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Where does the spent fuel in an organic cooled power reactor go?
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Is plutonium reusable?
Directly, no. Once fissioned the plutonium is gone (it has transformed to other lighter elements). However indirectly using a breeder reactor, yes. A plutonium fueled breeder reactor with a uranium breeding blanket will produce more plutonium (from uranium-238) than it consumes. This breeder reactor can at the same time be generating electricity like any other power reactor.
What happens to glycerol formed during a saponification reaction?
The substance that is pumped away during saponification is the lye which at this point is referred to as 'half-spent lye.' As it is pumped away, it is added to the reactor.
Why are uranium rods hot?
The rods themselves are not hot. They heat up in an operating nuclear reactor because of the fission going on inside them. When used up and removed from the reactor they remain hot for a period of time due to radioactive decay of the remaining fission products, so they are stored in a spent rod cooling pond until enough fission products decay that they can stay cool and can be safely transported to a waste repository or reprocessing facility.
What caused the fukushima nuclear power plant explosions?
The explosions were caused by hydrogen gas mixing with the atmosphere in a contained system, and exploding. There are two ways this could happen. When the tsunami hit, it basically wiped out all the cooling, power, and backup infrastructure at the plant. This caused reactors 1, 2, and 3 to overheat, and the water in the vessels boiled off to some degree. This led to a increased pressure in the pressure vessel from the steam that was being produced, and the pressure had to be released. The boiling water also exposed the fuel rods, however, and the zircaloy cladding reacts with steam, when it gets hot enough. This reaction produces hydrogen gas, which also is vented. The hydrogen mixed with the atmosphere in the reactor buildings, creating an explosive environment. In these reactors, and also in building 4, where the reactor was not fueled up, the water in the spent fuel pools was not circulating and boiled. This could have exposed fuel rods, and probably did so in building 4. These rods can react with steam just as the rods in the reactor would, with the same result.
What made the nuclear power plant get destroyed in Japan?
Fukushima Daiichi was destroyed by a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) caused by the tsunami which was caused by the earthquake. The earthquake caused the three operating units (three were operating, two were shutdown, and one was defueled) to automatically shutdown, as designed. Emergency cooling systems started up, also as designed. 41 minutes later, the tsunami occurred, and was much larger than expected, and it incapacitated the emergency diesel generators and damaged most of the emergency cooling system switchgear. Battery power remained, and partial emergency cooling continued for awhile, but with no way to recharge the batteries, emergency cooling failed. Even though the reactors were shutdown and not producing full power, there was decay heat caused by mixed fission byproducts, which accounts for about 7% of full power, for a significant period of time after shutdown. This decay heat is sufficient to overheat the fuel and cause damage unless the fuel is constantly cooled. The same thing applies to the spent fuel stored in the fuel storage rack in the spent fuel pool. Even though not in the reactor, it still has decay heat which must be removed with fuel pool cooling, cooling that was lost when all power was lost. As a result, the spent fuel also overheated and was damaged. Along the way, the hot zircalloy cladding on the fuel rods generated hydrogen gas in a reaction with water. Hydrogen gas in the nuclear steam cycle is normally removed with hydrogen recombiners, but they were not available. When you add water to hydrogen in a situation like this, it tends to explode, and it did, damaging parts of the building structure. Note that this was not a nuclear explosion, but it still damaged parts of the building and the systems.
Should The US have Nuclear Power?
noyes, using new inherently safe designs and full spent fuel reprocessing to minimize the waste disposal issue. reactor design features should match their operating environment: e.g. in desert areas water cooled reactors cannot be inherently safe, but gas cooled might be, however near lakes or oceans water cooled might be.one very important feature of inherently safe reactor design is that a meltdown must be impossible. this requires a strongly negative temperature coefficient of reactivity and wide designed in margins of safety.
What has the author A J Boegel written?
A. J Boegel has written: 'Projected spent fuel storage requirements' -- subject(s): Radioactive waste disposal, Waste disposal, Spent reactor fuels, Storage, Nuclear power plants
Is one of the biggest concerns about nuclear power?
The radioactivity of the spent fuel, and the possibility of release to the surroundingsThe biggest concern about nuclear power is the possible meltdown of the reactor causing a massive release of radiation material into the atmosphere.
What is one of the biggest concerns about nuclear power?
The radioactivity of the spent fuel, and the possibility of release to the surroundingsThe biggest concern about nuclear power is the possible meltdown of the reactor causing a massive release of radiation material into the atmosphere.
What are some cautions of nuclear power?
Reactor fuels contain dangerous radioactive fission products after use, so the spent fuel rods must be carefully handled and stored.
What has the author E T Merrill written?
E. T Merrill has written: 'Analysis of the impact of retrievable spent fuel storage' -- subject(s): Reactor fuel reprocessing, Spent reactor fuels, Storage, Liquid metal fast breeder reactors
How a nuclear power plant generates electricity?
A nuclear power plant generates electricity by turning turbines that turn generators. This is no different than fossil fueled plants. The difference in nuclear power is the source of the steam. Instead of a fossil fuel boiler, there is a nuclear reactor that uses the power of the release of binding energy (Strong Atomic Force) from the fissioning of (generally) Uranium-235. There are several designs. The two primary designs are the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) and the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). The BWR forms steam in the reactor vessel which is transported to the turbines. The spent steam is condensed, reheated, treated, and returned to the reactor. The PWR forms heated water in the reactor vessel which generates steam in a separate steam generator (heat exchanger) which then is transported to the turbines. The rest of the cycle is similar to the BWR, but the return water goes to the steam generators instead of the reactor.
Where is most of high level waste stored in the US?
in on site spent fuel rod "Swimming Pools". once they are full they are full and the reactor will be forced to shut down.
Where are most of the nuclear waste and spent fuel rods currently?
Spent fuel from a reactor is stored under water in a concrete and steel pool to cool and shield it for at least ten years after it is removed from the reactor. After this time, it has decayed sufficiently and heat production is low enough such that it can be removed from the water and decay in the air. It is still shielded to prevent exposing people near it and it is kept under lock and key at the power plant or storage facility to maintain control.
What has the author C S Sonnier written?
C. S Sonnier has written: 'Preliminary concepts for detecting national diversion of LWR spent fuel' -- subject(s): Spent reactor fuels
Is nuclear reactor harmful?
Like any powerful bit of machinery, it CAN be. However, you might note that there has never been a fatality in the US from the Nuclear portion of a nuclear power reactor. Reactors do not create green house gasses, and they do not put the pollutants into the air that oil and coal fired powerplants do. Spent nuclear fuel remains radioactive and must be stored in a safe manner.
What has the author L A Brentlinger written?
L. A. Brentlinger has written: 'Comparative analysis of spent nuclear fuel transport modal options' -- subject(s): Transportation, Spent reactor fuels, Radioactive wastes
