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.htmhttp://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf29.html

The future of nuclear power: value orientations and risk perceptionWhitfield, S. C., Rosa, E. A., Dan, A. Dietz, T., Risk Analysis, 29, 3, 2009, 425-437.

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 weapons-applicable 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 weapons-usable nuclear and radiological materials

• Dispose of surplus weapons-usable nuclear and radiological materials

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf12.htmlhttp://nnsa.energy.gov/aboutus/ourprograms/nonproliferationhttp://nnsa.energy.gov/sites/default/files/nnsa/inlinefiles/ngsi_annual_report.pdfhttp://nnsa.energy.gov/sites/default/files/nnsa/inlinefiles/DNN_nonproliferation_global_map.pdfhttp://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1160_web.pdf

What affects performance?• International perspectives on nuclear energy

• International supplies of Fuel

• Policy and Economy

http://www.icjt.org/an/tech/jesvet/jesvet.htmhttp://www.industcards.com/ppworld.htm#nuclear%20power%20plantshttp://www.icjt.org/nukestat/drzave/drzave.htmlhttp://www.multi-science.co.uk/ms_nuclear-power.pdfhttp://www.yuccamountain.org/international.htm

http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2008/WEO2008.pdfhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/index.htmlhttp://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/cnpp2003/CNPP_Webpage/pages/countryprofiles.htmhttp://www.theglobaleducationproject.org/earth/energy-supply.php

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1160_web.pdfhttp://www.pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/cnpp2003/CNPP_Webpage/pages/countryprofiles.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.htmlhttp://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf06.htmlhttp://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.htmlhttp://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://www.gen-4.org/

http://www.world-nuclear.org/uploadedFiles/Pocket%20Guide%202009%20Reactors.pdf

http://www.nextgenerationnuclearplant.com/

http://nhsmun2010cstd.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/gif1.jpg

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 NorwayThorium 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 fission-based power. http://www.world-nuclear.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 U-235.

– 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.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 futureJournal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 389, Issue 1, Pages 1-22. 2009

http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/images/iaea0638_300x200.jpg

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-development-activity-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.htmlhttp://www.nrc.gov/waste/hlw-disposal/design.html

Down to Earth: Lingering Nuclear WasteScience 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, 2007Pages 502-508

Safety of nuclear waste repositories Chimia Volume 59, Issue 12, Pages 909-915. 2005

http://www.dalton.manchester.ac.uk/research/areas/geotechnical/images/Repository_001.jpg

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.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 1832-1848, 2008

CANDU reactor as a thorium burner Sahin, S., Yildiz, K., Sahin, H. M., Acir, A., Energy Conservation and

Management, 47, 2006, 1661-1675.

http://www.next100.com/Thorium.png

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.world-nuclear.org/info/inf66.htmlhttp://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 FusionShannon, Thomas. Energy Conversion Edited by D. Yogi Goswami and Frank Kreith, CRC Press. 2007

http://www.alternativeenergyrevealed.com/images/fusion.jpg

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 programsNuclear 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://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf34.html

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hrj22OM1wsc/TBvgOJi4j2I/AAAAAAAAAFY/EvDuTul-neU/s1600/ship_cvn-65_cgn-25_cgn-9_1964_lg.jpg

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.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 234-243. 2007

http://www.greenofficeprojects.org/blog/images/desalination.jpg

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 Multi-Purpose 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.