By: Alec Linot The Future of Energy

Energy Density (MJ/1kg) Energy Densities Material Energy Density (MJ/1kg) Solar* 0.2-1 Wood 10 Ethanol 26.8 Coal 32.5 Crude Oil 41.9 Diesel 45.8 Natural Gas 55.6 Natural Uranium 570000 Reactor-grade Uranium 3700000 *Although solar can not be given an energy density of MJ/kg it is 10-50 times less dense than wood so it is put up here just to show the comparison.

Putting this in Perspective This is the energy density comparison including nuclear  Putting this in Perspective This is the energy density comparison not including nuclear

Cost Comparison to Clean Energy

Base Load Nuclear could provide all base load energy needs and the addition of electric vehicles should push the base load in the future.

Current Base load Nuclear could offset all of the coal and much of the natural gas used for base load fuel

Problems with Nuclear Proliferation- using nuclear energy risks the development of nuclear weapons. Waste- using nuclear energy creates long lasting radioactive waste. Safety- nuclear reactors malfunctioning can have catastrophic consequences. Cost- building nuclear reactors and fueling them can be costly. Solving these four problems makes nuclear the best choice.

Light Water Reactor(LWR) Safety Problems High-pressure Need constant energy Proliferation Problems Waste can easily be converted into weapons Waste Problems Use up less than one percent of fuel Waste lasts thousands of years Cost and sustainability Fuel supply only predicted to last another hundred years at current use

Next Generation Reactors Fission Travelling Wave Reactor(TWR) Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor(LFTR) Fusion Magnetic confinement

Fission Fission happens when a fissile material like uranium is shot with a neutron which causes the uranium to break apart, shoot off more neutrons, and release energy. The neutrons that get shot off then continue to break other uranium molecules making the reaction self-sustaining with the addition of fuel.

Travelling Wave Reactor Runs off of depleted uranium Waste benefits Proliferation benefits Passive safety features Low cost High energy output

Depleted Uranium 685,500 metric tons of depleted uranium in United States Will continue to rise with conventional reactors Storage risks Proliferation risks

Safety Operates at near atmospheric pressure Passive safety features Fukushima type scenarios are not a factor Passive safety features In the event of a catastrophic scenario the reactor does not need immediate operator action Plant does not need energy to prevent a meltdown

Cost, Energy Output, and Sustainability Expect savings of approximately $2 billion per reactor in fuel alone A simplified design offers further savings A fleet of TWRs could provide all electricity needs between 800 to 2000 years in the United States

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor Runs on thorium Proliferation benefits Waste benefits Design offers safety benefits Cost and energy advantages

Waste Thorium reactors use up almost all waste Waste is 83% gone in 10 years and below background levels in 300 years Thorium reactors are fertile and need fissile start up material, which can be depleted uranium

Proliferation Removing nuclear material for weapons is extremely difficult Denatures all uranium Plutonium quality is very poor One reason LFTRs never caught on was they were bad at creating weapons

Safety Operates near atmospheric pressure like TWR In the event of an accident scenario the fuel is siphoned into another tank

Cost, Energy Output, and Sustainability Thorium could provide the world’s energy needs for several millennia with output and availability Savings Thorium is 4 times more abundant than uranium Power cost estimates for LFTRs are lower than LWRs Simplification in design

Fusion Fusion happens when deuterium and tritium are pushed so close together their nuclei fuse together releasing a neutron, a helium atom, and a large amount of energy.

Waste, Proliferation, and Safety The only waste is helium and neutrons Helium is a beneficial waste Neutrons only irradiate the vessel, which would have short lived radiation (50-100 years) Literally no risk of proliferation Fusion takes work to maintain so in the event of a failure it will just stop

Cost, Energy Output, and Sustainability If achieved its fuel source would be for all practical purposes infinite Produces 4 times more energy than fission No commercial reactors have been made so costs are difficult to predict

Difficulties Commercial fusion reactors do not exist because fusion is unbelievable hard to create Must overcome the Coulomb barrier Must be heated up to fifty million Kelvin's Must be contained Magnetic confinement

The Future of Energy TWRs and LFTRs are excellent reactors and if they were pushed forward could significantly deter global warming Fusion Reactors will be the future, but are too far down the road to help with immediate problems posed by global warming

Works Cited http://www.cleanenergyinsight.org/wp- content/uploads/2010/02/nnp_factsheet_2010_final.pdf http://www.cleanenergyinsight.org/interesting/how-far-will-your-energy-go-an- energy-density-comparison/ http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nuclear_Fission_vs_Nuclear_Fusion http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA266223719&v=2.1&u=ksu&it=r&p=AO NE&sw=w&asid=190f1e22da37dc1c6acc90018509b095 http://energyfromthorium.com/2009/06/29/a-response-to-iaea-tecdoc-1450/ http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Current-and-Future-Generation/World-Energy- Needs-and-Nuclear-Power/ http://www.efda.org/faq/how-is-it-that-both-fission-and-fusion-produce-power-if- splitting-a-large-atom-into-two-smaller-atoms-releases-energy-it-seems-that- combining-two-smaller-atoms-into-one-larger-atom-would-require-ene/ http://energyfromthorium.com/2011/01/30/china-initiates-tmsr/ http://terrapower.com/pages/traveling-wave-reactor http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/2010/01/fields-for-fusion.html http://nuclearpoweryesplease.org/ http://energyfromthorium.com/essay3rs/ http://daryanenergyblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/figure_4_2_pwr-cycle.gif Facts came from sources on paper