EGEE 101 Unit 7: Lesson 18

After a uranium-based fuel rod has spent 3 years in a reactor, how much of its uranium has been used?

10%

How much does nuclear energy account for global electricity production? In the US?

11% 19.7% in the US

When was the first demonstration of electricity from nuclear power?

1951

When did the US science communication campaign, Atoms for Peace begin?

1953

When did the first full-scale reactor become operational?

1957

How much electrical energy has been generated by nuclear energy?

2.5 TWh .8 TWh are generated in the US

How long will the fuel last in a fuel rod?

3 years - before being removed at 10% uranium depletion.

What is the uranium concentration in a nuclear fuel rod?

3-4%

What percent of fuel rods are uranium?

3-4% Only 10% of the uranium is used before the rods are removed.

How much U235 is in enriched uranium?

4% - made into a ceramic material and formed into small fuel pellets that are stacked into rods that are grouped into assemblies.

How many nuclear reactor plants are active worldwide? In the US? How many under construction?

441 95 in the US 54 reactors under construction

How much nuclear power does France generate?

76%

How can we enrich the amount of U235?

A gas centrifuge is used to increase the percentage of U235.

What are reactors called for maximizing the generation of Pu239?

Breeder reactors.

What are the control rods made out of?

Composites of boron, cadmium, silver, and other elements that are capable of absorbing many electrons without themselves undergoing fission. They are able to control the rate of fission. Moving them out starts the reaction and moving them in slows the reaction as neutrons are being captured by boron.

Where are control rods placed?

In pressurized water that is isolated from the majority of the water used. The water that comes in contact with the fuel rods is completely separate from the water used to generate steam.

Where are the control rods and pressurized vessel held in a nuclear power plant?

In the containment building

How much of uranium is U235?

In yellowcake, natural uranium is less than 1% U235, most of it is U238.

What are the physical characteristics of uranium? Where is it found?

It is a dense, heavy metal that holds a lot of energy in its nucleus. It is found in ordinary rocks and soils around the world that we mine.

Are used fuel rods recycled?

No, meaning we are discarding 90% of our uranium as a waste product.

When and where did the Three Mile Island incident occur? Chernobyl?

Outside of Harrisburg, PA in 1973, and Chernobyl occurred in 1986.

When did human interaction with nuclear energy begin?

Started in 1945, during the first atomic bomb tests.

What is special about nuclear energy?

The first energy humans have harnessed since the beginning of civilization, while also being the only form of energy unrelated to the Sun.

What forms the nuclear core in the pressure vessel?

The uranium fuel assemblies and the control rods. Coolant water fills the entire vessel and the loop.

What else can the fuel assembly be made out of aside from natural uranium?

U233 and Pu239

What are other developed countries that utilize lots of nuclear energy?

UK, Canada, Russia, China, Japan, South Africa, and many European members.

Where did most uranium eject from?

Uranium was ejected from stars at some point

What were the 1970s known as?

the Atomic Age

What does a nuclear reactor use for fuel?

uranium - U235 is the most suitable isotope for nuclear fission reactions.