Nuclear-electric power plants

Polonium is used to eliminate static electricity in industrial processes, such as rolhng out paper, wire, or sheet metal in mills. Polonium is also sometimes used in brushes to remove dust from photographic film and in the manufacturing of spark plugs that make ignition systems in automobiles more efficient, particularly in extremely cold temperatures. It can also be used as a portable, low-level power source and, since polonium is fissionable, used in nuclear weapons and nuclear electric power plants. 

The U-235 chain reaction is harnessed for commercial power as illustrated in this model of a nuclear-electric power plant near Chicago. Enclosed in concrete beneath the upper crane is the uranium reactor with its vertical rods which are the fuel elements. 

Figure 10.13 Components of a nuclear electricity power plant.

The decreased solubility of at higher temperatures can have deleterious effects on fish species that migrate up rivers. Fossil-fueled or nuclear electrical power plants maybe located along those rivers. These power plants run their generators by burning coal, oil, or natural gas, or by the fission of uranium. The heat that is produced converts water into steam, which spins the turbines, which in turn spin the generators. Power plants usually are built next to bodies of water to utilize water in the condensing portion of the cycle. The heated water is returned to the river where it continues to flow downstream. 

A gas cooler development program (Section 9.3.3) was initiated to develop a fully qualified and operational heat exchanger for use in a space based nuclear electric power plant. 

The uranium hexafluoride is then fed to a gas centrifuge plant in which 2 UF6 is separated from the UF6. The enriched UF5 is used to prepare the fuel for the nuclear electric power plant. In the UK, a gas centrifuge plant is situated at Capenhurst near Chester. 

There is a close kinship between the chemical process industry and the nuclear electric power industry. In tact once the physics of nuclear reaction was established the rest is chemistiy and hc.it ii an.sfer. The word "reactor" is from chemistry for the location the reaction takes place.. nuclear reactor consists of a vessel in which a nuclear reaction heats water to make steam to drive a turbine o generate electricity. Thus the primary components are pipes, valves, pumps heat exchangers, and water purifiers similar to the components found in a chemical plant. Following the success of WASH-1400, PSA was used to analyze the chemical proce.ssmg of nuclear fuel and. aste preparation for disposal. 

When the power is a large number, as in the case of an electric power plant, it is convenient to express the power in megawatts (MW) where one megawatt equals one million watts. An electric power of 1,000,000,000 watts would be expressed as 1,000 MW. A large coal-burning or nuclear power plant produces about 1,000 MW of electric power. The sum total of the electric power produced by all electric power plants is expressed m units of gigawatts (GW). One gigawatt equals one billion watts. An electric power of 1,000,000,000,000 watts would be expressed as 1,000 GW. 

Many dozens of industrialized countries now employ nuclear reactors for power generation, and some countries produce more electrical power by nuclear reaction than by fossil fuel combustion (France is an example). The United States, however, has the largest installed capacity of nuclear-powered boiler plants (in the year 2000 there are more than 120 nuclear reactor power plants in the United States). Nuclear power is also widely used for marine duty in both commercial and naval vessels. 

The primary advantage of nuclear energy is that enormous amounts of energy are liberated per unit mass of fuel. Also, the air pollution (oxides of S, N, C and particulate matter) caused by fossil fuel electric power plants is not a problem with nuclear energy plants. In European countries, where fossil fuel reserves are scarce, most of the electricity is generated by nuclear power plants for these reasons. 

Fossil fuel electrical power plants can be more hazardous to humans than nuclear power plants because of the pollutants. A 1,000 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant releases about 100 times as much radioactivity into the environment as a comparable nuclear plant. A 1,000-MW power plant will use 2,000 railroad cars of coal or 10 supertankers of oil but only 12 cubic meters of natural uranium every year. Fossil fuel... 

The steam electric power generation industry is defined as those establishments primarily engaged in the steam generation of electrical energy for distribution and sale. Those establishments produce electricity primarily from a process utilizing fossil-type fuel (coal, oil, or gas) or nuclear fuel in conjunction with a thermal cycle employing the steam-water system as the thermodynamic medium. The industry does not include steam electric power plants in industrial, commercial, or other facilities. The industry in the United States falls under two Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes SIC 4911 and SIC 4931. 

Diagram of a nuclear fission power plant. Note that the water in contact with the fuel rods is completely contained and radioactive materials are not involved directly in the generation of electricity. The details of the production of electricity are covered in Chapter 19. 

Nuclear Electric Power Generation Electricity generated by nuclear reactors of various types, such as heavy water, light water and boiling water. Generation is reported on a net basis and excludes energy that is used by the electric power plant for its own operating purposes and not for commercial use. 

Atomic Propulsion Systems Engineering Airport Construction Electric Power Plant Construction Nuclear Power Plant Construction... 

Electric Power Plant Types Fossil Nuclear Solar-Hydrogen1... 

In peaceful uses of nuclear reactions, electrical power plants can be driven by a nuclear reactor very close to criticality, with careful control of neutron flux excess heat from the well-shielded nuclear reactor is driven off by a liquid (H20, Na, or Hg), which in a secondary cycle or a tertiary cycle generates electricity by turning induction turbines. 

There is a trend in the United States toward using coal-fired power plants to generate electricity rather than building new nuclear fission power plants. Is the use of coal-fired power plants without risk Make a list of the risks to society from the use of each type of power plant. 

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