THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR POWER GREG RAABERG NOVEMBER 24, 2008 The University of Texas at Austin Department of Chemical Engineering ChE 359

OUTLINE  WHY USE NUCLEAR POWER?  FUTURE ENERGY CONSUMPTION  NUCLEAR POWER USE  CURRENT REACTOR TECHNOLOGY  FUTURE REACTOR DESIGNS  CONCLUSIONS

WHY USE NUCLEAR POWER?  Potential for greenhouse gas emission restrictions  Zero emissions(NOx, CO 2, SOx)  Increasingly safe designs  Economically competitive  Future energy demand Image courtesy of TIME Magazine

FUTURE ENERGY CONSUMPTION Figure courtesy of the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2008

NUCLEAR POWER USE  Nuclear power supplies ≈20% of U.S. electricity  ≈17% of world electricity  440 reactors worldwide  104 commercially licensed reactors in the U.S. Image courtesy of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

CURRENT REACTOR TECHNOLOGY  Boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors (only 2 commercial designs in the U.S.)  Use the thermal energy from nuclear fission to generate steam, power a turbine, and produce electricity  Only use Uranium-235 as a fuel source  Single pass systems generate large amounts of radioactive wastes

CURRENT PROBLEMS  Nuclear material proliferation  Radioactive waste storage  Finite amount of Uranium for fuel  Operational safety Image courtesy of LIFE Magazine

FUTURE REACTOR DESIGNS  Breeder Reactors  Create more fissile material than consumed  Does not create an infinite amount of energy, only converts non-fissile atoms into fissionable fuel  Fast breeder reactors or thermal breeder reactors extend uranium supplies  Reduction of nuclear waste with reprocessing

FUTURE REACTOR DESIGNS Figures courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy and the Generation IV International Forum

EVOLUTION OF REACTOR DESIGN Figure courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy and the Generation IV International Forum

GENERATION IV REACTORS  Increased thermal efficiency through the Brayton cycle and exotic coolants (liquid sodium, helium, lead-bismuth)  Improved overall efficiency through breeder reactor technology  More fail-safe systems diminish risk of core failure  Sealed cores reduce proliferation risk  Lack of robust materials to survive new designs  Current breeder process are complex and uneconomical

CONCLUSIONS  Emission free energy sources are a necessity  Operational safety is the priority alongside minimizing proliferation risk  Reducing waste and reprocessing spent fuel ensures proper environmental stewardship Images courtesy of Neatorama.com and Globalwarmingart.com Stop thinking Start thinking

REFERENCES “Advanced Nuclear Power Reactors.” World Nuclear Association. Nov Nov Ansolabehere, Stephen, et al. “The Future of Nuclear Power, an Interdisciplinary MIT Study.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 29 July Nov “Basic Nuclear Fission.” Think Quest Nov “The Economics of Nuclear Power.” World Nuclear Association. Nov Nov Edgar, Thomas F. Coal Processing and Pollution Control. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Company, “Electric Power Generation.” Nuclear Energy Institute Nov Marks, Alan. “Some Physics of Uranium.” World Nuclear Association. June Nov “Nuclear Energy, Energy from Atoms.” Energy Information Administration. Nov Nov “Nuclear Power in the World Today.” World Nuclear Association. June Nov “Overview of Generation IV Technology Roadmap.” Nuclear Energy Institute. 17 Sept Nov “Science or Fiction- Is there a Future for Nuclear?” Austrian Institute of Ecology. Oct Nov