Energy nuclear power

Kostin, V.I., N.G. Kodochigov, A.V. Vasyae, et a1. (2006), GT-MHR Project as Advanced Nuclear Technology for Combined Production of Hydrogen and Electric Energy , Nuclear Power Bulletin,... 

FOODS AND FUELS (SECTION 5.8) The fuel value of a substance is the heat released when one gram of the substance is combusted. Different types of foods have different fuel values and differing abilities to be stored in the body. The most common fuels are hydrocarbons that are found as fossil fuels, such as natural gas, petroleum, and coal. Renewable energy sources include solar energy, wind energy, biomass, and hydroelectric energy. Nuclear power does not utilize fossil fuels but does create controversial waste-disposal problems. 

The metal is a source of nuclear power. There is probably more energy available for use from thorium in the minerals of the earth s crust than from both uranium and fossil fuels. Any sizable demand from thorium as a nuclear fuel is still several years in the future. Work has been done in developing thorium cycle converter-reactor systems. Several prototypes, including the HTGR (high-temperature gas-cooled reactor) and MSRE (molten salt converter reactor experiment), have operated. While the HTGR reactors are efficient, they are not expected to become important commercially for many years because of certain operating difficulties. 

Plutonium has assumed the position of dominant importance among the trasuranium elements because of its successful use as an explosive ingredient in nuclear weapons and the place which it holds as a key material in the development of industrial use of nuclear power. One kilogram is equivalent to about 22 million kilowatt hours of heat energy. The complete detonation of a kilogram of plutonium produces an explosion equal to about 20,000 tons of chemical explosive. 

Trends in commercial fuel, eg, fossd fuel, hydroelectric power, nuclear power, production and consumption in the United States and in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, are shown in Tables 2 and 3. These trends indicate (6,13) (/) a significant resurgence in the production and use of coal throughout the U.S. economy (2) a continued decline in the domestic U.S. production of cmde oil and natural gas lea ding to increased imports of these hydrocarbons (qv) and (J) a continued trend of energy conservation, expressed in terms of energy consumed per... 

A technique called probabiUstic safety assessment (PSA) has been developed to analy2e complex systems and to aid in assuring safe nuclear power plant operation. PSA, which had its origin in a project sponsored by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, is a formali2ed identification of potential events and consequences lea ding to an estimate of risk of accident. Discovery of weaknesses in the plant allows for corrective action. 

The importance of nuclear power for meeting growing U.S. energy needs in an environmentally sound manner has been highlighted (6). The role of nuclear power for the world in the twenty-first century has also been discussed (7). 

Strategic Plan for Building New Nuclear Power Plants, Nuclear Energy Institute Executive Committee, Washiagton, D.C., 1994 (armual update). 

Nucleai energy is a principal contributor to the production of the world s electricity. As shown in Table 1, many countries are strongly dependent on nuclear energy. For some countries, more than half of the electricity is generated by nuclear means (1,3). There were 424 nuclear power plants operating worldwide as of 1995. Over 100 of these plants contributed over 20% of the electricity in the United States (see also Power generation). 

If possible comparisons are focused on energy systems, nuclear power safety is also estimated to be superior to all electricity generation methods except for natural gas (30). Figure 3 is a plot of that comparison in terms of estimated total deaths to workers and the pubHc and includes deaths associated with secondary processes in the entire fuel cycle. The poorer safety record of the alternatives to nuclear power can be attributed to fataUties in transportation, where comparatively enormous amounts of fossil fuel transport are involved. Continuous or daily refueling of fossil fuel plants is required as compared to refueling a nuclear plant from a few tmckloads only once over a period of one to two years. This disadvantage appHes to solar and wind as well because of the necessary assumption that their backup power in periods of no or Httie wind or sun is from fossil-fuel generation. Now death or serious injury has resulted from radiation exposure from commercial nuclear power plants in the United States (31). 

Nuclear Proliferation and Civilian Nuclear Power-Report of the Nonproliferation Alternative Systems Assessment Program, Executive Summary, DOE Report DOE/NE-0001, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., June 1980. 

The use of nuclear power has been a topic of debate for many years. Nuclear fuel represents a resource for generating energy weU into the future, whereas economically recoverable fossil fuel reserves may become depleted. Worker exposure, injuries, and fataHties in nuclear fuel mining are reportedly far less compared to those associated with recovery and handling of fossil fuels. Potential hazards associated with transporting and storing radioactive wastes do exist, however. 

Hinton, Sir C., The place of the Calder Hall type of reactor in nuclear power generation, J. Brit. Nucl. Energy Conf, 1957, 2, 43 46. 

Removing decay heat has been the "Achilles Heel" of nuclear power. The designs shown in this section use active methods to remove the heat, (a) Sketch and discuss a design that removes the heat passively, (b) It would seem that the energy in the decay heat could be used for its own removal. Sketch and discuss a design that uses this property to remove the decay heat. 

There had been small-scale probabilistic risk studies, but the first in-depth study v, as initiated by the U.S, Atomic Energy Commission in September 1972 and completed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This was known as the Reactor Safety Study, W. SH-(400, Ociuher 1975) that set the pattern for subsequent PSAs not only nuclear, but chemical md tniii portation, PSA had it beginnings in nuclear power because of the unknown risk and the large amounts of funds for the investigation. 

Taking into account the possibility of highly directional blast effects, Eichler and Napadensky (1977) recommend the use of a safe and conservative value for TNT equivalency, namely, between 20% and 40%, for the determination of safe standoff distances between transportation routes and nuclear power plants. This value is based on energy it should be applied to the total amount of hydrocarbon in the largest single, pressurized storage tank being transported. 

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