Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Introduction
Abstract
This chapter lists the capacity of commercial nuclear power plants built
and operated in different countries of the world in 2013. About 80 % of all operating
nuclear power plants are Light Water Reactors (LWRs), predominantly Pressurized
Water Reactors (PWRs) and Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs). An additional 11 %
are Heavy Water Reactors (HWRs) and 4 % are advanced gas cooled, graphite
moderated nuclear power reactors (AGRs). Only about 3.4 % are Russian retrofitted
RBMK1000 reactors still operating in Russia. One prototype Fast Breeder Reactor
(FBR) was operating in Russia, one became operational in India and one experi-
mental FBR was operated in Japan.
The resources of natural uranium were assessed in 2007 by IAEA and OECD/
NEA to be 5.47 million tons (reasonably assured and inferred). An additional 7.77
million tons of speculative and about 4.2 million tons in the Chattanooga Shales in
the USA are listed.
These uranium resources are then contrasted with the uranium consumption of
each nuclear power reactor which is 171 tons per GW(e) and year for LWRs. If
plutonium recycling in a closed fuel cycle is applied this uranium consumption is
reduced by a factor of 1.55. FBRs would consume only 1.7 tons of U-238 per GW
(e) and year which would extend the time period for nuclear energy application
(uranium and thorium resources) to thousands of years.
For LWRs and other commercial nuclear reactors the natural uranium must be
enriched. This is done predominantly by the gaseous diffusion and the gas centri-
fuge process. The laser enrichment process (SILEX) is still under deployment in the
USA. Commercial spent fuel reprocessing facilities were built and are operated in
France, Great Britain, Russia and Japan. This reprocessing capacity in the world
can reprocess the spent fuel of about half of the presently operating LWR capac-
ities. The majority of nuclear power plants built and operated in the world today is
used for electricity generation. Such nuclear power reactors are built in unit sizes of
about 1 and 1.6 GW(e) and operated for economical reasons mainly in the so-called
base load regime.
