TOPIC – NUCLEAR ENERGY

SUBMITTED TO – DR. HARPREET SINGH

SUBMITTED FROM – SUDHIR TRIPATHI

REGISTRATION NUMBER - (11808589)
ROLL NUMBER - (42)

Nuclear Energy
Abstract
Nuclear energy is a complex process of producing energy by splitting
atoms in a reactor which is then use to heat water into steam which
turn a turbine and generate electricity. It is nature friendly as it
produces energy without carbon emission because reactors use
uranium instead of fossil fuels. Nuclear energy can be obtained from
nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and nuclear decay. Nuclear fission is
generally use to produce nuclear power using uranium and plutonium.
Currently, there are around 450 nuclear reactors which provides 12% of
the world’s electricity. Nuclear energy has many advantages but there
are some aspects which are harmful to nature such as the nuclear
waste produced in the process, radioactive fuel used can cause severe
damage. One of the most infamous nuclear disaster The Chernobyl
Nuclear Explosion shows us the scary side of Nuclear energy.
Introduction
Nuclear energy is produced by the energy released by splitting the
atoms of elements such as uranium and plutonium. It was first
developed in the 1940 and during Second World War. When nucleus of
a large atom is split in two, a certain amount of the large atom’s mass is
converted to pure energy after which the energy is utilized to boil the
water to make steam which turns the turbines to produce electricity.
Nuclear power plants use low-enriched uranium or plutonium as a fuel
to produce electricity through fission. In fission the uranium atoms is
split into a nuclear reactor. Small, hard ceramic pellets of uranium is
inserted into the reactor. A single uranium pellet contains equal
amount of energy as a ton of coal, 3 barrels of oil, or 17,000 cubic feet
of natural gas. A single uranium pellet provides up to five years of heat
for power generation. Uranium is one of the world’s most abundant
metals, and it can provide fuel for the nuclear plants for generations to
come. Nuclear power is beneficial for the environment as harmful gases
such as Nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and mercury
is not produced during this process as there is no burning of any
materials so they produce no combustion by-products. There is no
production of greenhouse gases and nuclear plants help protect air
quality and mitigate climate change. Nuclear energy is reliable and
efficient as it can produce energy continuously without interruption for
months. Currently, nuclear energy supplies 12 percent of the world's
electricity. In 2018, a total of 30 countries worldwide are operating 450
nuclear reactors for electricity generation.
In 2018 nuclear plants supplied 2563 TWh of electricity, up from 2503
TWh in 2017. This is the sixth consecutive year that global nuclear
generation has risen, with output 217 TWh higher than in 2012. Which
shows the importance of nuclear energy as well as the beneficial
factors of Nuclear energy which leads to the use of Nuclear energy by
Various Countries.
Objective
The objective of this paper is to explain the various aspects related to
nuclear energy for better understanding of the beneficial and a crucial
process of electricity generation which can lead to a cleaner as well as
efficient way to produce electricity without the use of fossil fuels.
Nuclear Energy Explained
Nuclear fission
The nuclease is the centre atom which is made up of same number of
protons as it contains neutrons and some nuclei of large size have
isotopes which are imbalanced which makes the nucleus unstable.
Uranium-235 is an example as it has large size and it is present in
unstable state which can undergoes fission. When Uranium-235
undergoes nuclear fission its nucleus is split into smaller atoms when it
is induced by neutron, in this process 2 or 3 neutrons are released.
These neutrons initiates the decomposition of the nuclei of other atoms
of Uranium. It leads to a chain reaction in which more neutrons are
released. This process occurs inside the reactor in controlled conditions
in which this chain reaction is kept under constant rate for maximum
output. This process produced high temperature which then heats the
water to produce steam after which the steam turns the turbine
generating electricity.
Nuclear Reactors
In a reactor the uranium source which is Uranium-235 is present in 3-
4% which is necessary to enrich natural Uranium which can be used for
generation of nuclear energy. Conversion of uranium oxide which is
extracted from ore present in gaseous form, uranium hexafluoride.
Enriched uranium present in gaseous form is present in 0.7% which is
then converted into Uranium-235 to 3-4% by separation of isotopes in
present in moderator such as water. A higher enrichment means better
efficiency. Uranium is generally used in the form of pellet which are
arranged vertically to form rods and then to bundles. These bundles are
surrounded by a moderator such as water, graphite or heavy water.
The moderator is used to slow down the emitted neutrons by reducing
their energy as they collide with the nuclei of the moderator.
Moderator is used to control the process of nuclear fission which helps
to resist it to become a nuclear bomb. Control rods are placed in the
bundles which control the rate of the nuclear reaction. These can also
be used to stop the reactor completely if something goes wrong. These
control rods are made of Cadmium and boron which absorb neutrons.
They reduce the number of neutrons by slowing down the reaction
which reduces heat. The atoms are split the energy is released as heat.
This heat is used to heat water to produce steam. Steam spins the
turbine connected to the generator to produce electricity.

Nuclear Energy V/S Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuel and Nuclear Energy helps us meet our energy needs, but
they both have their own disadvantages, it depends upon us that which
disadvantage we can bare. Fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal and
natural gas which originates from large reserves of anicent organisms
which are burried underground for millions of years. These fossil fuels
are considered considered as non renewable resources as it takes
millions of years to form but it depleates at a much faster rate. To
produce energy fossil fuel is burned which releases large amounts of
Carbon dioxide into the environment which causes global warming
which according to scientific studies causes 3.5 million deaths
worldwide per year. On the other hand Nuclear energy produced by
nuclear fission by using Uranium and Plutonium as a fuel. It is also non
renewable resource of energy with low pollutants produced due to
which it is termed as clean and environment friendly. One of the most
horrifying accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
showed us the bad side of nuclear energy. Number of people have died
due to radiation related cancer gererated from the radioactive
elements produced such as Radioactive waste. At last I would conclude
that it depend upon us which resource to use according to the
handeling of the disadvantages of these resources.

Problems with Nuclear energy

Nuclear Waste
When atoms split to release energy, the smaller atoms that are left
behind are often left in excited states, emitting energetic particles that
can cause biological damage due to which nuclear waste must be
controlled and kept out of the environment.

Dramatic accidents
Three major accidents are Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and
Fukushima. Chernobyl was caused by an uncontrolled steam explosion
which released radiation into the environment which killed over 50
people, and also lead to mass evacuation of hundreds of thousands of
people, and causing up to 4000 cancer cases. Three Mile Island was a
partial-core meltdown, where the coolant levels dropped below the
fuel which leads the fuel to melt due to which radiation was released
but it was contained and no one was hurt. Fukushima was a station in
Japan which was black-out by a huge Tsunami. Four neighboring plants
lost cooling and the decay heat melted the cores. Radiation was
released and the public was evacuated. These three accidents are very
scary and keep many people from being comfortable with nuclear
power.
Cost
Nuclear power plants are larger and more complicated than other
power plants. Many redundant safety systems are built to keep the
plant operating safely. This complexity causes the up-front cost of a
nuclear power plant to be much higher than for a comparable coal
plant. Once the plant is built, the fuel costs are much less than fossil
fuel costs.
Solution
Nuclear Safety
Nuclear safety means the achievement of safe operating conditions,
prevention of nuclear accidents or mitigation of nuclear accident
consequences, resulting in the protection of workers, the public and
the environment against the potential harmful effects of ionizing
radiation or radioactive material.
Conclusion
Nuclear energy is one of the best alternative to fossil fuels to resist any
global warming as well as continuing the power supply demand due to
the efficiently of nuclear energy. It is clean and environment friendly as
well as it mitigate the climate control which are the major key points to
choose Nuclear energy over fossil fuels. There are some disadvantages
related to nuclear energy which all resources has, but in 21st century
there are various new technologies available to counter all the
disadvantage and provide a cleaner and better future.

Bibliography
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https://www.duke-energy.com/Energy-Education/How-Energy-Works/Nuclear-Power

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/nuclear/

https://www.nei.org/fundamentals/what-is-nuclear-energy

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/NuclearEnergy_Roadmap_Final.pdf

https://howtowrite.customwritings.com/post/nuclear-energy-research-paper/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/energy/reference/nuclear-energy/

http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2017/ph241/lewis1/

https://stemrad.com/fossil-fuels-vs-nuclear-energy/