0
There is around 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide waste produced by coal power plants. This is released by a natural gas.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Which is not a source of nuclear waste?
Coal, oil.....
Does nuclear fusion produce more radioactive waste than nuclear fision?
The waste from coal power stations has virtually no radioactive waste where as anuclear plants waste is nearly all toxic.Completely Wrong. All coal waste is toxic. Coal fired power plants chuck out all the radioactive elements that were in the coal that was burned. This is fairly old news from the 70's. Excellent source: http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html .More facts that are totally ignored by the media as governors and industrial groups lobby to continue to launch toxic, hazardous and poisonous elements and compounds into the air from the stacks, and onto the land downwind.The following is quoted. There is no copyright on this article at this website. Thanks to ORNL.Web site provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Communications and External RelationsORNL is a multi-program research and development facility managed by UT-Battelle for the US Department of Energy"Because existing coal-fired power plants vary in size and electrical output, to calculate the annual coal consumption of these facilities, assume that the typical plant has an electrical output of 1000 megawatts. Existing coal-fired plants of this capacity annually burn about 4 million tons of coal each year. Further, considering that in 1982 about 616 million short tons (2000 pounds per ton) of coal was burned in the United States (from 833 million short tons mined, or 74%), the number of typical coal-fired plants necessary to consume this quantity of coal is 154.Using these data, the releases of radioactive materials per typical plant can be calculated for any year. For the year 1982, assuming coal contains uranium and thorium concentrations of 1.3 ppm and 3.2 ppm, respectively, each typical plant released 5.2 tons of uranium (containing 74 pounds of uranium-235) and 12.8 tons of thorium that year. Total U.S. releases in 1982 (from 154 typical plants) amounted to 801 tons of uranium (containing 11,371 pounds of uranium-235) and 1971 tons of thorium. These figures account for only 74% of releases from combustion of coal from all sources.Releases in 1982 from worldwide combustion of 2800 million tons of coal totaled 3640 tons of uranium (containing 51,700 pounds of uranium-235) and 8960 tons of thorium.Based on the predicted combustion of 2516 million tons of coal in the United States and 12,580 million tons worldwide during the year 2040, cumulative releases for the 100 years of coal combustion following 1937 are predicted to be:U.S. release (from combustion of 111,716 million tons):Uranium: 145,230 tons (containing 1031 tons of uranium-235)Thorium: 357,491 tonsWorldwide release (from combustion of 637,409 million tons):Uranium: 828,632 tons (containing 5883 tons of uranium-235)Thorium: 2,039,709 tonsRadioactivity from Coal CombustionThe main sources of radiation released from coal combustion include not only uranium and thorium but also daughter products produced by the decay of these isotopes, such as radium, radon, polonium, bismuth, and lead. Although not a decay product, naturally occurring radioactive potassium-40 is also a significant contributor.According to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), the average radioactivity per short ton of coal is 17,100 millicuries/4,000,000 tons, or 0.00427 millicuries/ton. This figure can be used to calculate the average expected radioactivity release from coal combustion. For 1982 the total release of radioactivity from 154 typical coal plants in the United States was, therefore, 2,630,230 millicuries.Thus, by combining U.S. coal combustion from 1937 (440 million tons) through 1987 (661 million tons) with an estimated total in the year 2040 (2516 million tons), the total expected U.S. radioactivity release to the environment by 2040 can be determined. That total comes from the expected combustion of 111,716 million tons of coal with the release of 477,027,320 millicuries in the United States. Global releases of radioactivity from the predicted combustion of 637,409 million tons of coal would be 2,721,736,430 millicuries.For comparison, according to NCRP Reports No. 92 and No. 95, population exposure from operation of 1000-MWe nuclear and coal-fired power plants amounts to 490 person-rem/year for coal plants and 4.8 person-rem/year for nuclear plants. Thus, the population effective dose equivalent from coal plants is 100 times that from nuclear plants. For the complete nuclear fuel cycle, from mining to reactor operation to waste disposal, the radiation dose is cited as 136 person-rem/year; the equivalent dose for coal use, from mining to power plant operation to waste disposal, is not listed in this report and is probably unknown....Although trace quantities of radioactive heavy metals are not nearly as likely to produce adverse health effects as the vast array of chemical by-products from coal combustion, the accumulated quantities of these isotopes over 150 or 250 years could pose a significant future ecological burden and potentially produce adverse health effects, especially if they are locally accumulated. Because coal is predicted to be the primary energy source for electric power production in the foreseeable future, the potential impact of long-term accumulation of by-products in the biosphere should be considered. "Personally, more concerned about the complete waste slate, but the radioactive portion always deserves mention.Simple search by high school chemistry students found the West Virginia coal trace elements shown in an average ppm for nearly 800 samples.Antimony (Sb)1.02Arsenic (As)17.13Barium (Ba)109.86Beryllium (Be)2.57Bismuth (Bi)0.32Boron (B)20.01Bromine (Br)23.88Cadmium (Cd)0.096Cerium (Ce)16.88Cesium (Cs)1.15Chlorine (Cl)959Chromium (Cr)17.85Cobalt (Co)7.41Copper (Cu)20.4Dysprosium (Dy)2.03Erbium (Er)1.09Europium (Eu)0.33Fluorine (F)62.68Gadolinium (Gd)1.46Gallium (Ga)6.45Germanium (Ge)3.09Gold (Au)6.062Hafnium (Hf)0.72Holmium (Ho)0.52Indium (In)0.91Iridium (Ir)0.95Lanthanum (La)9.23Lead (Pb)8.19Lithium (Li)19.09Lutetium (Lu)0.133Manganese (Mn)21.29Mercury (Hg)0.19Molybdenum (Mo)2.37Neodymium (Nd)8.65Nickel (Ni)13.99Niobium (Nb)3.21Praseodymium (Pr)3.11Rhenium (Re)0.57Rubidium (Rb)23.62Samarium (Sm)1.52Scandium (Sc)3.71Selenium (Se)4.2Silver (Ag)0.058Strontium (Sr)91.68Tantalum (Ta)0.195Tellurium (Te)0.083Terbium (Tb)0.261Thallium (Tl)1.194Thorium (Th)3.02Thulium (Tm)0.283Tin (Sn)2.2Tungsten (W)0.79Uranium (U)1.59Vanadium (V)24.36Ytterbium (Yb)0.8Yttrium (Y)7.53Zinc (Zn)14.97Zirconium (Zr)24.32To determine emissions of these elements just follow the example above with the Thorium and Uranium and factor from those tons.
How is nuclear waste created?
High level nuclear waste is created in two main ways: - Nuclear energy reactors during normal operations generate radioactivity which affects metals and water in the plant; also used-up fuel is left over after being used for reaction. - Nuclear weapons programs use nuclear reactors to create plutonium with a lot of radioactive byproducts. The leftover materials and just about everything that comes near the weapons material becomes nuclear waste. Low level nuclear waste is created in many ways, some of them not so obvious. - Hospitals use radiation in cancer treatment, nuclear imaging, etc. - Homes use radioactive materials in smoke detectors. - Naturally occurring radiation can effectively be concentrated in air and water filters, such as radon filters for well water. - Naturally occurring radiation can be concentrated in coal ash by coal-fired power plants, often along with dangerous pollutants like mercury. There are many other sources of low level nuclear waste and many tons of it must be safely disposed.
Is nuclear waste renewable or nonrenewable?
Renewable and nonrenewable resources are being used every day. Both these resources help us with everyday life, although some are better for the economy than others. They are both sources of Energy.
Which fuel do you use the most of in power stations in the UK?
Them most commonly used fuels in UK power stations are fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and oil. Nuclear fuels like plutonium and uranium are sometimes used as well.
What waste problems of nuclear power plants is NOT a problem with a coal burning power plant?
fear of the waste.
How is SO2 formed?
SO2 is produced when the power plants combust coal.
Which is a waste problem of nuclear power that does not occur with coal-burning power plants?
The only waste from a nuclear power plant is spent fuel rods, which can be reprocessed. The waste from a coal fired plant is carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, ash, and soot.
What can be made out of coal?
Coal ash is a waste product of coal-fired power plants but it can also be used to produce concrete and other products for the construction industry
Is it safer to generate electricity from nuclear power than coal?
Yes, nuclear power is far safer than coal.Nuclear power plants do not pollute the environment because of strict regulations governing their waste. The only danger from nuclear power plants are due to accidents like meltdowns or explosions. There have been a number of nuclear power plant incidents, but altogether, not including Chernobyl, these have only killed around 13 people. Only the Chernobyl incident resulted in widespread loss of life, estimated at around 6,000 people.For comparison, coal power plant pollution kills as many people as Chernobyl every few weeks.The amount of radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants is about 3 metric tons per terawatt-hour, while the amount of radioactive waste produced by burning coal is about 2 metric tons per terawatt-hour. However, the nuclear waste is contained and tightly regulated. The coal radioactive waste is dumped into the atmosphere as ash or stored in ponds with much less regulation.Because the coal power plant radioactive waste is dumped into the environment, and the nuclear power plant waste is stored safely, coal power plants actually irradiate you 100 times as much as nuclear power plants:You are exposed to 5 person-rem/year of radiation from nuclear power plants.You are exposed to 500 person-rem/year of radiation from coal power plants.Every 2 days, coal power plants in the US release as much radioactive pollution as the Three Mile Island disaster.
What are the pros and cons of coal wind power and nuclear power?
I don't know which is cheaper, but nuclear is far safer than coal:Nuclear power plants do not pollute the environment because of strict regulations governing their waste. The only danger from nuclear power plants are due to accidents like meltdowns or explosions. There have been a number of nuclear power plant incidents, but altogether, not including Chernobyl, these have only killed around 13 people. Only the Chernobyl incident resulted in widespread loss of life, estimated at around 6,000 people.For comparison, coal power plant pollution kills as many people as Chernobyl every few weeks.The amount of radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants is about 3 metric tons per terawatt-hour, while the amount of radioactive waste produced by burning coal is about 2 metric tons per terawatt-hour. However, the nuclear waste is contained and tightly regulated. The coal radioactive waste is dumped into the atmosphere as ash or stored in ponds with much less regulation.Because the coal power plant radioactive waste is dumped into the environment, and the nuclear power plant waste is stored safely, coal power plants actually irradiate you 100 times as much as nuclear power plants:You are exposed to 5 person-rem/year of radiation from nuclear power plants.You are exposed to 500 person-rem/year of radiation from coal power plants.Every 2 days, coal power plants in the US release as much radioactive pollution as the Three Mile Island disaster.
Majority of sulfur dioxide produced by industry comes from what source?
coal-burning power plants
Different ways of transforming energy have different environmental effects what waste problems of nuclear power plants is NOT a problem with a coal-burning power plant?
You don't list the waste problems, so how can I answer? However radioactive waste is not a problem for a coal burning plant
What waste problems of nuclear power plants is NOT a problem with a coal-burning power plant?
Radioactive wastes that can last thousands of years
What is an advantage of coal power plants over nuclear power plants?
Coal Power plants are cheaper to build.
What are the different types of electricity according to their sources?
Electricity produced from:Fossil power plants (Coal, natural gas, oil fueled power plants)Renewable power plants (solar, wind, biomass, ... )nuclear power plants
How many times greater is the amount of electrical energy produced in the US by coal burning power plants than by nuclear power plants?
bla bla bla is the answer
