NUCLEAR ENERGY

NUCLEAR ENERGY



Jason Leiferman

Eric Lundstrom

Pete Vorpagel

Cassie Gallati

Danielle McGill

What is Nuclear Energy?

 Nuclear energy is the energy that is

trapped inside each atom

 An Atom’s nucleus can be split,

known as fission, which creates

energy, known as nuclear energy.

 Energy can also be produced by

fusion, which is the product of two

hydrogen atoms combining to

produce 1 helium atom. Is not

possible today.

Cont…



 Uranium is main element

used to produce nuclear

energy.

 Uranium is mined

 Processed into tiny pellets

 Sent through nuclear power

process in either the Boiling

Water Reactor System OR

the Pressurized Water

Reactor.

Boiling Water Reactor System

Pressurized Water Reactor

Reliability and Efficiency

 Produces same amount each time

 Largest source of emission-free electricity,

and second largest source of power

 Aren’t subject to weather, cost

fluctuations, or foreign dependence

 Most for the money

Availability of Uranium

 Relatively common metal found in rocks

and seawater

 Not scarce, averages 2 parts per million of

Earth’s crust

 50 years supply available

Availability of Plutonium

 Found in trace quantities in Uranium

ore

 Synthesized by the transmutation of

Uranium

 Small quantities found from fallout of

atomic bombs and radiation leaks

Fossil Fuels

 Account for 90% of world’s energy

Petroleum- 40%

Coal- 24%

Natural Gas- 22%

 Non-Renewable

Nuclear Energy Usage

 17% of World’s electricity

 Lithuania gets about 80% of their electricity

from nuclear energy

 400 power plants in the world



 20% of US electricity

 Main source of energy in Texas, Illinois,

Arizona, and Vermont.

 Not main source of electricity

3 Mile Island



 March 28th 1979, Middletown

Pennsylvania

 Electrical failure in

secondary section of the

plant.

 Coolant problem and

instrument failures.

 Core and fuel began to melt

Chernobyl

 April 25th 1986, Chernobyl, Ukraine

 No safety culture to fix design problems

 Reactor became unstable at low power

levels causing an uncontrollable power

increase.

 Operators violated many safety protecols.

 Communications break down.

Chernobyl

 Reactor to be shut down for maintenance

and tests.

 Operational error, power feel to dangerous

levels.

 Increase in coolant flow and drop in

pressure. Rods removed.

 Operators reduced coolant flow.

Chernobyl





 Design flaw caused

instability. Power increased

100 fold.

 Temperature rise caused

melt down.

 Steam explosion destroyed

reactor core.

 Radiation leak spread from

reactor core.

Safety Today

 High-quality design and construction

 Equipment which prevents operational

disturbances developing into problems

 Redundant and diverse systems to detect

problems and control core damage.

 Provision to confine the effects of severe

fuel damage to the plant inself.

Safety in the U.S.

 Containment structures

 Structures are extremely strong

 International Atomic Energy Agency

(IAEA)



* Less deaths associated with nuclear

energy than with fossil fuels

Some Common Misconceptions

 Spent and un-spent nuclear fuel is too

weak to explode

 Uranium used in nuclear weapons has to

be enriched to 20%-90% pure, the fuel

used in power plants is about 4%

 Nuclear fuel is not flammable

 Water discharged from a nuclear power

plant contains no harmful pollutants

Pros

 Nuclear Plants don’t emit

harmful gases such as

nitrogen oxide, sulfur

dioxide, carbon dioxide

or other greenhouse

gases

 Emission-free because it

does not burn anything

to produce electricity

Pros

 Nuclear power plants

take up less land than

other kinds of plants

 To build the equivalent

of a 1,000 megawatt

nuclear power plant a

solar plant would be

35,000 acres, a wind

farm 150,000

Pros

 One nuclear pellet produces as much

energy as 1,780 lbs. of coal, 149 gallons

of oil, or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas

 Lowest production cost of the major

sources of energy, 1.72 cents/kwh. Coal,

1.8 cents, natural gas 5.77 cents, and

petroleum 5.53 cents

Relative Price Volatility of Energy Sources

Monthly Fuel Cost in $/MWh



120



100

COAL

80 NATURAL GAS

OIL (HEAVY)

60 URANIUM



40



20



0

5

95

96

96

97

97

98

98

99

99

00

00

01

01

02

02

9

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

J-

Cons

 Waste from nuclear

reactors remains

radioactive for hundreds

of years

 High costs associated

with decommissioning

obsolete reactors

 Nuclear accidents, while

rare, can be very

dangerous and costly

TODAY YOU LEARNED…

 That fission is what produces nuclear

energy…not fusion

 Nuclear Energy is the most cost efficient

 20% of U.S energy comes from Nuclear

Energy

 The use of nuclear energy for electricity

generation can be considered extremely

safe

 The pro’s outweigh the cons

Sources

 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-

sheets/3mile-isle.html

 http://www.world-nuclear.org/factsheets/uranium.htm

 http://webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Pu/

geol.html

 www.enviroliteracy.org/subcatergory.php/21.htm

 http://www.tva.gov/power/nuclear.htm

 http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/n_renew/nuclear.htm

 http://www.nei.org

 http://www.chernobyl.co.uk/sequence.html

 http://www.uic.com.au/nip14.htm

 http://www.ans.org