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Conventional Energy

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Outline

• Energy History• How Energy Is Used• Coal• Oil• Natural Gas• Nuclear Power

Fission Reactors Waste Management Fusion

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WHAT IS ENERGY

• Work - Application of force through a distance.

• Energy - The capacity to do work.• Power - Rate at which work is done.

Calorie - Amount of energy necessary to heat 1 gram of water 1o C.

Joule - Amount of work done when a force of 1 newton is exerted over 1 meter.

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Electric Power Grid

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Three Main Power Grids in US

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Subdivisions of Main US Power Grids

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PENNSYLVANIA-NEW JERSEY-MARYLAND INTERCONNECTOR (PJM)

• PJM Interconnection coordinates the movement of electricity through all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The PJM region has an area of 168,500 square miles, a population of about 51 million and a peak demand of 144,644 megawatts.

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WHO IS YOUR ENERGY CARRIER?

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NorthEast Power Blackout of 2003

50 million lost power

Included Baltimore

Cause?

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• In February 2004, the U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force released their final report, placing the main cause of the blackout on FirstEnergy Corporation's failure to trim trees in part of its Ohio service area. The report said that a generating plant in Eastlake, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland) went offline amid high electrical demand, and that strained high-voltage power lines (located in a distant rural setting) later went out of service when they came in contact with "overgrown trees". The cascading effect that resulted ultimately forced the shutdown of more than 100 power plants.[10]

• No one was warned of the impending problem because of a software bug.

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Energy History

• Muscle power provided by domestic animals has been important since dawn of agriculture 10,000 years ago.

• World oil use peaked in 1979. Oil prices rose ten-fold in 1970’s.

• Early 1980’s saw increased interest in conservation and renewable energy. Oil glut in mid 1980’s caused prices to fall.

• U.S. now imports over half annual oil supply.

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Current Energy Sources

• Fossil fuels currently provide about 86% of all commercial energy in the world. Hydroelectric dams supply about 7% of

commercial power. Nuclear power makes up about 6.5 % of

commercial power, but about 20% of electric power in more-developed countries.

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Worldwide Commercial Energy Production

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Per Capita Consumption

• Richest 20 countries consume nearly 80% of natural gas, 65% of oil, and 50% of coal production annually. On average, each person in the U.S. and

Canada uses more than 300 GigaJoules of energy annually.

- In poorest countries of the world, each person generally consumes less than one GJ annually.

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Per Capita Energy Use and GNP

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HOW ENERGY IS USED

• Largest share of energy used in the U.S. is consumed by industry (33%).

• Residential and Commercial buildings use 20% of primary energy consumed in U.S..

• Transportation consumes about 27% of all energy used in the U.S.. Three trillion passenger miles and 600

billion ton miles of freight carried annually by motor vehicles in the U.S..

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How Energy Is Used

• About half of all energy in primary fuels is lost during conversion to more useful forms while being shipped, or during use. Nearly two-thirds of energy in coal being

burned to generate electricity is lost during thermal conversion in the power plant.

- Another 10% is lost during transmission and stepping down to household voltages.

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U.S. Energy Flow

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COAL

• Fossilized plant material preserved by burial in sediments and compacted and condensed by geological forces into carbon-rich fuel. Most laid down during Carboniferous

period (286 million to 360 million years ago).

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Coal

• Formed from plant remains

• http://www.hk-phy.org/energy/power/source_phy/flash/formation_e.html

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Coal• Resources and Reserves

World coal deposits are ten times greater than conventional oil and gas resources combined.

- Under current consumption rates, this could last several thousand years.

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Proven-In-Place Coal Reserves

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Coal

• Mining Between 1870 and 1950, more than

30,000 coal miners died of accidents and injuries in Pennsylvania alone.

- Several thousands have died of respiratory diseases.

Black Lung Disease - Inflammation and fibrosis caused by accumulation of coal dust in the lungs or airways.

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TYPES OF MINING

• Strip mining• Underground• Mountain Topping

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STRIP MINING COAL

• Areas identified with below surface coal are bulldozed, top soil/rocks removed

• Explosives use to create holes for excavation

• Long “strips” of land bulldozed for coal

• Overburden moved elsewhere

• Land must be “reclaimed” back to natural state per Strip Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 Funded by 35 cents tax

on every ton of coal strip mined

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UNDERGROUND COAL MINING

• 3 types Shaft Slope Drift

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UNDERGROUND COAL MINE

• Use of heavy equipment and explosives to blast, grind and bring coal to surface

• Dangerous; gas explosions, cave-ins

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Environmental Effects of Underground Coal Mining

• Land disturbance/ecosystem disruption• Land subsidence• Acid mine drainage – sulfur from coal mixes

with stream water and acidifies stream; kills stream organisms

• Dust and noise pollution • Release of natural methane from coal gas

seams into atmosphere = increased global warming

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MOUNTAIN TOPPING

• Removal of entire mountain top by blasting with high explosives; followed by stripping out coal

• “Overburden” (unusable remains) dumped in local valleys

• Area is not returned to natural state when mining complete

• Cheaper than strip mining, more profitable for owners/investors

• Requires fewer workers, more unemployment/economic problems for areas already economically depressed

• Now common practice in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia

• 400,000 acres affected so far, with 1200 sq. miles of streambeds impacted by effects

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MOUNTAIN TOPPING – ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

• Greater environmental devastation; loss of entire ecosystems

• Air and water pollution from dirt and coal dust; inhaled by humans, fish get trapped in gills

• other chemicals cause water acidification, killing aquatic life

• Dust coats tree leaves, kills• “Slurry pits” with

overburden can wash downstream; slurry behind dams can burst through, spreading disaster

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Coal

• Air Pollution Coal burning releases radioactivity and toxic

metals into the atmosphere.- Coal combustion is responsible for 25% of all

atmospheric mercury pollution in the U.S.. Coal contains up to 10% sulfur by weight.

- Unless removed by washing or flue-gas scrubbing, sulfur is released and oxidizes to sulfur dioxide or sulfate.

Acid rain

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Coal Ash

• Remnants left over after burning of pulverized coal

• Impounded in slurry ponds or behind earthen dam walls

• Toxic

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Harriman Tennessee Coal Ash Disaster

• Harriman Tennessee, 12/22/08 – 5.4 million cubic yards of slurried coal ash breaks through earthen dam; contents can cover 3000 acres 1 foot deep Covers land, destroys home Mercury, lead and arsenic from coal ash now

found in local well water Coal ash also contains radioactive components http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/us/

27sludge.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Harrimann%20Tennessee%20Dam%20disaster&st=cse

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CLEAN COAL – REAL OR MYTH?

• Public relations term to allay fears of coal use and global warming by coal industry

• Cleaning coal includes chemically washing minerals and impurities from the coal, gasification, treating the flue gases with steam to remove sulfur dioxide, and carbon capture and storage technologies to capture the carbon dioxide from the flue gas. addresses atmospheric problems resulting from burning

coal • Concerns exist regarding the economic viability of

technologies and timeframe of delivery, high hidden economic costs in terms of social and environmental damage , and the costs and viability of disposing of removed carbon and other toxic matter.

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OIL

• Petroleum is formed very similar to oil - Organic material buried in sediment and subjected to high pressure and temperature. Oil pool usually composed of individual

droplets or thin film permeating spaces in porous sandstone or limestone.

- At least half of total deposit is usually uneconomical to pump out.

Secondary oil recovery techniques.

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Oil

• How oil is formed

• http://www.hk-phy.org/energy/power/source_phy/flash/formation_e.html

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Oil Recovery Process

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OIL

• Resources and Reserves Total amount of oil in the world is

estimated at 4 trillion barrels. (Half is thought to be ultimately recoverable)

- In 2003, proven reserves were estimated at 1 trillion barrels.

As oil becomes depleted and prices rise, it will likely become more economical to find and bring other deposits to market.

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Proven Oil Reserves

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Oil

• Imports and Domestic Supplies The U.S. has used about 40% of its

original recoverable petroleum resource.- Of the 120 billion barrels thought to

remain, 58 billion are proven-in-place. Until 1947, the U.S. was the world’s

leading oil export country.- By 1998, the U.S. was importing 10

million barrels per day - Half of total consumption.

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OPEC

• Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries• Includes Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and

Venezuela (founding countries)• Also Qatar, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Algeria,

Nigeria, Ecuador• Their mission statement – “coordinate their oil

production policies in order to help stabilise the oil market and to help oil producers achieve a reasonable rate of return on their investments. This policy is also designed to ensure that oil consumers continue to receive stable supplies of oil. “ OPEC website

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OPEC

• Formed during 1960’s• Member Countries took control of their domestic

petroleum industries and acquired a major say in the pricing of crude oil on world markets.

• There were two oil pricing crises, triggered by the Arab oil embargo in 1973 and the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, but fed by fundamental imbalances in the market; both resulted in oil prices rising steeply.

• Third oil crisis occurred in 1986 from a collapse following peak oil prices falling dramatically. Reasonable prices were established as a result.

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OPEC

• 1990’s Gulf War• Expulsion of Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein

from Kuwait after invasion• 10% of Kuwait’s oil reserves burned by retreating

Iraqi forces• 2001-2008 – 9/11 and Oil Speculation saw sharp

increased in oil prices Caused massive increases in oil prices

worldwide (oil price “bubble”) which increased gas and fuel prices worldwide

Led to use of less oil; this drop in demand sharply dropped prices to their current levels

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Oil

• Oil Shales and Tar Sands Estimates of total oil supply usually do not

reflect large potential from unconventional oil sources such as shale oil and tar sand.

- Could potentially double total reserve.

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US Oil Shale and Tar Sands

• 800 billion barrels of recoverable barrels of oil from Oil shale

• 12 to 19 billion barrels of recoverable oil from Tar Sands

• All on federally owned properties

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Oil from Shale = Large Energy Consumption

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Environmental Impact of Oil Shale Mining and Processing

• global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, • disturbance of mined land• disposal of spent shale• use of water resources• impacts on air and water quality• significant social and economic impacts on local

communities• relatively high cost of producing oil from oil shale

(currently greater than $60 per barrel)• lack of regulations to lease oil shale.

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Tar Sand Processing

Tar sand is strip-mined from land

Sand and tar placed in hot water

Black bitumen separated from the sand

Diluted with other hydrocarbons for further processing into oil

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Environmental Impacts of Tar Sand mining and processing

• global warming and greenhouse gas emissions• disturbance of mined land• impacts on wildlife and air and water quality. • significant social and economic impacts on local

communities. • of special concern in the relatively arid western

United States is the large amount of water required for tar sands processing currently, tar sands extraction and processing

require several barrels of water for each barrel of oil produced, though some of the water can be recycled.

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Top US Exporter of Oil

• CANADA!

• http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html

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Major Environmental Problem?

• Oil spills at sea or on the ground around pipes.

• Some occur along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (aka Alyeska Pipeline)

• 800 miles of pipeline• Built to be earthquake

resistant – “sliders”• Corrosion• One person shot into it with

gun, spilling 6,000 barrels

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Oil Spills

Both major and minorWorst – Atlantic Express, 1997, Tobago, West Indies,

287,000 tonnesLeast – Exxon Valdez, 1989, Prince William Sound,

Alaska, 37,000 tonnes (or 40,987,120 liters)1 tonne = 244 imperial gallons1 imperial gallon = 4.54 litersStandard U.S. gallon = 3.78 liters

http://www.itopf.com/information-services/data-and-statistics/statistics/

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Effect of Water Oil Spills

• http://www.amsa.gov.au/marine_environment_protection/educational_resources_and_information/teachers/the_effects_of_oil_on_wildlife.asp

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Cleaning Up Oil

• Using mechanical means – skimmers and booms

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Cleaning Up Oil Spills

• Chemical agents

Absorbant

Chemicals that attract oil and water – will attach to oil and float to surface

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Cleaning Up Oil Spills

• Oil Eating Bacteria!• Biodegrade (digest) long hydrocarbon chains

of oil into energy and nontoxic wastes (CO2 and short chain chemicals easily incorporated into food chain)

Oil-digesting bacteria are eating by other organisms in the food chain

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NATURAL GAS

• World’s third largest commercial fuel. 23% of global energy consumption. Produces half as much CO2 as equivalent

amount of coal. Most rapidly growing energy source.

- Difficult to ship long distances, and to store in large quantities.

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Natural Gas

• Resources and Reserves Comprised mostly of methane Proven world reserves of natural gas are

5,500 trillion ft3.- Current reserves represent roughly 60

year supply at present usage rates. Proven reserves in North America are

about 250 trillion ft3.

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Proven Natural Gas Reserves

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Unconventional Gas Sources

• Methane hydrate - Small individual molecules of natural gas trapped in a crystalline matrix of frozen water. Thought to hold 10,000 gigatons of carbon,

or twice as much as combined amount of all traditional fossil fuels combined.

- Difficult to extract, store, and ship.

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Problems of a Monopoly

• http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/01/09/europe.russia.gas.ukraine/index.html

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Pros and Cons of Natural Gas

• No sulfur dioxide emissions

• No particulate matter emissions

• Low levels of nitrogen oxide emissions

• Economical• Fewer toxic emissions

than diesel or gasoline• Good safety record

• Delivery via pipelines causes ecosystem disruption Drilling on land and

sea• Production of

greenhouse gases (CO2, water) from combustion

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NIMBY?

• Natural gas/oil area off of Delmarva

• 3 billion acres of ocean floor

• Begin 2011• Current public

opinion being taken by VA governor’s office

• What would you tell the VA governor?

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NUCLEAR POWER

• President Dwight Eisenhower, 1953, “Atoms for Peace”speech. Nuclear-powered electrical generators

would provide power “too cheap to meter.”- Between 1970 and 1974, American

utilities ordered 140 new reactors for power plants.

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Nuclear Power

• After 1975, only 13 orders were placed for new nuclear reactors, and all of those were subsequently cancelled. In all, 100 of 140 reactors on order in 1975

were cancelled.- Electricity from nuclear power plants was

about half the price of coal in 1970, but twice as much in 1990.

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Nuclear Power Plant History

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How Do Nuclear Reactors Work ?

• Most commonly used fuel is U235, a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of uranium.

- Occurs naturally at 0.7% of uranium, but must be enriched to about of 3%.

• Formed in cylindrical pellets (1.5 cm long) and stacked in hollow metal rods (4 m long). About 100 rods are bundled together to

make a fuel assembly.- Thousands of fuel assemblies bundled in

reactor core.

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System is closed to reduce release of

radioactive steam or water.

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How Do Nuclear Reactors Work

• When struck by neutrons, radioactive uranium atoms undergo nuclear fission, releasing energy and more neutrons.

• http://www.atomicarchive.com/Movies/Movie4.shtml Triggers nuclear chain reaction. http://www.atomicarchive.com/Movies/Mov

ie1.shtml

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Nuclear Fission

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How Do Nuclear Reactors Work

• Reaction is moderated in a power plant by neutron-absorbing solution (Moderator). In addition, Control Rods composed of

neutron-absorbing material are inserted into spaces between fuel assemblies to control reaction rate.

- Water or other coolant is circulated between the fuel rods to remove excess heat.

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Kinds of Reactors

• Seventy percent of nuclear power plants are pressurized water reactors (PWR). Water circulated through core to absorb

heat from fuel rods.- Pumped to steam generator where it

heats a secondary loop. Steam from secondary loop drives

high-speed turbine producing electricity.

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Kinds of Reactors

• Both reactor vessel and steam generator are housed in a special containment building preventing radiation from escaping, and providing extra security in case of accidents. Under normal operating conditions, a PWR

releases very little radioactivity.

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PWR

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Kinds of Reactors

• Simpler, but more dangerous design is a boiling water reactor. Water from core boils to make steam,

directly driving turbine generators.- Highly radioactive water and steam

leave containment structure.• Canadian deuterium reactors - Operate with

natural, un-concentrated uranium.• Graphite moderator reactors - Operate with a

solid moderator instead of a liquid.

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Alternative Reactor Designs

• High-Temperature, Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGC) Uranium encased in tiny ceramic-coated

pellets.• Process-Inherent Ultimate Safety Reactors

(PRIUS) Reactor core submerged in large pool of

boron-containing water within a massive pressure vessel.

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Breeder Reactors

• Breeder reactors create fissionable plutonium and thorium isotopes from stable forms of uranium. Uses plutonium reclaimed from spent fuel

from conventional fission reactors as starting material.

Considered dangerous, as materials can be used to make nuclear weapons

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Breeder Reactor Drawbacks

• Reactor core must be at very high density, thus liquid sodium used as a coolant. Corrosive and difficult to handle.

- Core will self-destruct within a few seconds if primary coolant is lost.

• Produces weapons-grade plutonium.

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Different Reactor Problems

• http://www.ida.liu.se/~her/npp/demo.html#instructions

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RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

• Until 1970, the U.S., Britain, France, and Japan disposed of radioactive waste in the ocean. Production of 1,000 tons of uranium fuel

typically generates 100,000 tons of tailings and 3.5 million liters of liquid waste.

- Now approximately 200 million tons of radioactive waste in piles around mines and processing plants in the U.S..

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Radioactive Waste Management

• About 100,000 tons of low-level waste (clothing) and about 15,000 tons of high-level (spent-fuel) waste in the U.S.. For past 20 years, spent fuel assemblies

have been stored in deep water-filled pools at the power plants. (Designed to be temporary)

- Many internal pools are now filled and a number plants are storing nuclear waste in metal dry casks outside.

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Radioactive Waste Management

• U.S. Department of Energy announced plans to build a high-level waste repository near Yucca Mountain Nevada in 1987. Facility may cost between $10 and 35

billion, and will not open until at least 2010.

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Pros and Cons of Yucca Mountain Site

• Located next to Nevada Nuclear Test Site

• Remote location• Geologic materials sound

enough to store materials without leakage if containers leak

• Can hold up to 70,000 MT of spent nuclear rods

• US DOE has spent over $9 billion on researching site and parameters for safe containment

• Nevada is 3rd in nation for seismic activity

• Since 1976, 621 seismic events within 50 mile radius of site

• Bow Ridge faultline runs directly under facility

• Safe transportation of waste to site via train or by truck in special containers through various states

• Nevada Test Site houses two low-level nuclear waste repositories

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Decommissioning Old Nuclear Plants

• Most plants are designed for a 30 year operating life. Only a few plants have thus far been

decommissioned.- General estimates are costs will be 2-10

times more than original construction costs.

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CHANGING FORTUNES OF NUCLEAR POWER

• Public opinion has fluctuated over the years. Three Mile Island, 1979 (PWR)

- Partial core meltdown of Unit 2, Level 2 alert (incident)

- Release of 43,000 curies of radioactive krypton, under 20 curies of Iodine-131

- No conclusive evidence of damage to humans- 12 day prior release of movie The China

Syndrome spurred public outcry• Currently, 103 nuclear reactors produce about 20%

of all electricity consumed in the U.S..

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Nuclear Power Plants and You

http://www.insc.anl.gov/pwrmaps/map/united_states.php

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NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS AROUND THE WORLD

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CHANGING FORTUNES OF NUCLEAR POWER

Chernobyl, Ukraine, Russia, 1985, Level 7 alert (Major Accident)(RBMK)

56 direct deaths (47 accident workers, 9 children from thyroid cancer), 4000 extra cancer deaths

600,000 people highly exposed due to nuclear fallout from fire that ensued after explosion

336,000 people relocated from area

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CHANGING FORTUNE OF NUCLEAR POWER

• Normal background radiation per year = 200 milliRoentgens (1 mRoentgen = 1/1000 Roentgen)

• 500 Roentgens in 5 hrs is lethal to humans• Chernobyl 5.6 R per second in worst area of

building• Release of cesium-137, iodine-131,

strontium-90 and other highly radioactive substances in fire

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INTERNATIONAL FALLOUT

• From Wikipedia• The nuclear meltdown produced a radioactive cloud

that floated not over just the modern states of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, but also Turkish Thrace, the Southern coast of the Black Sea, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, The Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, France (including Corsica[46]) the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.[47][48]

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From CIA Handbook

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AFFECT ON PLANT LIFE

“Red Forest” surrounding Chernobyl after explosion

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CHERNOBYL SARCOPHAGUS

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PRIPYAT AND OTHER CITIES

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Human Toll

• There are disputes on the long-term effects of radiation fallout on people in the fallout area.

• Estimated deaths at 16,000 people from various cancers.• Known effects of radiation include:

Very high doses of radiation: death within hours or days, due to damage to brain and nerves

High doses: death within weeks, due to damage to the gastrointestinal tract, to the bone marrow, where blood cells are formed.

Lower doses: less severe: radiation sickness (nausea, fatigue and vomiting). Sterility. Some years later - cancer, (especially of thyroid), diseases of digestive organs, bone, & muscle.

Genetic effects: cell damage passed on to later generations

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Human Toll

• The number of deformities in children has risen 83% since the Chernobyl. The increase in the number of cases of cleft palate, Down's syndrome and deformed limbs and organs is the most common defects from the fallout. Even areas where the fallout was light has had an increase of 24%.

Thyroid cancers has also increased dramatically. Thyroid cancers have been linked to other nuclear and atomic bomb exposure.

There has also been an increase of psychological health disorders since the accident.

• - Frank Hannah, screenwriter

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Changing Fortunes

• With natural gas prices soaring, and electrical shortages looming, many sectors are once again promoting nuclear reactors. Over the past 50 years, the U.S.

government has provided $150 billion in nuclear subsidies, but less than $5 billion to renewable energy research.

Nuclear plant costs are soaring Plants never open on time Cost of kilowatt hour 15 cents to 20 cents

to make the energy prior to distribution

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NUCLEAR FUSION

• Nuclear Fusion - Energy released when two smaller atomic nuclei fuse into one large nucleus. (Sun) Temperatures must be raised to

100,000,000o C and pressure must reach several billion atmospheres.

- Magnetic Confinement- Inertial Confinement

Despite 50 years and $25 billion, fusion reactors have never produced more energy than they consume.

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Summary

• Energy History• How Energy Is Used• Coal• Oil• Natural Gas• Nuclear Power

Fission Reactors Waste Management Fusion

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