Group 4 Team 8 - Nuclear Energy

8/6/2019 Group 4 Team 8 - Nuclear Energy

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NuclearEnergy!

Team 8:

Claudia Ciesielski-Listwan,

Japjeet Mangat,

Prabhjot Mukkar,

Vineet Penumarthy,

Vicky Wang.


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Nuclear Power

o increasingly popular form of energy

production

o Uranium-235 usually used as fuel

o unlike traditional form of energyproduction where fossil fuels such

as coal are burned, rather, energy

is produced from the controlledsplitting, or fission, of uranium

atoms


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o this is a nuclear reaction, occurring atthe atomic level, thus nuclear power

o energy from this process is then usedto heat water to produce steam,which then generates electricity

o advantages & disadvantages will bediscussed

o advantages: clean, affordable,reliable

o disadvantages: non-renewable,negative effects of radiation, difficultyin waste disposal, possibility ofnuclear disaster


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Nuclear Reactions

o nuclear energy is produced naturally, e.g.the heat and light of the sun are producedfrom nuclear fusion at its core

specifically, merging of hydrogen atoms that

have lost their electrons, i.e. protonso in nuclear reactors, the fission process is

man-made

nuclei of U-235 atoms are unstable thuseasily split when bombarded by neutrons

once the nucleus is split, multiple neutronsare released which then collide withother nuclei

this is a chain reaction, and is self-sustaining


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o nuclear reactions follow Einsteins

Mass Energy Formula, thatE = mc

where E = energy released, m = massdefect and c = speed of light

thus, energy released is directlyproportional to the mass defect

small masses can produce large

amounts of energy, as m is multipliedby the huge number 3 x 108 m/s

squared


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The Uranium Atom

o heaviest naturally occurring element, isfound on Earth's crust

o found in different isotopes, i.e. differentnumber of neutrons in the nucleus

o naturally occurring mostly as U-238(making up 99.3% of the reserves) and U-235 (the other 0.7%); rarely U-234 (lessthan 0.001%)

o deposits of Uranium ore are mined;Australia has the largest orebody

o due to potential misuse for weaponsdevelopment, Uranium is only sold andexported to countries that are a part of theNuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty


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o The S i the rl l r est supplier f

er i l uclearpowerplants

o It hasover licensedplantsand in 6,s ( uclear owerplants) produced

about of thecountr sener


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o France has the second most

nuclear power plants in the

world with around 50 plants that

produce about 79% of its

electricity output

o There are 5 countries thatoperate a total of 430 nuclear

reactors of which, 250 are used

for research and the other 180are used to power ships,

submarines, etc


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o 440 commercial nuclear reactors

operating in 30 countries with 37 , 000

MWe (Megawatt electrical) total capacity

o All the nuclear power plants in the world

produce about 17% of the worlds

electricity


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o Nuclear power plantsproduce about 50% of

Ontarios electricityo Two of the plants that

produce the mostelectricity are owned byOPG (Ontario PowerGeneration). Theseplants are PickeringNuclear and DarlingtonNuclear

o Together, these twostations are capable ofproducing , 00megawatts


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The Distribution of Costs in a Nuclear Power Plant and

How it Attains its Profits


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Expenseso Construction Costs

o The cost of building a nuclear power plant is 1 billiondollars because of the employment of 20,000 workers,a design team, and a license.

o Operating Costs

o Because nuclear energy has proven to be cost

effective in production, nuclear power plants arecharge about 0.2 cents KW/H

o Waste disposal costs

o Because nuclear waste has proven to be a threat to theenvironment, the cost of disposing nuclear waste hasclimbed to about 10% of the construction cost/year

o The cost of decommissioning the plant

o This is when the nuclear plant decides to shut down,the cost is approximately 300 million dollars.


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Profits

o Profits are made through contracts of

nuclear energy

o The more contracts and production

level, the stock price of nuclear energyrises.

o Thus, investors have a first hand at

rising profits in these nuclear powerplants.


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Consumption of Nuclear Energy

Used in Ontario

Nuclear energy

was the most

used type of

energy inOntario

About 52% of

energy

consumptioncomes from

Nuclear energy

Nuclear Coal

Hydroelectric Gas

Source: Ontario Power Generation

http://www.opg.com/power/nuclear/


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Consumption of Nuclear Energy

Used Internationally

In contrast however, in

the world, nuclear

energy is one of the

lowest This is

changing, however, as

nuclear energy is

becoming anincreasingly popular

and environmental

energy source.

Source: European Energy forum

http://www.europeanenergyforum.eu/archives/european-

energy-forum/nuclear-matters/countering-climate-

change-nuclear-energy-as-an-element-of-the-solution


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What is a Nuclear Reactor?o

A NuclearReactor is adevice wherenuclear chainreactions are

initiated,controlled andsustained.

o It converts

nuclear energyinto heat andgenerateselectrical power.

Source: Softpedia

http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Nuclear-Reactor-Opens-for-Study-2.jpg/


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Types of Nuclear Reactors

1. Pressured Water Reactorsy Controlled by high pressure liquid water, this reactor

releases steam to generate turbines. This is the mostpopular and most reliable.

2. Boiling Water Reactorsy uses a pressure vessel at a lower pressure

but also creates steams. This is more stablebecause the thermal efficiency is higher.

3. Pressured Heavy water reactorsy a single large pressure vessel is replaced

with hundreds of smaller pressure tubes andis fueled by natural uranium


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Types of Nuclear Reactors

Cont.4. Gas Cooled Reactor

y graphite moderated and CO2, this is highlythermal efficient

5. Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactory produces more fuel than its consumed and a

high pressure not required to run thepressure system.

. High Power Channel Reactor

y Uses cool water and a graphite moderatorbut is very unstable and large (caused theChernobyl accident)


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Environmental Damage

and the Effect on People


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Three Mile Island

The Three-Mile Island accident was the second greatestaccident in history

In 1979, a cooling malfunction caused part of the core to melt in

the second reactor

Some radio-active gas was leaked a few days after the incident,

but not enough to cause harm to local residents or theenvironment

No injuries or adverse health effects were caused from the

Three Mile Island accident


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Chernobyl The greatest accident regarding nuclear energy to have ever

occurred 198 It was the result of a flaw in the reactor design and was

monitored by personnel inadequate in training

The steam explosion that resulted released 5% of the radioactive

reactor core into the atmosphere

Two plant works died on the day of the accident. 28 other peopledied within a few weeks as a result of radiation poisoning.

Increase in thyroid cancers in local population

Resettlement of areas needed


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Types of Radiation


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Radiation

1902 -Frederick Soddy stated that

radioactivity is the result of a

natural change in atoms, more

specifically, the change of isotopeof one element into an isotope of

another element

The three most common types ofradiation are; Alpha, Beta, &

Gamma


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Alpha Radiation A heavy, short-range particle an ejected Helium nucleus

Most alpha radiation is unable to penetrate human skin

Harmful to humans if the material emitting the radiation is

inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through open wounds

It is only able to travel a short , a few inches in air

Alpha radiation is unable to penetrate clothing


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Beta Radiation A light, short range particle an ejected electron

It can travel several feet in air

It is able to penetrate human skin. If the contaminate stays

on the skin for a prolonged period of time, it can cause injury

It is harmful internally to the body

Clothing provides some protection against beta radiation


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Gamma Radiation Highly penetrating

electromagnetic radiation

Able to travel many feet in

air, and several inches in human

tissue

Dense materials are needed for

protection

Excited atoms release photons

photons are packets of energy

The release of energy brings the

atom to a more stable state

Gamma radiation often triggersrelease of Alpha and Beta

radiation


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What is it?o Social movement that opposes the use of Nuclear

Technologies The United States used nuclear weapons against Hiroshima

and Nagasaki in 1945. Since then, despite calls for their use inthe Korean and Vietnamese conflicts and concerns about theiremployment during the Cuban missile crisis, no nuclearweapon has been fired in anger.

Although the victors of World War II regarded the atomic bomb

as the winning weapon and expected it to keep the peace,many people considered it an immoral weapon.

o Direct action groups, environmental groups andprofessional organizations have identified themselveswith the movement at the local, national andinternational level.

o Groups include: Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends

of the Earth, Greenpeace, International Physicians for thePrevention of Nuclear War, and the Nuclear Information andResource Service.


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How did the Anti-Nuclear

Movement come to be? As Cold War tensions escalated in the 1950s,

many women within the peace movement

became involved in the anti-nuclear campaign.

One area of concern was the creation ofnuclear and foreign military bases in Australia.

Twenty years later in central Australia, 700

Indigenous and white women from across the

country established a peace camp at Pine Gap

to protest against the US intelligence base.


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Americans favornuclearenergy.

The long-term transformation in publicopinion on nuclear energy is striking:Those in favor moved from 49 percentin 1983, when the question was first

asked, to 74 percent today. Those whostrongly favor nuclear energy nowoutnumber those who are stronglyopposed by more than three to one

33 percent strongly favor comparedwith 10 percent who are stronglyopposed.


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The public is increasingly confident in

the safety of nuclear power plants.

In 1984, 35 percent gave high ratings (5-

to-7) to the safety of nuclear power

plants on a 1-to-7 scale. Today thatnumber is 73 percent more than

double with just 10 percent giving

nuclear power plants a low safety rating

(1-to-3).


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Opinions by Political PartyAlthough Republicans are more

favorable to nuclear energy than

Democrats, both believe that their ownpartys representatives are the most

favorable to building more nuclear

power plants.


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Bibliography "Chernobyl | Chernobyl Accident | Chernobyl Disaster."

World Nuclear Association | Nuclear Power - a SustainableEnergy Resource. N.p., n.d. Web. .

"OECD: Nuclear Waste."OECD: Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web..

"What Types of Radiation Are There?."Health PhysicsSociety. N.p., n.d. Web..

"What is Nuclear Waste?."wiseGEEK: clearanswers forcommon questions. N.p., n.d. Web..

"Three Mile Island | TMI 2 |Three Mile Island Accident.."World Nuclear Association | Nuclear Power - a SustainableEnergy Resource. N.p., n.d. .


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World Nuclear University, (2007, September). The Need for

Nuclear. Retrieved July 1 , 2009, from World Nuclear

Association Web site: http://www.world-nuclear.org/ Donald, Achive. (2003, April 1 ). Economics of nuclear

energy. Retrieved from http://www.world-

nuclear.org/info/inf02.html

Bacon, Eva. "The Anti-Nuclear Campaign."The University of

Queensland. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Jan. 2011..

"Nuclear Energy Institute - Perspective on Public Opinion,

June 2010 ."Nuclear Energy Institute - Clean-Air Energy.

N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2011.

.

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Group 4 Team 8 - Nuclear Energy

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