Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
lium gas is inert, so leaks are not radioactive. The heat could also be used
to refine shale oil or desalinate water. Each day about 3,000 pebbles are re-
moved from the bottom as some fuel is spent from the 360,000 pebbles, so
there is no need to shut down the reactor to replace fuel. The pebbles are
fireproof and extremely difficult to turn into weapons. If the fuel gets too
hot, it begins absorbing neutrons, shutting down the reactor.
A modular 250-MW reactor of this type could be constructed off-site
and then shipped by truck or train. This could shorten construction time
by 2 years with corresponding cost savings. China and South Africa plan
to build full-scale prototypes.
Three of the Generation IV designs under consideration are fast
breeder reactors The fast neutrons in the core have no moderator to slow
them down. When these fast neutrons collide with fuel particles, they can
generate more fuel. These reactors use gas, sodium or molten lead for
cooling.
The burning of coal and other fossil fuels is driving the concerns
over climate change, but nuclear energy provides an alternative. The risks
of atomic piles are manageable beside that of fossil fuels. Unlike glob-
al warming, radiation containment, waste disposal, and nuclear weap-
ons proliferation are more manageable. The latest generation III+ reactors
seems to be fuel-efficient, use passive safety technologies, and could be
cost-competitive.
Four crucial factors could help to ease the leap from a hydrocarbon
to a nuclear era: regulating carbon emissions, revamping the fuel cycle,
revitalizing innovation in nuclear technology, and replacing gasoline with
hydrogen.
This push is due to several factors and the most significant is the
global-warming question. Large companies are now supporting green-
house gas reduction and several of the world's major environmentalists
now support nuclear power, noting that with the threat of warming, an
emission-free power source is critical.
References
Colvin, Geoffrey, “Nuclear Power Is Back—Not a Moment Too Soon” Fortune , Volume, 151,
p. 57, May 30, 2005.
Duane, Daniel, “Meadow's End,” Mother Jones , Volume 29, pp. 64-67, July/August 2004.
Glaser, Peter E. “Power from the Sun, Its Future,” Science , Volume 162 No.3856, Nov. 22, 1968,
pp. 857-861.
Glaser, Peter E., Frank P. Davidson and Katinka Csigi, Solar Power Satellites , John Wiley &
Sons:, New York, 1998.
Greenblat, Alan, “Say Hello to Kyoto,” Governing , Volume 18, p. 63, September 2005.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search