Nuclear frel and nuclead reactors Gul. Most important Isotopes in nuclear energy production Thee detinitions: Fissile: fr fasctle Isotope can fission with a neutren with veey lew enedgy. Fizsile Isotopes constitute the actual fuel, because , without them , the fission chaln heaction cannot be achieved. Fotile: A fertile Isotope can be converted to a fissile Isotape in @ nuclear react (Wh), The new fissile prodlerced i He nuclear fuel aleo coubibutes to frssions, ths, to the enetgy production Fissonable: A fession able loTope can fossion with a neutron wilh an energy above a threshold, To make a WR critical (meaning that the fission chaby teaction occurs on a one-to-one basis), nuclear fuel must contain a certain fraction of fessile isotopes.A NR camot- be made ctitscal with fertile o frsstonable isotopes enly. Is The most important fissile Prolope is ott because it's the nly natural fossite isetepe. The naturol Lranitm consists of 3 reotepes. 238 235 234 je U+r U + 92 o2 92 92 Co Fo 99.274. 0.7205 0.0056 Yo (od-omic erceat in nature, alse cabed ‘shun donce”) (J-234 is usually not important due to its very low abundance in natural Li, and often distegatded. Roughly, the atom ratio =p W-238 2/40 U-235 in natural U. Se, we soy: jin 1000 neturol LI atoms , approximately, S93 a t-258 7 we” pl eeThe fraction of U-235 in LU is alco g called “enrichment” The enrichment of notutol L/ F< neatly 07 YB (weight. percent) on 0.7 Uy to be exact: Then, the actual nuclear fuel (thet 7, frssite) js U-235. det, U-238 (about JAZ Wo of natural Uf) is a tertile isotope. (n a NR, L-238 gees throug 4 the following nucleak Keactons U-238 + {in —> U-239 + x (n,¥) beaction ; alse called radia Since tive capTure @ 2 a neution 1s captured kL ¥ todiation Ie euitted. | ° U-239 ———>_ Np-238 +, P [Pemins decoy , the half-life of this decay is T= 23.5 min.]Np-239 ———s Py-239 + 6 7 -t [Ancther B-minus decay, with “f= 2.35 days i To sum it up, L238 absoibs @ nevitton andl then, by twe subsequent PB decays, tums into = Py—239, Plutonium -239. 238 4 fu is another important. fissile lsotepe Pa is net noturel, does not exist in nature. ee In addvtion te naturally found & fertile L238, Th is also futile. About 100 fy of Moe notnl Th is Th-232. When [h-232 7s put ito a NR, it can abseib a peutiey, and by 2 subsegzent B decays, tuin into @ fissile Tsotope : 7 gol Note that LI-233 does not exist in nature,1 Th -232 + ,N—> Th-233 + Th -233 2797 + | ha +P y= 22 min ba -233 U-233 + B Ty= 27 days 74 hn summary, we have 2 important Pessite and 2 supertant fertile jsolepes: eg eee eae, Py- 239 /h~ 232 dy aaiton , we have Pa~2d/ as a Persie Isotope; however, because 12's prodiced hom fy 239 (hb Pa-2g0) m a WR, tes amount = telatively smal! in spent nuctear fuel. (had 's why it's comparatively less HomporZand The Plowing Cable exhibits the isotopes divcussed.Important isotopes in nuclear energy production: ‘Uranium (U) Plutonium (Pu) ‘Thorium (Fh) [U-235 (fissile, natural u-239 (Fissile, unnatural) | Th-232 (Feil, natural) {U-238 (Fertile, natural) Pu-24l (Rise, unatral) Uranium: Natural U coniains nearly 0.7 wio (weight pevcent) U-235 and 99.3 wie W238" | "_U-235: Only natural fissile isotope. nverted to Pu-239 in nuclear reactors 233: Unnatural, fissile; it can be formed from Th-232 in nuclear reactors Plutonium: does not exist in nature Pu-239: An important fissile isotope formed from U-239 in nuclear reactors 24: A relatively less important isotope formed rom Pu-239 in nclear reacts. Thor =a, im: Natural Th contains about 100 w/o Th-292 Fertile can be converted to U-233, Tatra U, theres also U-234isorope by-24 Is elacvely los important because Is Ferme from Pu-239) in salle amount. Hs nuclear engineering stodants, yeu should bree (memorize if necessary) about these isotepes; WAI is fissile, which Is natural, which be fertile, which is converted to which ia a WR. Keay abuays in mind that’ a WR ceonst be ported hd a Desile isetepe in the fel. Nuclear fasl always consists 6 a fessilet fertile mixture, The Fesile achiever the firsien chain seaction while the fertile ts converted to new fissile in Wh. nce the new fessile is farmed, HL also statts fosstoning , thus contributing to energy production.