclear fuel cycle has continued, and some experts[29]
predict that electricity shortages, fossil fuel price increases, global warming and heavy metal
emissions from fossil fuel use, new technology such as passively safe plants, and national
energy security will renew the demand for nuclear power plants.
According to the World Nuclear Association, globally during the 1980s one new nuclear
reactor started up every 17 days on average, and by the year 2015 this rate could increase to
one every 5 days.
Many countries remain active in developing nuclear power, including Japan, China and India,
all actively developing both fast and thermal technology, South Korea and the United States,
developing thermal technology only, and South Africa and China, developing versions of the
Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR). Several EU member states actively pursue nuclear
programs, while some other member states continue to have a ban for the nuclear energy use.
Japan has an active nuclear construction program with new units brought on-line in 2005. In
the U.S., three consortia responded in 2004 to the U.S. Department of Energy's solicitation
under the Nuclear Power 2010 Program and were awarded matching funds—the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 authorized loan guarantees for up to six new reactors, and authorized the
Department of Energy to build a reactor based on the Generation IV Very-High-Temperature
Reactor concept to produce both electricity and hydrogen. As of the early 21st century,
nuclear power is of particular interest to both China and India to serve their rapidly growing
economies—both are developing fast breeder reactors. See also energy development. In the
energy policy of the United Kingdom it is recognized that there is a likely future energy
supply shortfall, which may have to be filled by either new nuclear plant construction or
maintaining existing plants beyond their programmed lifetime.
There is a possible impediment to production of nuclear power plants, due to a backlog at
Japan Steel Works, the only factory in the world able to manufacture the central part of a
nuclear reactor's containment vessel in a single piece, which reduces the risk of a radiation
leak. The company can only make four per year of the steel forgings. It will double its
capacity in the next two years, but still will not be able to meet current global demand alone.
Utilities across the world are submitting

References
www.knowledge.Allianz.com
www.domain.b.com
www.howstuffworks.com
www.unscear.org/docs/reports
www.world-nuclear.org
www.matter.org.uk