powerpoint ® lecture prepared by gary a. beluzo nuclear power 21
TRANSCRIPT
PowerPoint® Lecture prepared by Gary A. Beluzo
NUCLEAR POWER
21
Copyright © 2007 McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Distinguish the differences between nuclear fission and fusion, and why such differences are important in regards to the economics of electricity generation.
• Draw a diagram of the nuclear fuel cycle.
• Explain why nuclear power plants are not currently being built in the U.S.
• Describe the technological and political challenges facing long term nuclear waste disposal.
• Explain how human error contributed to the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
After reading this chapter, students will be able to
Copyright © 2007 McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Nuclear Power: A Faustian Bargain?
• Johannes Faust lived in early 16th Century Germany
• Faust sought to acquire supernatural knowledge
• In return he would surrender himself to Satan
• Has society made a Faustian bargain by embracing nuclear power to generate electricity?
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Uranium Ore
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The Nature of Uranium Resources• U238 and U235 (92 protons)
• Only U235 is naturally fissile
• U238 is a fertile isotope and forms Pu239
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U.S. Uranium Industry
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First Nuclear Electricity
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U.S. Nuclear Power Industry
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World Nuclear Power Generation
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Nuclear Protests
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The Nuclear Fuel Cycle
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Inside a Nuclear Reactor
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Transportation of Radioactive Wastes
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The Yucca Mountain SiteFigure 21.14 top
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The Yucca Mountain Repository
Figure 21.15
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How Safe is Nuclear Energy?
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The Chernobyl Accident
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Contamination from Chernobyl
Figure 21.18a
Figure 21.18b
Figure 21.18c
Figure 21.18e
Figure 21.18f
Figure 21.18d
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The Economics of Nuclear Power• Capital Cost (more for nuclear)
• Operating Cost• Coal = 2.1 cents/KwH
• Gas = 3.5 cents/KwH
• Oil = 3.8 cents/KwH
• Nuclear = 2.3 cents/KwH
• Large government subsidy to nuclear power
• Price-Anderson Act
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Fusion• Fusion of light elements into heavier ones
• Isotopes of hydrogen fuse to helium
• 160x energy from a Kg of uranium oxide
• 10,000,000x energy from a Kg of coal
• But scientific and engineering barriers
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A Nuclear Renaissance?• Nuclear Power emits small quantities of greenhouse
gases and other air pollutants
• Technological issues and long-term waste