Alternative Energy from Nuclear
Power
Internet research conducted by Washington State University
Chemistry Department graduate students Jessica Drader and
Aaron Johnson and Postdoctoral Research Associate Jana Sulakova
working under the general supervision of Professor Ken Nash. This
work was done on behalf of the ACS Nuclear Division (NUCL) for
the Committee on Science, ACS.
Co-author: Dr Tina Nenoff, Sandia National Laboratory
August 2010
What performance is required?
• The production of sustainable, clean energy at
a competitive cost
– No emission of harmful greenhouse gases (CO2).
• Radioactive waste minimized and isolated
from the biosphere
• Adequate supplies of fuel identified or created
as necessary
• Proliferation of nuclear weapons prevented
What affects performance?
• Public acceptance and education
• Proliferation of nuclear weapons
– Transportation of radioactive materials secure
• Reactor design (increase passive safety)
• Nuclear Fuel Cycle (open or closed)
• Management of wastes (recycle and isolate
from the biosphere)
• International cooperation essential
What affects performance?
• Public acceptance
– The future of nuclear power in the
United States has greatly been effected
by public acceptance.
– Many people are unaware of how safe
nuclear energy really is (relative to other
power production options).
http://www.nei.org/
http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/ST/NE/index.htm
http://www.world-nuclear.org/education/uran.htm
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf29.html
The future of nuclear power: value orientations and risk perception
Whitfield, S. C., Rosa, E. A., Dan, A. Dietz, T., Risk Analysis, 29, 3, 2009, 425437.
Minimization of life cycle CO2 emissions in steam and power plants
Martinez, P. E., Eliceche, A. M., Clean Techn Environ Policy, 11, 2009, 49-57.
What affects performance?
• Proliferation
– A term used to describe the spread of nuclear
weapons, fissile material, and weaponsapplicable nuclear technology and information
to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear
Weapon States" by the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty or NPT.
•
•
•
Detect nuclear and
radiological materials, and
WMD-related equipment
Secure vulnerable nuclear
weapons and weaponsusable nuclear and
radiological materials
Dispose of surplus
weapons-usable nuclear
and radiological materials
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf12.html
http://nnsa.energy.gov/aboutus/ourprograms/nonproliferation
http://nnsa.energy.gov/sites/default/files/nnsa/inlinefiles/ngsi_annual_report.pdf
http://nnsa.energy.gov/sites/default/files/nnsa/inlinefiles/DNN_nonproliferation_gl
obal_map.pdf
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1160_web.pdf
What affects performance?
• International perspectives on nuclear energy
http://www.icjt.org/an/tech/jesvet/jesvet.htm
http://www.industcards.com/ppworld.htm#nuclear%20power%20plants
http://www.icjt.org/nukestat/drzave/drzave.html
http://www.multi-science.co.uk/ms_nuclear-power.pdf
http://www.yuccamountain.org/international.htm
• International supplies of Fuel
http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2008/WEO2008.pdf
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/index.html
http://wwwpub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/cnpp2003/CNPP_Webpage/pages/countryprofiles.htm
http://www.theglobaleducationproject.org/earth/energy-supply.php
• Policy and Economy
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1160_web.pdf
http://www.pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/cnpp2003/CNPP_Webpage/pages/countryprof
iles.htm
What affects performance?
• Safety of nuclear facilities
– There have been only two major accidents in some 14,000 cumulative reactor-years of
commercial operation in 32 countries (3 Mile Island, Chernobyl). Both incidents
occurred largely as a result of operator error. Safety culture has dramatically improved.
– The risks from western nuclear power plants, in terms of the consequences of an
accident or terrorist attack, are minimal compared with other commonly accepted risks.
• Nuclear power plants are very robust; increasingly rely on passive safety features
– Regulating nuclear and radiation safety is a national responsibility.
http://www.hss.energy.gov/nuclearsafety/
http://www.hss.energy.gov/nuclearsafety/ns/rules.html
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf06.html
http://www.worldnuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.html
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf36.html
http://www.listzblog.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures
/3mile2.jpg
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Reactor Design
– Nuclear power plant designs
have evolved over the last 30
years.
– Currently (2010) nuclear
power plants are operating
with generation 2 and 3
reactor styles. The newest
reactors will be generation 3+.
– Generation IV reactors will
advance safety, security, waste
management and new
applications
http://nhsmun2010cstd.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/gif1.jpg
http://www.gen-4.org/
http://www.world-nuclear.org/uploadedFiles/Pocket%20Guide%202009%20Reactors.pdf
http://www.nextgenerationnuclearplant.com/
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Accelerator driven nuclear energy
– Powerful accelerators can produce neutrons by spallation.
– This process may be linked to conventional nuclear reactor technology in an
accelerator-driven system (ADS) to transmute long-lived radioisotopes in used
nuclear fuel into shorter-lived fission products.
– There is also increasing interest in the application of ADSs to running subcritical
nuclear reactors powered by thorium.
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf35.html
http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Magazines/Bulletin/Bull392/arkhipov.html
Thorium as an Energy Source – Opportunities for Norway
Thorium Report Committee, Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (2008).
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Fuel cycle
– The nuclear fuel cycle is a series of
industrial processes that produce
electricity from the fissioning of
uranium in nuclear power reactors.
– Uranium is a relatively common
element that is found throughout
the world. It is mined in a number
of countries and must be processed
before it can be used as fuel for a
nuclear reactor.
– Fuel removed from a reactor, after
it has reached the end of its useful
life, can be reprocessed to produce
new fuel.
– The thorium fuel cycle has
attractive features and dramatically
extends the potential of fissionbased power.
http://www.worldnuclear.org/uploadedImages/org/info/Nuclear_Fuel_Cycle.png?n
=7249
Uranium to electricity: the chemistry of the nuclear fuel cycle
Settle, F.A., Journal of Chemical Education, 86, 3,2009, 316-323
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Types of fuel
– Uranium, currently, is the main component of
nuclear fuel.
– Power reactors are enriched between 2-5% in U235.
– Mixed oxide fuel is a type of fuel that is a mixture
of depleted uranium and recycled plutonium fuel
used in 2% of the new nuclear power plants
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/images/iaea0638_300x200.jpg
http://www.world-nuclear.org/education/uran.htm
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf29.html
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/mox.html
Nuclear fuels - Present and future
Journal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 389, Issue 1, Pages 1-22. 2009
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Nuclear waste management
– Nuclear power is the only power production technology that takes full responsibility for
all wastes it generates and factors their cost into the product
– Used nuclear fuel may be treated directly as waste, or as a resource for the creation of
additional fuel; intact irradiated fuel is considered to be self-protecting for 50-100 years
after discharge form a reactor
– Reactor grade plutonium is not easily weaponized
– Closing the fuel cycle and transmuting actinides reduces long-term radiotoxicity
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf103.html
http://www.nrc.gov/waste.html
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/RadWaste/index.html
http://www.areva.com/EN/operations-1232/recycling-and-used-fuel-developmentactivity-domains.html
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Repositories
– The most hazardous and long-lived radioactive
wastes must be contained and isolated from
humans and the environment for very long times
– A geological repository is an engineered facility
excavated below ~300 meters within a stable
geologic environment
– Elements of repositories include the radioactive
waste, the containers enclosing the waste,
engineered barriers or seals around the
containers, the tunnels housing the containers,
and the geologic makeup of the surrounding area
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf21.html
http://www.nrc.gov/waste/hlw-disposal/design.html
http://www.dalton.manchester.ac.uk/r
esearch/areas/geotechnical/images/Re
pository_001.jpg
Down to Earth: Lingering Nuclear Waste
Science 19 August 2005 309: 1179 [DOI: 10.1126/science.309.5738.1179] (in News
Focus)
Nuclear energy and radioactive waste disposal in the age of recycling
Global 2007: Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Systems, Boise, ID, United
States, Sept. 9-13, 2007
Pages 502-508
Safety of nuclear waste repositories
Chimia Volume 59, Issue 12, Pages 909-915. 2005
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Thorium Cycle
– Thorium can be used for fission energy; it
becomes fissile after absorbing slow neutrons
to produce the fissile isotope U-233.
– U-233 has a higher neutron yield per neutron
absorbed than U-235 and Pu-239
– Large reserves of thorium are present in the
U.S. (~400,000 tons)
http://www.next100.com/Thorium.png
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf62.html
http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Magazines/Bulletin/Bull511/51104894344.pdf
A road map for the realization of global-scale thorium breeding fuel cycle by
single molten-fluoride flow
Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 49, Issue 7, Pages 18321848, 2008
CANDU reactor as a thorium burner
Sahin, S., Yildiz, K., Sahin, H. M., Acir, A., Energy Conservation and
Management, 47, 2006, 1661-1675.
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Nuclear fusion as an
energy source
– Fusion powers the sun and stars as
hydrogen isotopes fuse together to
form helium and matter is converted
into energy
– This offers the prospect of
inexhaustible source of energy for
future generations, but this approach
has scientific and engineering
challenges that have not yet been
solved
http://www.alternativeenergyrevealed.com/images/fusion.jpg
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf66.html
http://www.science.doe.gov/ofes/education.shtml
50 years of fusion research
Nuclear Fusion, Volume 50, Issue 1, Pages 014004/1-014004/14, 2010
Nuclear Fusion
Shannon, Thomas. Energy Conversion Edited by D. Yogi Goswami and Frank
Kreith, CRC Press. 2007
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Nuclear energy to power cars
– Hybrid and electric vehicles would potentially use off-peak power from the grid for
recharging batteries.
– Nuclear heat can be used for production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels from coal.
– Hydrogen (for oil refining and fuel cell vehicles) may be made thermochemically using
process heat from high temperature reactors.
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/electricity_cars_inf120.html
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf70.html
An international overview of nuclear hydrogen production programs
Nuclear Technology, Volume 166, Issue 1, Pages 27-31. 2009
Nuclear energy for transportation: Paths through electricity, hydrogen and liquid
fuels
Progress in Nuclear Energy, Volume 50, Issue 2-6, Pages 411-416. 2008
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Nuclear powered
ships
– Nuclear power is well suited for
naval vessels which must be away
from sources of conventional fuel
for long periods of time.
– Some 150 ships are powered by
220 small nuclear reactors, most of
which are submarines.
– Future constraints on fossil fuel use
in transport may bring marine
propulsion into more widespread
use.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hrj22OM1wsc/TBvgOJi4j2I/AAAAAAAAAFY/EvDuTulneU/s1600/ship_cvn-65_cgn-25_cgn-9_1964_lg.jpg
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf34.html
Where can I learn about the Chemistry?
• Nuclear desalination
– An estimated one fifth of the world’s
population has no access to safe drinking
water.
– Most desalination today uses fossil fuels,
to boil water which contributes to
increased levels of greenhouse gases.
– Major technology is reverse osmosis which
is driven by electric pumps, which is
energy-intensive.
– Small or medium sized reactors are
suitable for desalination applications.
http://www.greenofficeprojects.org/blog/images/desalination.jpg
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf71.html
Research projects show nuclear desalination economical
Seneviratne, G 2007, Nuclear News April 2007
Nuclear desalination by waste heat utilisation in an advanced heavy water reactor
International Journal of Nuclear Desalination, Volume 2 Issue 3, Pages 234243. 2007
Nuclear Waste Forms
Dr. Tina Nenoff
December 22, 2009
What performance is required?
• DOE, Office of Science, Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research
and Office of Nuclear Energy (2006) Workshop on Simulation and
Modeling for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems.
• DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (2006) Basic
Research Needs for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems.
• DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (2007) Basic
Research Needs for Geosciences: Facilitating 21st Century Energy Systems.
• DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (2008) Basic
Research Needs for Materials Under Extreme Environments.
What affects performance?
• M.T. Peters and R.C. Ewing. “A science-based approach to understanding
waste form durability in open and closed nuclear fuel cycles”. Journal of
Nuclear Materials, 2007, vol. 362, 395-401.
• M. I. Ojovan and W. E. Lee. ‘An introduction to nuclear waste
immobilisation’; 2005, Amsterdam, Elsevier Science.
• Gombert, D. Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, Integrated Waste
Management Strategy, Waste Treatment Baseline Study, Vol. 1, 2007,
GNEP-WAST-AI-RT-2007-000324
Where can I learn about the
chemistry?
• Introduction
– Weber, W.J., et. al., Materials Science of High-Level Nuclear Waste, MRS Bulletin, 2009,
34, 46-53.
– Ewing, R., et.al., J. Appl. Phys., 2004, 95(11), 1-23.
• Glass
– Granbow, B. Elements, 2006, 2, 357-364.
– C. M. Jantzen: J. Non-Cryst. Solids, 1986, 84, 215–225.
• Ceramics
– Lumpkin, G.R. Elements, 2006, 2, 365-372.
– Lee, W.E., etal., Advances in Applied Ceramics, 2006, 105(1), 3-12
Where can I learn about the
chemistry?
• Containers
– International Atomic Energy Agency, “Multi-purpose container technologies for spent
fuel management,” Dec. 2000 (IAEA-TECDOC-1192) pp. 1-49.
– U.S. Department of Energy, “Conceptual Design for a Waste-Management System that
Uses Multipurpose Canisters,” Jan. 1994 pp. 1-14.
– National Conference of State Legislatures, “Developing a Multipurpose Canister System
for Spent Nuclear Fuel,” State Legislative Report, vol. 19, No. 4 by Sia Davis et al., Mar. 1,
1994, pp. 1-4.
– Energy Storm Article, “Multi-purpose canister system evaluation: A systems engineering
approach,” Author unavailable, Sep. 1, 1994 pp. 1-2.
– Science, Society, and America's Nuclear Waste—Teacher Guide, “The Role of the MultiPurpose Canister in the Waste Management System,” Author—unknown, Date—
unknown, 5 pgs.
– Ziock et al., “Radiation imaging of Dry-Storage Casks for Spent Nuclear Fuel,” 2005 IEEE,
Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record, pp. 1163-1167.
– Ahn, J. Environmental Impact of Yucca Mountain Repository in the case of Canister
Failure”, Nuclear Technology, 2007, 157,87.
Recommended Reading List
• M.T. Peters and R.C. Ewing. “A science-based approach to understanding
waste form durability in open and closed nuclear fuel cycles”. Journal of
Nuclear Materials, 2007, vol. 362, 395-401.