Yes, a type of fast neutron (without a moderator) reactor called a breeder reactor can make plutonium fuel much faster than it consumes uranium fuel. If fueled with plutonium fuel instead of uranium fuel, it also makes more plutonium fuel than it consumes.
But all other reactor types are unable to do this (even though they all make some plutonium during operation).
Note: a slight variant of a breeder reactor sometimes called a burner reactor is designed to rapidly fission all actinides (elements from actinium up through all transuranics) to eliminate long lived isotopes from nuclear waste.
Fast Breeder Reactors typically use a combination of plutonium-239 and uranium-238 as fuel. This type of reactor produces more fissile material than it consumes, making it an efficient way to generate nuclear power.
Boron is a good absorber of neutrons and would be useful in preventing criticality, if the fuel had melted and was possibly going to form a critical mass. I don't know how likely this was, but it seems more of a precaution than a real necessity, at present anyway.
Nuclear energy produces wastes in the form of spent nuclear fuels, which are a mixture of radioactive isotopes and heavy metals - both of which are toxic - and irradiated materials surrounding the reactor which become radioactive from exposure to the radiation produced by the reactor and which must be disposed of at the end of the life of the reactor. Note that breeder reactors - which are not permitted in the USA - convert some of the otherwise unusable radioactive isotopes into fissionable isotopes, thus allowing more of the fuel to be used and reducing amount of fuel rod waste (with the rods being re-processed to recover more usable fuel rather than just disposed of).
Uranium must be enriched to increase the concentration of uranium-235 isotope, which is the isotope that undergoes fission in nuclear reactors. Natural uranium primarily consists of uranium-238, which is not as efficient at sustaining a nuclear chain reaction. Enrichment increases the proportion of uranium-235, making the fuel more suitable for use in reactors.
Total energy as expressed in Einsteins equation E=mc2 reveals that they are identical because the masses are identical and c is a constant. With present technology you can extract more energy from a given mass of nuclear fuels (in a nuclear reactor) than the same mass of fossil fuel in a thermoelectric generating plant.
a fission nuclear reactor -binky
A breeder reactor generates (in a way) new fuel, sometimes more fuel than it uses, by converting non-fissionable isotopes into fissionable isotopes, through neutron capture.
The breeder reactor produce more fissile fuel than what is consumed while this is not the case for other nuclear reactors.
A breeder reactor is a type of reactor that produces electricity while also creating new nuclear fuel. It achieves this by converting non-fissile isotopes into fissile fuel as it operates, effectively "breeding" its own fuel.
The amount of uranium in a nuclear reactor depends on its size and design. On average, a typical reactor may contain several tons of uranium fuel in the form of uranium dioxide pellets that are stacked in fuel rods. For example, a 1000-megawatt nuclear reactor may have around 100-150 tons of uranium fuel.
It would be used as a more efficient version of a Nuclear Reactor. While a regular nuclear reactor requires almost a factor of 100 greater in fuel amounts, a Breeder reactor uses much less and produces less waste.
The radius of radiation from a nuclear reactor can vary depending on factors such as the reactor's power output, type of nuclear fuel used, and containment measures in place. Generally, an exclusion zone of several kilometers is established around a nuclear reactor to protect the public from potential radiation exposure.
the boiling water reactor, pressurized water reactor, and the LMFB reactor
A typical nuclear power plant requires approximately 27 metric tons of uranium fuel per year to produce electricity. This amount can vary depending on the specific reactor design and fuel cycle used. The energy produced from uranium in a nuclear reactor is much more concentrated than energy from other traditional sources like coal or natural gas.
The quantity depends on: the type of the reactor, power of the reactor, enrichment of uraniu, chemical form of the fuel, etc. For a research reactor some kilograms, for a power reactor more than 100 tonnes/year.
We currently have enough nuclear fuel to last for several decades. The exact amount of time may vary depending on factors such as energy demand, reactor efficiency, and advancements in fuel recycling technologies.
The chain reaction in a nuclear power plant occurs in the reactor core, where nuclear fission reactions take place. Heat generated from these reactions is used to produce steam, which then drives turbines to generate electricity.