1. Energy
Chapter 17

2. Figure 17-1 Page 350 Crane for moving fuel rods Steam generator
2 Almost all control rods
were removed from the
core during experiment.
3 Automatic safety devices
that shut down the reactor
when water and steam levels
fall below normal and turbine
stops were shut off because
engineers didn’t want systems
to “spoil” experiment.
Crane for
moving fuel rods
Figure 17-1 Page 350
1 Emergency cooling
system was turned
off to conduct an
experiment.
Steam
generator
Cooling
pond
Turbines
Radiation shields
Reactor
Water
pumps
5 Reactor power output was lowered too
much, making it too difficult to control.
4 Additional water pump to cool reactor was turned on. But with low power output and extra drain on system, water didn’t actually reach reactor.

3. Chernobyl Effects: Blew roof off reactor building
Clouds of radioactive material
Premature deaths
Radioactive crops, cattle
Thyroid cancer

4. Energy Sources 99% of energy comes from the sun
Other 1% comes from commercial energy (nonrenewable)
Commercial energy- burning of fossil fuels
84% nonrenewable
16% renewable

5. Hydropower, geothermal,
Nuclear power 6%
Figure 17-3a Page 352
Hydropower, geothermal,
solar, wind 6%
Natural
Gas
22%
RENEWABLE 16%
Biomass
10%
Coal
23%
Oil
33%
NONRENEWABLE 84%
World

6. Figure 17-3b Page 352 NONRENEWABLE 94% Natural Gas 24% RENEWABLE 6%
Nuclear power 8%
Hydropower
geothermal
solar, wind 3%
Natural
Gas
24%
RENEWABLE 6%
Coal
23%
Oil
39%
NONRENEWABLE 94%
Biomass 3%
United States

7. New Energy Alternatives
Would take at least 50 years (+ huge financial investments) to phase in new energy alternatives

8. 7 Questions Concerning New Energy
How much of energy resource is available in near & long-term future?
Net energy yield?
Cost for development, phase in, & use?
Government research & development subsidies & tax breaks?
How will dependence affect national & global economic & military security?
Vulnerable to terrorism?
How will extraction, transportation, & use affect environment, human health, & climate?

9. Net Energy
Total amount of energy available from resource minus energy needed to find, extract, process, & get resource to consumers
Importance- higher net energy ratios make better energy sources
Oil- high ratio- comes from large, accessible, & cheap-to-extract deposits
Nuclear power- low ratio- requires large amounts of energy input

10. Petroleum
Petroleum (crude oil)- thick, gooey liquid consisting of combustible hydrocarbons
Extracted- by wells drilled into deposits
Refining- heat & distill (separate by boiling points)

11. Petrochemicals Products of oil distillation Pesticides Plastics
Synthetic fibers
Paints
Medicines

12. Oil Reserves
Top 5 reserves- Saudi Arabia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran
2.9% of oil is found in US reserves
26% of oil is used by US
55% of US oil used is imported

13. Oil Supply Global – 80% depleted within 41-93 years US – 10-48 years
(2005)

14. Drilling for Oil and Natural Gas National Wildlife Refuge
Trade-Offs
Figure Page 360
Drilling for Oil and Natural Gas
In Alaska’s Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge
Advantages
Disadvantages
Could increase U.S oil and
natural gas supplies
Could reduce oil imports
slightly
Would bring jobs and oil
revenue to Alaska
May lower oil prices slightly
Oil companies have
developed Alaskan
Oil fields without
significant harm
New drilling techniques
will leave little environ-
mental impact
Only 19% of finding oil equal to what
U.S. consumes in 7-24 months
Too little potential oil to significantly
reduce oil imports
Costs too high and potential oil supply too
little to lower energy prices
Studies show considerable oil spills and
other environmental damage from
Alaskan oil fields
Potential degradation of refuge not
worth the risk
Unnecessary if improved slant drilling
allows oil to be drilled from
outside the refuge

15. Figure 17-15 Page 360 Trade-Offs Advantages Disadvantages
Conventional Oil
Advantages
Disadvantages
Ample supply for years
Low cost (with huge subsidies)
High net energy yield
Easily transported within
and between countries
Low land use
Technology is well
developed
Efficient distribution system
Need to find substitute within 50 years
Artifically low price encourages waste and discourages search for alternative
Air pollution when burned
Releases CO2 when burned
Moderate water pollution

16. Figure 17-18 Page 362 Trade-Offs Advantages Disadvantages
Heavy Oils from
Oil Shale and Oil Sand
Advantages
Disadvantages
High cost (oil shale)
Moderate cost (oil sand)
Low net energy yield
Large potential supplies,
especially oil sands
in Canada
Large amount of water needed for processing
Easily transported within
and between countries
Severe land disruption from surface mining
Water pollution from mining residues
Efficient distribution
system in place
Air pollution when burned
Technology is well developed
CO2 emissions
when burned

17. Natural Gas Underground deposits of gases 50-80% methane (by weight)
Remaining is propane or methane
LPG – liquefied petroleum gas – natural gas mixture of liquefied propane & butane gas
LNG – liquefied natural gas – natural gas converted to liquid by cooling to low temperature

18. Natural Gas Reserves Russia Iran Qatar 3% of reserves found in US
World supply – should last years
US supply – years

19. Conventional Natural Gas
Trade-Offs
Figure Page 363
Conventional Natural Gas
Advantages
Disadvantages
Ample supplies (125 years)
Nonrenewable resource
High net energy yield
Releases CO2 when burned
Low cost (with huge subsidies)
Methane (a greenhouse gas) can leak from pipelines
Less air pollution than other fossil fuels
Difficult to transfer from one country
to another
Lower CO2 emissions than
other fossil fuels
Shipped across ocean as highly
explosive LNG
Moderate environmental impact
Sometimes burned off and
wasted at wells because of low
price
Low land use
Easily transported by pipeline
Requires pipelines
Good fuel for fuel cells and gas turbines

20. Coal
Solid, combustible mixture of organic compounds with 30-98% Carbon by weight
Extraction- underground (subsurface) mining, surface mines
2 major uses- steel production & electricity

21. Increasing heat and carbon content Increasing moisture content
Figure Page 364
Increasing heat and carbon content
Increasing moisture content
Peat
(not a coal)
Lignite
(brown coal)
Bituminous Coal
(soft coal)
Anthracite
(hard coal)
Heat
Heat
Heat
Pressure
Pressure
Pressure
Partially decayed
plant matter in swamps
and bogs; low heat
content
Low heat content;
low sulfur content;
limited supplies in
most areas
Extensively used
as a fuel because
of its high heat content
and large supplies;
normally has a
high sulfur content
Highly desirable fuel
because of its high
heat content and
low sulfur content;
supplies are limited
in most areas

22. Coal Reserves US, Russia, China 25% of reserves are in US
World supply- 300 years
US yrs

23. Figure 17-21 Page 365 Trade-Offs Advantages Disadvantages
Coal
Advantages
Disadvantages
Ample supplies
(225–900 years)
Very high environmental impact
Severe land disturbance, air
pollution, and water pollution
High net energy yield
Low cost (with
huge subsidies)
High land use (including mining)
Mining and combustion
technology well-developed
Severe threat to human health
High CO2 emissions when burned
Air pollution can be reduced with improved
technology (but adds
to cost)
Releases radioactive particles and
mercury into air

24. Figure 17-22 Page 365 Trade-Offs Advantages Disadvantages
Synthetic Fuels
Advantages
Disadvantages
Large potential supply
Low to moderate net energy yield
Higher cost than coal
Vehicle fuel
Requires mining 50% more coal
High environmental impact
Moderate cost (with large government subsidies)
Increased surface mining of coal
High water use
Lower air pollution when burned than coal
High CO2 emissions when burned

25. Nuclear Fission Reactor
Isotopes of Uranium & Plutonium are split (chain reaction)
Heat generated produces steam which turns turbine = electricity

26. Light-water Nuclear System (LWR)
Fuel- uranium oxide- stable uranium pellets
Control rods- neutron-absorbing material; regulates fission/power
Moderator- slows neutrons to continue chain rxn (water, graphite)
Coolant- water-circulates through core to remove heat from fuel rods & to produce steam

27. Containment vessel- thick, strong walls; keeps radioactive material from escaping to environment
Water-filled pools (dry casks)- on-site storage for highly radioactive (spent) fuel rods

28. Nuclear Fuel Cycle Mining uranium Processing as fuel Use in reactor
Safely storing wastes
Disposing of reactor

29. Open Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Isotopes are not removed by reprocessing nuclear wastes
Eventually reburied in underground disposal facility

30. Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Fissionable isotopes (Uranium-235 & Plutonium-239) are removed from spent fuel assemblies for reuse as nuclear fuel
Must be stored for 10,000 years

31. Figure 17-24 Page 368 Decommissioning of reactor Fuel assemblies
Enrichment UF6
Fuel fabrication
(conversion of enriched
UF6 to UO2 and fabrication
of fuel assemblies)
Temporary storage
of spent fuel assemblies
underwater or in dry casks
Uranium 235 as
UF6 Plutonium-239
as PuO2
Conversion of
U3 O8 to UF6
Spent fuel
reprocessing
Low level radiation
with long half-life
Geologic disposal of moderate
and high-level radioactive wastes
Open fuel cycle today
Prospective “closed” end of fuel cycle

32. Nuclear Power Dev. After WW2
Atomic Energy Commission- promised lower cost for nuclear energy (vs. coal)
Government (taxpayers) paid ¼ cost of building commercial reactors & guaranteed there would be no cost overruns
After insurance companies refused to insure nuclear power, Congress passed Price-Anderson Act to protect US nuclear industry & utilities from significant liability in accidents

33. 7 Factor of Declined Use of NP
Multibillion dollar construction cost overruns
Higher operating costs
More malfunctions than expected
Poor management
Public safety concerns
Stricter government safety regulations
Investor concerns about economic feasibility of nuclear power

34. Figure 17-26 Page 370 Trade-Offs Advantages Disadvantages
Conventional Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Advantages
Disadvantages
Large fuel supply
High cost (even with large subsidies)
Low environmental
impact (without accidents)
Low net energy yield
High environmental impact (with major accidents)
Emits 1/6 as much CO2 as coal
Moderate land disruption and water pollution
(without accidents)
Catastrophic accidents can happen (Chernobyl)
No widely acceptable solution for
long-term storage of radioactive
wastes and decommissioning worn-out plants
Moderate land use
Low risk of accidents because
of multiple safety systems (except
in 35 poorly designed and run
reactors in former Soviet Union
and Eastern Europe)
Subject to terrorist attacks
Spreads knowledge and technology for building nuclear weapons

35. Figure 17-27 Page 371 Trade-Offs Coal Nuclear Ample supply
Coal vs. Nuclear
Coal
Nuclear
Ample supply
Ample supply of uranium
High net energy yield
Low net energy yield
Low air pollution (mostly from fuel reprocessing)
Very high air pollution
High CO2 emissions
Low CO2 emissions (mostly from fuel reprocessing)
High land disruption from
surface mining
Much lower land disruption from
surface mining
High land use
Moderate land use
Low cost (with
huge subsidies)
High cost (with huge
subsidies)

36. Safety Features Multiple built-in safety features
15-45% chance of complete core meltdown in US reactor during the next 20 years
39 US reactors have 80% chance of failure in containment shell from meltdown or explosion

37. Vulnerable to Terrorist Attack
Plants were not designed to withstand an attack like September 11
Insufficient security against ground-level attacks

38. Attack on Stored Radioactive Waste
Highly radioactive & thermally hot fuel would be exposed to air & steam
Zirconium outer cover would catch fire
Fire would burn for days
Release significant amount of radioactive material into atmosphere
Large areas contaminated for decades
Economic & psychological havoc

39. Low-Level Waste Gives off small amounts of ionizing radiation
Must be stored safely for years
Placed in steel drums & shipped to 2 regional (state or fed run) landfill
Includes: tools, building materials, clothing, glassware, & other contaminated items

40. High-Level Waste Bury deep underground Shoot into space or sun
Bury in Antarctic ice sheet or Greenland ice cap
Dump into subduction zone
Bury in mud deposits in ocean basins
Change into harmless isotopes

41. Yucca Mountain Storage Site
+Negligible risks of accident or sabotage of waste shipments -Decrease national security -Many shipments of waste material -Geologic instability

42. Decommissioning of Worn-out Nuclear Power Plants
Dismantle plant & store large volume of highly radioactive materials in high-level nuclear waste storage facility
Physical barrier around plant with full-time security for years before dismantling plant
Enclose entire plant in tomb that must last & be monitored for several thousand years

43. Dirty Radioactive Bombs
Explosion & cancers could kill thousands
Spread radioactive material over hundreds of city blocks
Contaminate buildings & soil
Clean-up would cause billions $$
Intense psychological terror & panic

44. Conventional Nuclear Power
+ Lower operating costs - Must include total cost

45. Breeder Nuclear Fission
+ Generate more nuclear fuel than they consume - Failed safety system could result in loss of liquid sodium coolant = combustion in air & explosion in water - Slow process - Cost

46. Nuclear Fusion
+ No emissions of air pollutants (carbon dioxide) + Infinite fuel source (water) + Less radioactive waste + No risk of meltdown or release of large amounts of radioactive materials + Little risk of bomb-grade materials + Used to destroy toxic waste - Negative energy yield - Cost

47. Government Subsidies
For the research & development of conventional nuclear power:
Conventional nuclear power cannot compete in today’s open, decentralized, & unregulated energy market
Should keep nuclear options available for future use