Nuclear power energy production

Nuclear energy does not produce as much C02 or other greenhouse gases as fossil power, but it s inaccurate to call nuclear technology C02 free. A large amount of electric power is used to enrich the uranium fuel, and the plants that manufacture the fuel in the U.S. are powered with coal. When fuel mining, preparation, transportation and plant construction are included with power production, nuclear power can produce about... 

Mitenkov, F.M., N.G. Kodochigov, A.V. Vasyaev, et al. (2004), High-temperature Gas-cooled Reactor as Energy Source for Industrial Hydrogen Production , Nuclear Power, Vol. 97, Issue 6, pp. 43-446. 

World-wide the production of energy by nuclear power amounts to about 470 GWe (1995) and increases by about 4% per year, although the problems with respect to the storage of the radioactive waste (fission products and actinides) are not yet solved in a satisfactory way. 

The reaction, which involves nuclear fission, also produces more neutrons and enormous amounts of energy. Some nuclear power plants use fuel rods made of natural U, unenriched in (e.g., Canadian CANDU fuel cf. Kathren 1984). In most countries the I uel rods are fabricated from U enriched in to 1.8 to 3.7% of total U (Adloff and GuiMaumont 1993). This increases the radioactivity and, therefore, the heat output of the fuel, which is derived from the kinetic energy of the fission fragments and radioactivity of fission products. The heat is used to produce steam to run turbines for generating electricity,... 

With respect to a large-scale hydrogen production, nuclear power can play a significant role if used as a provider of electricity in the electrolysis process or as a provider of high-temperature heat in fossil fuel conversion. An introductory option would be the use of cheap surplus electricity. Production of hydrogen as a bulk energy carrier is by a factor of about 2 too expensive compared with the today s commercial business of natural gas and oil, however, the trend to include external effects into the energy cost may help to achieve economic attractiveness [2]. 

More than half of the world primary energy consumption is used as hot water, steam and space heat. Unlike fossil energy carriers, nuclear power is almost exclusively used for commercial electricity production. Clearly nuclear heat production could play a major and important role in the non-electric sector. Nuclear growth depends on the future public perception of the comparative benefits, cost, and risks of alternatives. Based on the comparative evaluation of tangible risks to public health, safety, and environment, nuclear power appears to be a better choice than fossil fuels. 

In spite of the fact that no common criteria exist internationally, one can conclude that the production of electrical energy from nuclear power should not contribute notably to the overall risk is common to the national approaches. The ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle is mostly acceptable, which states that the risk should be as low as it is reasonably achievable. 

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... 

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). 

After 1930, four other energy sources began to contribute significantly, as wood use continued its slow decline and coal production was relatively flat. These four were oil, natural gas, nuclear power (beginning in the 1950s), and hydroelectricity. The... 

The idea behind energy independence is that if all energy production occurs within a country s borders, then that country s economy will be insulated from any energy supply disruptions. The country would then have less unemployment and less economic decline if and when the world s energy exporters, especially OPEC members, cut their supplies. France, has developed a strong nuclear power industry so that it would not have to import as much oil... 

One energy source that first appeared to be highly attractive was nuclear power. The problem with nuclear power is that some costs were hidden in its initial development. Especially pernicious is the disposal of uranium oxide fuel after it has become depleted. It can be reprocessed, but at considerable expense, and the product plutonium can be used for weapons. In the United States the plan is to bui y... 

Excise taxes placed on specific energy sources tend to reduce the demand for these energy sources in both the short and the long run. The federal government imposes excise taxes on almost all petroleum products and coal (see Table I). The federal government also imposes excise taxes on many transportation uses of methanol, ethanol, natural gas, and propane and imposes a fee on electricity produced from nuclear power plants. 

In a nuclear power plant, heat must be transferred from the core to the turbines without any transfer of matter. This is because fission and neutron capture generate lethal radioactive products that cannot be allowed to escape from the core. A heat-transfer fluid such as liquid sodium metal flows around the core, absorbing the heat produced by nuclear fission. This hot fluid then flows through a steam generator, where its heat energy is used to vaporize... 

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