Nuclear Power Plant

Comanche Peak Power Plant, Glen Rose, TX

Source: P. A. Scholle & D. S. Ulmer-Scholle, 1997, SEPM Photo CD-14, Environmental Sciences 5, SEPM, Tulsa,
 Number of Operable Reactors Worldwide
Around 10% of the world's electricity is World Electricity Production by Source 2018

generated by about 440 nuclear power

reactors. About 50 more reactors are
under construction, equivalent to
approximately 15% of existing capacity.

In 2019 nuclear plants supplied 2657

TWh of electricity, up from 2563 TWh in
2018. This is the seventh consecutive
year that global nuclear generation has
risen, with output 311 TWh higher than
in 2012.
https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx
 International Nuclear Electricity Production

https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx
 Nuclear Power in Asia

https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/others/asias-nuclear-energy-growth.aspx
 Basic Concept
“Nuclear technology uses the
energy released by splitting the
atoms of certain elements. It was
first developed in the 1940s,
during the Second World War
which initially focused on
producing bombs. In the 1950s
attention turned to the peaceful
use of nuclear fission, controlling it http://www.iccf11.org/fission-reactor/
for power generation.” (Nuclear The total binding energy released in fission
Power in the World Today) of an atomic nucleus varies with the precise
https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-
future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx break up, but averages about 200 MeV* for
U-235 or 3.2 x 10-11 joule.
Nuclear power plants use Uranium fuel pellets that contains approximately
3% U-235 that is encased in a ceramic matrix. The pellets are aligned in
linear arrays (fuel rods) that are interspersed with moveable control rods.
The control rods act to dampen (or to stop) the nuclear reactions so that
the nuclear reactions do not get out of control or to service the reactor (ie.
fuel rod change outs). Plutonium (Pu-239) is another fuel used in nuclear
energy.
https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/power.html

Source: P. A. Scholle & D. S. Ulmer-

Scholle, 1997, SEPM Photo CD-14,
Environmental Sciences 5, SEPM,
Tulsa, OK.
• The Fuel Rods and Control Rod assembly
are held in the reactor core which is
submerged in water to help keep the core
cool.
• A power plant having around 13 million
pellets in the reactor can sustain its fuel
for 3 to 4 years. To optimize power
production, between 1/3 and 1/4 of the
fuel rods are changed out every 12 to 18
months.
• The reactor vessel is housed first in a
radiation shield liner and then in a
containment structure. This double
walled design is used to make certain that
communities are safe from radiation leaks
 Common Types of Reactors
1. Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) - water is heated by the nuclear reactions,
but because the water is pressurized, it doesn't boil. The water in the
reactor heats a secondary water in the steam generator side, on a different
loop so they do not mix.

https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/power.html
• PWR use a reactor pressure vessel (RPV)
to contain the nuclear fuel, moderator,
control rods and coolant.
• The reactor assembly is cooled and
moderated by high-pressure liquid water (
̴16MPa). At this pressure water boils at
approximately 350°C (662°F). To prevent
from boiling, the water (coolant) is heated
in the reactor core to approximately
325°C (617°F) only.
• The Secondary water in the steam
generator boils at pressure approximately
6-7 MPa (260°C) saturated steam. The
typical efficiency of the Steam Cycle
(Rankine cycle) is about 33%. https://www.britannica.com/technology/
https://www.nuclear-power.net/pwr-pressurized-water-reactor/ nuclear-reactor/Types-of-reactors
2. Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) is cooled and moderated by water like a
PWR, but at a lower pressure (7MPa), which allows the water to boil
inside the pressure vessel producing the steam that runs the turbines.
The BWRs don’t have any steam generator and there is no primary and
secondary water loops.

https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/power.html
• The thermal efficiency of BWR
can be higher, and they can be
simpler, and even potentially
more stable and safe.
• The disadvantage of BWR is
that any fuel leak can make the
water radioactive and that
radioactivity can reach the
turbine and the rest of the
loop.
https://www.nuclear-power.net/bwr-boiling-water-
reactor/
https://www.britannica.com/technology/nuclear-reactor/
Types-of-reactors
 Spent Fuel Management
• An irradiated fuel is due to presence of high
amount of radioactive fission fragments and
transuranic elements which are very hot and
very radioactive.
• Spent nuclear fuel is usually stored
underwater in the Spent Fuel Pool for several
years (> 5 years) to cool it down as its
radioactivity decays away.
• It is then place to an Interim Storage either at
the power plant site or at a centralized
location for a minimum period of 50 to 100
years.
• Final disposal is through Deep Geological
Repository (DGR), which is an underground
emplacement in stable geological formations.
https://www.nuclear-power.net/nuclear-power-plant/nuclear-fuel/spent-fuel/spent- Nuclear Fuel Cycle. Source: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
fuel-management/ from US. License: CC BY 2.0
 Advantages of Nuclear Power Plant
• Creates little or no greenhouse gases.
• Doesn't use a valuable resource – hydrocarbons.
• Less in other pollution (for example, fly ash).
• More efficient energy source (for the same volume of fuel, it produces far
more energy than carbon-based fuels).
• Reliable source of energy; reactors, with a few exceptions, spend little
down time.
• Cost effective when a standardized reactor design is used.
• Produces little waste.
• Reactor technology is now well developed.
https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/why.html
 Disadvantages of Nuclear Power Plant
• Safety issues and the public perceptions of nuclear energy.
• Possibility of accidents: people remember Chernobyl and Three Mile
Island.
• Too many reactor designs (for example in the US) make training safety
personnel and plant employees more difficult and emergency response
problematic.
• Spent fuel storage and disposal pose a high risk to the environment.
• The amount of time it takes to get a nuclear power plant from planning to
producing electricity.
• High price of construction.
https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/why.html
• Mining & refining uranium can create environmental and health problems
including degrading aquifers; huge tailing and mine waste issues exposed
to the surface; mine, transportation and mill workers exposure to radon
and uranium, and other mining related issues.
• Transportation safety of nuclear wastes.
• Life span of current reactors (~60 years).
• General safety issues.
https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/why.html
Example:
A Nuclear Power Plant with a rated capacity of 750 MW uses 4% enriched
uranium and has a thermal efficiency of 28%. If it is expected that 20% of
the U235 contained in the original fuel will be consumed during the first
year of continuous operation, calculate the initial fuel requirement for the
nuclear plant in metric tons.
Given:
Rated Capacity = 750 MW
Plant Thermal Eff. = 28%
Fuel = 4% enriched U235
Fuel Consumption = 20% per yr
Time Frame = 1 year
Required:
Initial Mass of Uranium Fuel? https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/power.html
Solution:
𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 ( 𝐸𝑃 )
𝔷 𝑡h = × 100 %
𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑇h𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 ( 𝑄 𝐴 )
( 750,000 𝑘𝑊 )( 8760 h𝑟 / 𝑦𝑟 )
28 %=
( 𝑚𝑈 − 235) ( 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 )
From:

So that: Avogadro’s Constant

 thus:

Solving for mass of fuel:

or
Since the mass of the enriched (U235) is only 4% of the Natural Uranium Fuel
(U238), the total mass of Uranium fuel is:

Since the mass of the Uranium Fuels accounts for the 20% expected consumption
during continuous operation in 1 year, then the Required Mass of Fuel is:

or