NUCLEAR POWER

- A Future Prospective

Presented by:

B. Pallavi Sarkar
Regd. No. 0801214094
Department of Electrical Engineering
OUTLINE
 INTRODUCTION

WORKING PRINCIPLE

COST OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

SAFETY

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

COMPARE TO OTHER ENERGY SOURCES

CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTIO
N
 Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the
world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity.

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear

fission to generate heat and do useful work.

 In 2007, the IAEA reported there were 439 nuclear

power reactors in operation in the world, operating in
31 countries. 
 Working Principle
Nuclear power plants convert the energy released from the nucleus of an
atom, by nuclear fission.

 When a relatively large fissile atomic nucleus absorbs a neutron, a fission

of the atom often results.

 Fission splits the atom into two or more smaller nuclei with kinetic energy
also releases gamma radiation and free neutrons.

  These neutrons are later absorbed by other fissile atoms and create more
fissions.

 These nuclear chain reaction can be controlled by using neutron poisons

and neutron moderators.
TYPES OF NUCLEAR REACTOR

1. Pressurized Water Reactor

Ordinary water is used as both neutron moderators and coolant.

The water used as moderator and primary coolant is separate to the
water used to generate steam and to drive a turbine.

2.Boiling Water Reactor

Ordinary light water is used as both a moderator and coolant.

 The water is converted into steam and used to drive the generator
turbine.
3. High Temperature And Cooled Gas Reactors
 The nuclear reaction is mostly moderated by carbon.
These reactors can achieve significantly higher efficiencies than
PWRs.

4.Heavy Water Reactors

Heavy Water reactors are similar to PWRs but use water enriched
with the deuterium isotope of Hydrogen as the moderator and
coolant.
This type of water is called "heavy water“.
COST OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

 Nuclear power plants typically have high

capital costs for building the plant, but have a
very low fuel costs and also have a long
productive life .
SAFETY

1. Control of Radioactivity

2. Maintenance of Core Cooling

3. Maintenance of barriers that prevent the release of

radiation

4. Safety for the workers of nuclear power plants.

 ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGES
Nuclear power's biggest advantage:

 It doesn't depend on fossil fuels. 

 Isn't affected by fluctuating oil and gas prices.
 Here CO2 emissions are minimal incomparision to coal
and natural gas power plants

The negatives:

Historically, mining and purifying uranium hasn't been a

very clean process.
Even transporting nuclear fuel to and from plants poses a
contamination risk.
Once the fuel is spent, it's still radioactive and potentially
deadly.
FUTURE
DEVELOPMENT
 In the US the licenses of almost half its reactors have
been extended to 60 years, and plans to build another
dozen are under serious consideration.

 The U.S. NRC and the U.S. Department of Energy

have initiated research into Light water reactor
sustainability which is hoped will lead to allow extensions of
reactor licenses beyond 60 years, provided that safety can
be maintained.

 China has 25 under construction, with plans to build

more reactors.
India has a flourishing and largely indigenous nuclear
power program and expects to have 20,000 MWe nuclear
capacity on line by 2020 and 63,000 MWe by 2032. It
aims to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear power
by 2050.

India has a vision of becoming a world leader in nuclear

technology due to its expertise in fast reactors and thorium
fuel cycle. 

There is a possible hurdle to production of nuclear

power plants as only a few companies worldwide have the
capacity to build single-piece reactor pressure vessels,
which are necessary in the most common reactor designs.
COMPARISON WITH OTHER ENERGY SOURCES
Fossil Fuels
•A finite resource
•Produces pollutants, their major waste by-product being carbon-dioxide
gas
Oil

•The most precious and least abundant of the world's fossil fuels
•Produces pollutants like CO2

Coal
•Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel and are sufficient for at least
300 years of exploitation.
•Dangerous to mine.
•Causes pollution to a great extent.
Natural Gas
•The price of NG is steadily rising
•Produces 40 -50 % fewer CO2 emissions for the same amount of electricity
generated as Coal

Solar
•Solar energy has made significant progress is displacing fossil fuel
technologies from many niche applications
•It can be utilized as:
Solar Thermal
Solar Photo Voltaic

Wind
•Utilizes modern-versions of wind-mills to produce electricity
•Its main drawback is its intermittent availability
Biomass
•Utilize various biological processes to generate hydrocarbon fuels like
Methane Gas and Diesel fuel
•Presently unsuitable for large-scale electricity production

Geothermal Energy
•Relies on converting heat trapped underground to generate useful power.
•Advantage - available 24 hours a day
•At this point in time it is difficult to estimate the cost of large scale Enhanced
Geothermal power

Hydrogen
•A completely clean fuel
•It can be consumed in a Fuel Cell to produce electricity and emits only water
CONCLUSION

By further studies, conclusion has been made that

now the nuclear power industries produce
electricity at lesser cost than earlier and now more
safer and reliable means of disposure of waste is
being done and it is quite cheaper and long lasting
than the other energy source.
REFERENCE

Wikipedia
•Ferguson, Charles D., (2007). Nuclear Energy: Balancing Benefits and
Risks Council on Foreign Relations.
•Herbst, Alan M. and George W. Hopley (2007). Nuclear Energy Now: Why
the Time has come for the World's Most Misunderstood Energy Source,
Wiley.
•Schneider, Mycle, Steve Thomas, Antony Froggatt, Doug Koplow (August
2009). The World Nuclear Industry Status Report, German Federal Ministry
of Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety.
THAN
K YOU