Switching all Nuclear Power Plants into Pebble bed Reactors Introduction There is a lot of demand for energy, and to supply all those demands the environment tends to suffer from the pollution. Burning coal, oil, and natural gases releases harmful chemicals such as sulfur dioxide (cause of acid rain), Carbon dioxide (causing the greenhouse effect increasing the average temperature of the Earth), and many more. In order to address this problem, world leaders met in Kyoto, Japan in December of 1997 to establish the limits of emission allowed for fossil fuels. Even with the limits being set, the world still demanded more and more energy. The solution ideally was to use other sources such as nuclear power plants, and renewable resources. One successful advances in technology is the development of pebble bed reactors. Basics of Pebble Bed Reactors To advance the safety of nuclear power plants, a small pebble bed reactor that was cooled by the use of helium was formed. A gas turbine was attached to the reactor to generate electricity. The efficiency of this new reactor would be as high as 45% to 50% compared to the previous output of 35%, and estimated about 10% more efficient than the conventional light-water reactor. To create a safer nuclear power source, the modular reactor was about ten times smaller than size of a regular nuclear reactor. Because of the smaller size, it made the ease of use much simpler, allowing no operators to be needed. The 110-Megawatt electric size made the plant essentially the safest it can be. Even in the worse case scenario, the reactor has an automatic shut down whenever a chance a melt could occur. Concept of the pebble bed reactors Pebble bed reactors consist of a little smaller than baseball si... ... middle of paper ... ...eatures. However there are still limits to the reactor, with all the safety features added on to the reactor, once it melts down, the contamination of the surrounding area of harmful radioactive chemicals are great. That concern has always been a major set back for all nuclear power plants, but the pebble bed reactors are currently the safest nuclear power plant reactors scientist have created. Bibliography http://web.mit.edu/pebble-bed/background.pdf http://www.ecogeek.org/component/content/article/3657-alternative-nuclear-power-pebble-bed-reactor https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Pebble_bed_reactor.html http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/advanced/pbmr.html http://pebblebedreactor.blogspot.com http://bravenewclimate.com/2010/08/25/pb-ahtr/ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/energy-environment/25chinanuke.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The development of nuclear industry has been a cornerstone for the world's technological revolution. Since the discovery of fission more than a half century ago, nuclear power has become a major source of the world's electricity supply. By 1989, 416 nuclear power plants were in operation, thus providing approximately seventeen percent of the world's electricity (Waczewski, 1997). With more than one hundred nuclear operating plants, the United States easily gains the title as having the world's largest nuclear energy program.
Non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels have been used up by society on a daily basis and have forced the world to find a new, clean energy source. The rising price of oil and the constant emission of carbon dioxide are proof that in the future our lives will be much harder to live. One answer to this problem is nuclear power, which has shown its efficiency during the times of World War II but has not been used commercially due to the challenges of dealing with nuclear waste and proliferation. In today?s modern era, nuclear power has been used in liquid metal fast breeder reactors, reactors that use uranium-238 to produce plutonium-239.
After World War II, nuclear power became the world’s shining energy hope. Technically it is produced when neutrons split the nucleus of uranium atoms releasing heat which is used to boil water and produce the steam that drives a plant’s turbines. Nuclear...
Chernobyl is located in the Ukraine which is about 110 kilometers north of Kiev, near Belarus border. It is a small town with amount of population about 12,500 people. There was a nuclear power station with four reactors that has been built which is located about 15 kilometers to its northwest. A 22 sq. km in size of manmade water reservoir was created in order to cool down the reactor. This power plant was using Soviet-design RBMK-1000 nuclear reactors which are said as old and outdated design. This RBMK reactor are using U-235 fuel to heat water, creating steam that spin the turbines and generate electricity. Graphite is used to controls the core reactivity and also to keep the continuous nuclear reaction occurring in the core. When the core produces more steam and bubbles, it became more reactive and creating positive-feedback loop which is called as positive-void coefficient. Compared to other design of nuclear reactor, water is used as a coolant and to moderate the reactivity of the nuclear core. When the core heats up and produces more steam, the increase in steam bubbles or voids in the water reduces the reactivity in the nuclear core. This is an important safety feature found in most reactors built in the United States and other Western nations.
...as to not kill him. There was not a single act of kindness without want in return bestowed up on the man with the enormous wings from the time he landed in the courtyard until the time he flew away.
Central Idea: Nuclear energy only contributes a small amount to the world’s electricity yet it has hazards and dangers that far out-way its benefits. There are many other alternative power producing sources that can produce energy more efficiently and more safely than nuclear power plants can.
Now in our modern society we have a big need for energy and are trying to find alternative types of energy power plants. Nuclear power plants are used in more than 30 countries all around the world (World nuclear association, n.d. para.3). These power plants are able to generate electricity continuously for many months at a time without interruption (World nuclear association, n.d.para.2). Nuclear power plants produce electricity by going through the process of fission. They have pros and cons as well, they can bring more jobs helping out the economy but also the radiation waste that is given off of the plants can harm many people’s health.
There are six authors that will be mentioned in this paper. Three of the authors are for nuclear energy and three of them are against nuclear energy. The first three authors that will be introduced are for nuclear energy. Naim H. Afgan is a professor at the Superior Technical Institute in Lisbon, Portugal and the Chair Holder for the Energy Sustainable Management. He is also a member of the VINCA Institute of Nuclear Science that is in Belgrade that he joined in 1957. He published over 200 papers, including his article on nuclear energy that will be used in this paper. The next au...
Around 1894, scientists discovered that by bombarding a radioactive substance with neutrons, a highly powerful energy could be produced. This is ionizing radiation, which is strong enough to rip the electrons from the nucleus of an atom, hence the name “nuclear energy.” over a century later, nuclear substances are harnessed in order to provide energy. However, nuclear energy is not only discussed amongst scientists, but anyone fearing the safety and future of the environments surrounding the area where a nuclear power plant is implemented.
that he may jump from the sky without danger. Wickedly the Parrot tells Tortoise’s wife
I looked up and the largest black bird was taking careful aim on my position. I froze. Suddenly from behind me Harry yelled, ‘JUMP ON FRANKLIN. There’s no time to loose. I think that bird means for you to be his dinner.’ I took no time accepting Harry offer, I sprung onto his back and off we went. We flew all around, both laughing at the puzzled expression on the birds face as we flew out of harm’s way.
The energy industry is beginning to change. In today’s modern world, governments across the globe are shifting their focuses from traditional sources of power, like the burning coal and oil, to the more complex and scientific nuclear power supply. This relatively new system uses powerful fuel sources and produces little to no emissions while outputting enough energy to fulfill the world’s power needs (Community Science, n.d.). But while nuclear power seems to be a perfect energy source, no power production system is without faults, and nuclear reactors are no exception, with their flaws manifesting in the form of safety. Nuclear reactors employ complex systems involving pressure and heat. If any of these systems dysfunctions, the reactor can leak or even explode releasing tons of highly radioactive elements into the environment. Anyone who works at or near a nuclear reactor is constantly in danger of being exposed to a nuclear incident similar to the ones that occurred at the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi plants. These major accidents along with the unresolved problems with the design and function of nuclear reactors, as well as the economic and health issues that nuclear reactors present serve to show that nuclear energy sources are not worth the service that they provide and are too dangerous to routinely use.
Nuclear power, the use of exothermic nuclear processes to produce an enormous amount of electricity and heat for domestic, medical, military and industrial purposes i.e. “By the end of 2012 2346.3 kilowatt hours (KWh) of electricity was generated by nuclear reactors around the world” (International atomic energy agency Vienna, 2013, p.13). However, with that been said it is evident that the process of generating electricity from a nuclear reactor has numerous health and environmental safety issues.
In the search for alternatives to fossil fuels, scientists and policy makers have focused on three options: nuclear power, energy from biomass; and a combination of wind, water, and solar power. Nuclear power, however, is much more costly and runs the risk of having it fall into the wrong hands where it could be turned into a weapon of mass destruction. The third option entails wind turbines, photovoltaic power plants and rooftop systems, concentrated solar thermal power plants,...
The greatest disadvantages of nuclear energy are the risks posed to mankind and the environment by radioactive materials. ‘On average a nuclear plant annually generates 20 metric tons of used nuclear fuel cla...