Nuclear fission and types of water in steam separators positioned above the core, •

The 5 MWe Obninsk LWGR in Russia, which • Over 16,536 reactor-years of operating experience
and passed to the turbines, then condensed and commenced power generation in 1954, was the first to have so far been accumulated.
nuclear reactor supply the grid and was shut down on 30 April 2002.
recycled. • Total nuclear electricity supplied worldwide in 2015
• Like all other thermal power plants, nuclear reactors • In GCRs (gas-cooled reactors) and AGRs (advanced • Calder Hall, at Sellafield, UK, was the world's first was 2441 billion kWh, about 11.5% of total electricity 2016/17
work by generating heat, which boils water to industrial-scale nuclear power station, becoming generated that year. Pocket Guide
gas-cooled reactors) carbon dioxide is used as the
produce steam to drive the turbogenerators. In a coolant and graphite as the moderator. A graphite operational in 1956. The plant finally shut down on 31
nuclear reactor, the heat is the product of nuclear March 2003.
moderator allows natural uranium (in GCRs) or very
fission. • Grohnde, a 1360 MWe German reactor which first Nuclear fuel performance
low-enriched uranium (in AGRs) fuel to be used.
• Uranium and plutonium nuclei in the fuel are produced power in 1984, has generated over 347
• The LWGR (light water graphite reactor) has billion kWh of electricity, more than any other reactor. • Burn-up, expressed as megawatt days per tonne
bombarded by neutrons and split usually into two enriched fuel in pressure tubes with the light water of fuel (MWd/t), indicates the amount of electricity
smaller fragments, releasing energy in the form • With a cumulative load factor of 93.8% since first generated from a given amount of fuel.
coolant. These are surrounded by the graphite
of heat, as well as more neutrons. Some of these power in 2009, the Rajasthan 5 PHWR in India leads
moderator. More often referred to as the RBMK. • Typically, PWRs now operate at around 40,000 MWd/t,
released neutrons then cause further fissions, thereby the way on lifetime performance, closely followed by
setting up a chain reaction. • In FBR (fast breeder reactor) types, the fuel is a mix Romania’s Cernavoda 2, also PHWR. with an enrichment level of about 4% uranium-235.
of oxides of plutonium and uranium; no moderator • In August 2016, unit 2 of the Heysham II AGR plant in • Advances in fuel assembly design and fuel
• The neutrons released are ‘fast’ neutrons, with high
energy. These neutrons need to be slowed down by a is used. The core is usually surrounded by a ‘fertile the UK broke the world record of 894 days continuous management techniques, combined with slightly
moderator for the chain reaction to occur. blanket’ of uranium-238. Neutrons escaping the power production set in 1994 by Pickering 7, a Candu higher enrichment levels of up to 5%, now make
core are absorbed by the blanket, producing further reactor which can be refuelled whilst on-line. As of the burn-ups of up to 50,000 to 60,000 MWd/t
• In BWRs (boiling water reactors) and PWRs achievable.
plutonium, which is separated out during subsequent time of publishing, the Heysham unit had yet to be
(pressurized water reactors), collectively known as
reprocessing for use as fuel. FBRs normally use taken offline for maintenance. • With a typical burn-up of 45,000 MWd/t, one tonne of
LWRs (light water reactors), the light water (H2O)
liquid metal, such as sodium, as the coolant at low • In 2015, 50 nuclear power reactors achieved load natural uranium made into fuel will produce as much
coolant is also the moderator.
pressure. factors of more than 95%. electricity as 17,000 to 20,000 tonnes of black coal.
• PHWRs (pressurized heavy water reactors) use heavy
water (deuterium oxide, D2O) as moderator and
coolant. Unlike LWRs, they have separate coolant
• High temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTRs), not
yet in commercial operation, offer an alternative
Nuclear Power
Nuclear power reactor types: typical characteristics
and moderator circuits.
• The chain reaction is controlled by the use of control
to conventional designs. They use graphite as
the moderator and helium as the coolant. HTRs
Reactor
Characteristic PWR BWR AGR PHWR (Candu) LWGR (RBMK) FBR
rods, which are inserted into the reactor core either to
slow or stop the reaction by absorbing neutrons.
have ceramic-coated fuel capable of handling
temperatures exceeding 1600ºC and gain their Active core height, m 4.2 3.7 8.3 5.9 7.0 1.0 Characteristics
efficiency by operating at temperatures of 700-950ºC. Active core diameter, m 3.4 4.7 9.3 6.0 11.8 3.7
• In the Candu PHWR, fuel bundles are arranged in
The helium can drive a gas turbine directly or be Fuel inventory, tonnes 104 134 110 90 192 32
pressure tubes, which are individually cooled. These
used to make steam.
pressure tubes are situated within a large tank called Vessel type Cylinder Cylinder Cylinder Tubes Tubes Cylinder
a calandria containing the heavy water moderator. • While the size of individual reactors is increasing well
Fuel UO2 UO2 UO2 UO2 UO2 PuO2/UO2
Unlike LWRs, which use low-enriched uranium, over 1200 MWe, there is growing interest in small
PHWRs use natural uranium fuel. Form Enriched Enriched Enriched Natural Enriched -
units down to about 10 MWe.
Coolant H2 O H2O CO2 D2O H2O Sodium
• A PWR generates steam indirectly: heat is transferred
from the primary reactor coolant, which is kept liquid Reactor facts and performance Steam generation Indirect Direct Indirect Indirect Direct Indirect
at high pressure, into a secondary circuit where Moderator H2 O H2O Graphite D2O Graphite None
steam is produced for the turbine. • Electricity was first generated by a nuclear reactor on Number operable* 282 78 14 49 15 3
• A BWR produces steam directly by boiling the water 20 December 1951 when the EBR-I test reactor in the
coolant. The steam is separated from the remaining USA lit up four light bulbs. as of 31.12.15
*
www.world-nuclear.org
Nuclear power & reactors worldwide World Nuclear Association
Tower House
Nuclear Share of Number Nuclear 10 Southampton Street
Concrete shield
electricity total electricity of generating Pressurizer London WC2E 7HA UK
Location Control rods Steam
generation, 2015 production, operable capacity* Steam
(billion kWh) 2015 (%) reactors* (MWe) Steam generator Steam Control rods
generator +44 (0)20 7451 1520
Argentina 6.5 4.8 3 1627 Steam www.world-nuclear.org
Armenia 2.6 34.5 1 376 generators info@world-nuclear.org
Control rods
Belgium 24.8 37.5 7 5943
Steel Calandria Graphite
Brazil 13.9 2.8 2 1901 pressure
Heavy moderator
Bulgaria 14.7 31.3 2 1926 vessel
Water water
Fuel
Canada 95.6 16.6 19 13,553 elements
Fuel elements
China 161.2 3.0 32 26,967
Czech Rep 25.3 32.5 6 3904
Fuel elements
Finland 22.3 33.7 4 2741 Reinforced concrete
France 419.0 76.3 58 63,130 containment and shield Pressure tubes Pressure tubes
Germany 86.8 14.1 8 10,728
Hungary 15.0 52.7 4 1889
India 34.6 3.5 21 5302
Iran 3.2 1.3 1 915
Pressurized water reactor (PWR) Pressurized heavy water reactor Light water graphite-moderated reactor
Japan 4.3 0.5 43 40,480 (PHWR/Candu) (LWGR/RBMK)
Mexico 11.2 6.8 2 1600
Netherlands 3.9 3.7 1 485
Pakistan 4.3 4.4 3 725
Control rods
Concrete

© World Nuclear Association, August 2016. Cover image: Rosatom

Romania 10.7 17.3 2 1310 Control rods pressure
Steel vessel
Russia 182.8 18.6 35 26,053 pressure Steam
vessel Reactor
Slovakia 14.1 55.9 4 1816 Steam vessel
Slovenia 5.4 38.0 1 696 generator
Helium
South Africa 11.0 4.7 2 1830
Carbon
South Korea 157.2 31.7 25 23,017 dioxide
Spain 54.8 20.3 7 7121 Fuel Graphite Steam
Fuel
Sweden 54.5 34.3 9 8849 elements elements
Switzerland 22.2 33.5 5 3333
Ukraine 82.4 56.5 15 13,107 Steam
Water generator
UK 63.9 18.9 15 8883
Control
USA 798.0 19.5 99 98,990 rods Fuel pebbles
Graphite moderator
Total** 2441 11.5 440 384,006 Pump Water
*as of 06.06.16 Sources: World Nuclear Association, IAEA
**The world total includes six reactors on Taiwan with a combined capacity of
4927 MWe, which generated a total of 35.1 billion kWh in 2015, accounting for
16.3% of its electricity generation. Boiling water reactor (BWR) Advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) High-temperature reactor (HTR)