FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING CHEMICAL PROCESSES INDUSTRIES II (CPI 201T)

RESEARCH-PRESENTATION REPORT ENTITLED:

NUCLEAR ENERGY
Proudly Compiled and Presented By: Members of group number 12

As expanding economies continue to grow, the one source of energy that we can develop rapidly, cheaply and with next-to-no emissions is nuclear energy Craig Stevens

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction History of Nuclear Energy Production I-Nuclear Energy

I-1

Nuclear power

I-2 Nuclear Reactors I-3 Nuclear Reactions I-4 Nuclear fission I-5 Nuclear Fusion II-Nuclear Power Plant

II-1 Raw Materials of a Nuclear Power Plant II-2 Processes Occurring in a Nuclear Power Plant II-3 Advantages of a Nuclear Power Plant II-4 Disadvantages of a Nuclear Power Plant

III- Applications of Nuclear Energy

III-1Human Health III-2 Production of Electricity III-3 Tracing of Pollutants III-4 Space III-5 Detecting Leaks in Pipeline III-6 Food and Agriculture IV-Comparison between nuclear energy and other sources of energy

IV-1Comparison with coal power and Comparison with water power IV-2 Comparison with solar power IV-3 Comparison with wind power

V- Nuclear energy in South Africa

VI- Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Disaster in Japan

VII-Conclusion

VIII- References

Introduction . The main objectives or purposes of this research project are the following: To be familiarized with the nuclear energy technology. To understand the reactions and processes involved in a nuclear power plant. To identify the different applications of nuclear energy. To study the operating aspect of a nuclear plant. To establish a clear comparison between nuclear energy and other sources of energy To get to know about the place occupied by nuclear energy in South Africa. And finally, to study the nuclear disaster which occurred in Fukushima.

History of Nuclear Energy Production The neutron was discovered in 1932 by the English physicist James Chadwick ( 1891-1974). The physicist Enrico Fermi discovered the potential of nuclear fission in 1934, when he bombarded uranium atoms with neutrons and was surprised to discover that the products of this reaction were much lighter than uranium. On December 2, 1942, Fermi created the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear reaction, using uranium and control rods in a similar configuration to how they are used today. The first nuclear bombs were built in 1945 as a result of the infamous Manhattan project. During the world war 2 the first Uranium bomb was detonated over Hiroshima on August 6th 1945.Three days later, a Plutonium bomb was dropped in Nagasaki.

Figure 1: Hiroshima after the explosion

I-Nuclear Energy I-1 Nuclear power

Nuclear power is an alternative power source that uses the nuclear fission of uranium to create heat and, thereby, through a heat transfer mechanism and turbines, create electricity. Nuclear power plants provided about 5.7% of the world's energy and 13% of the world's electricity, in 2012

There is an ongoing debate about the use of nuclear energy. Proponents, such as the World Nuclear Association, the IAEA and Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy contend that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Opponents, such as Greenpeace International and NIRS (Nuclear information and resources service), believe that nuclear power poses many threats to people and the environment.

Nuclear power plant accidents include the Chernobyl disaster (1986), Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (2011), and the Three Mile Island accident (1979).There have also been some nuclear-powered submarine mishaps.

Figure 2: China National Nuclear Power Co.Ltd

Figure 3:Three nuclear-powered American warships, (top to bottom) nuclear cruisers USS Bainbridge and USS Long Beach with USS Enterprise the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in 1964. Crew members are spelling out Einstein's mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2 on the flight deck.

I-2 Nuclear Reactors

A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The first nuclear reactor was built by Enrico Fermi in 1942, on the floor of a squash court under the west stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for generating electricity and in propulsion of ships.

Figure 4: Core of CROCUS, a small nuclear reactor used for research at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Swiss federal institute of technology of Lausanne) in Switzerland

I-3 Nuclear Reactions

A nuclear reaction is considered to be the process in which two nuclei, or else a nucleus of an atom and a subatomic particle (such as a proton, neutron, or high energy electron) from outside the atom, collide to produce one or more nuclides that are different from the nuclide(s) that began the process.

In 1919 Rutherford performed the first artificial nuclear reaction. He was able to demonstrate that when particles are introduced into a closed sample of N2 gas, an occasional collision led to the formation of an isotope of O and the release of a proton:

Alpha decay occurs when the nucleus emits an alpha particle. Alpha particles have a positive charge and are equivalent in size to a helium nucleus.
The equation below shows uranium-234 undergoing alpha decay:

Beta decay occurs when the nucleus emits a beta particle. Beta particles have a negative charge and are much smaller than alpha particles. Theyre equivalent to high-speed electrons and are symbolized by or .

. The equation below represents uranium-233 undergoing beta decay.

I-4 Nuclear fission

Nuclear fission is either a nuclear reaction or a radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts, often producing free neutrons and photons (in the form of gamma rays), and releasing a very large amount of energy, even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.

It is an exothermic reaction which can release energy as electromagnetic radiation and kinetic energy of the fragments (heating the bulk material where fission takes place).

The nuclear fission of Uranium 235 is given as:

I-5 Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei collide at very high speed and join to form a new type of atomic nucleus (e.g. The energy that the Sun emits into space is produced by nuclear reactions that happen in its core due to the collision of hydrogen nuclei and the formation of helium nuclei).

Two isotopes of hydrogen, Deuterium and tritium fuse to form helium and a neutron according to the following equation:

II-Nuclear Power Plant II-1 Raw Materials of a Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'burned' by nuclear fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. The most common fissile nuclear fuels are uranium-235 (235U) and plutonium-239 (239Pu).
URANIUM Uranium is used because it is a fairly common element in the earths crust, it is approximately as common as Tin or Germanium and is about 40 times more common than silver. Three forms (isotopes) of uranium are found in nature, uranium-234, uranium-235 and uranium-238.

Uranium-235 has the distinction of being the only naturally occurring fissile isotope.

PLUTONIUM Uranium-238 is fissionable by fast neutrons, and is fertile, meaning it can be transmuted to fissile plutonium-239 in a nuclear reactor. Over one third of the energy produced in most nuclear power plants comes from plutonium. It is created in the reactor as a by-product. Plutonium has occurred naturally, but except for trace quantities it is not now found in the Earth's crust. one kilogram of Pu-239 can produce sufficient heat to generate nearly 10 million kilowatthours of electricity.

II-2 Processes Occurring in a Nuclear Power Plant

A nuclear power plant

A nuclear power plant

Nuclear generating stations exist for the purpose of converting the energy obtained from the fission of uranium nuclei to electricity. This energy conversion takes place via a number of stages that require many pieces of equipment organised into several systems under the control and protection of both manual and automatic operations.

The main objectives of processes in nuclear power plants are to generate electricity paying special attention to safety and production specifications.

Safety is the first priority in any chemical process as the effects of unsafe acts can sustain to generations. The fission process of Uranium is one of the high risk industries not only on safety but also the environmental aspect as it produces radioactive waste material.

Reactor Safety In order to minimize the potential threat to the public from the radioactive materials contained within a nuclear station a principle of triple C is useful which entails CONTROL, COOL and CONTAIN. There is a minimum risk to the public and the environment from the reactor fuel, provided that at all times: The reactor power is controlled; The fuel is cooled; The radioactivity is contained. Five part models known as Defense in Depth is used to achieve the golden rule (CONTROL, COOL and CONTAIN). This underlies the whole process of design, construction, commissioning, and operation of a nuclear power plant.

Competent operating staff The safety systems are designed to operate automatically and the five barriers are always in place, but we cannot rely on equipment and systems to prevent accidents. The operating and maintenance staff must be knowledgeable about system
II-3 Advantages of a Nuclear Power Plant
It emits very low amounts of Greenhouse gasses (CO 2) and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global warming is relatively low. This technology is readily available; it does not have to be developed first. It is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in one single plant. Efficiency of the process is high due to improved technology. Very small amount of raw material is required to generate huge amounts of nuclear energy. If nuclear power stations are operated up to their full capacity they can produce cheap electricity, maintenance and operating costs are relatively low.

II-4 Disadvantages of a Nuclear Power Plant

High Cost Nuclear Accidents Nuclear Radiation Radioactive Waste

III- Applications of Nuclear Energy

In our daily life, nuclear energy via nuclear reactors has quite a lot of uses which highly contribute to ameliorate the conditions of humans lives:

III-1Human Health
Scientists and physicians have been using nuclear radiation in medicine for more than a hundred years. Generally, beneficiary effects of radiation have been observed following exposures to low doses or low dose rates, while adverse effects have been noted following high doses r high dose rates
One very common application is in the treatment of cancer, i.e., through the use of radiotherapy. Also, small amounts of radioisotope tracers are used for diagnostic and research purposes. The radioisotopes aid in measuring the concentration of various enzymes, some drugs, hormones and many other substances that are present in the human blood.

Nuclear power plants can be employed to desalinate seawater on a large scale and to pump the water to where it is needed.
III-2 Production of Electricity
The purpose of a nuclear power plant is to produce electricity.
the most practical for large scale production and distribution involves the use of an electrical generator. In an electrical generator, a magnet (rotor) revolves inside a coil of wire (stator), creating electricty inside the wire. to produce electricity,

Uranium is the most common fuel for the electrical producing reactor plants in the United States.

Figure 6: Production of electricity

Figure 7: Uranium ore

How much electricity does a typical nuclear power plant generate? In 2011, the "average" nuclear power plant in the United States generated about 12.2 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh).

III-3 Tracing of Pollutants

Radioisotopes can be actively used for tracing the pollutants present in air. The dangerous residues of the radioisotope present even in small amounts in air can be very harmful to humans (can cause health effects such as kidney disease, etc.).

Nuclear techniques for investigating migration of pollutants in groundwater.

Among nuclear tools, nuclear well logging plays an important role. It is based on the utilization of nuclear radiation (gamma, neutron, etc.) to determine physio-chemical properties of soils and rocks in situ. Gamma-logging is used to evaluate the natural emission of gamma rays from soils and, thereafter, to determine the soil's clay and carbonate content, and its permeability. Gamma logging is based on the scattering of gamma radiation emitted by an artificial source.

III-4 Space
Both fission and fusion of nuclear power is actively used in providing power for the missions in space. It generates higher velocities that increase the speed of rockets.

III-5 Detecting Leaks in Pipeline

The gamma rays emitted by the radioisotopes can now be used to check welds of gas and oil pipelines. In this, the radioactive source is placed inside the pipe and the film outside the welds. This being convenient, can successfully be used in place of X-ray equipment, which was earlier used to detect leakage in pipelines.

III-6 Food and Agriculture

The use of isotopes and radiation techniques in agriculture comes under this category.

One major on-going advancement is Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), that helps in large-scale food irrigation and biological control of pests.
Nuclear radiations help to preserve fruit and vegetable for a longer time. This also helps in analyzing soil type and gives information to enhance its quality. Nuclear energy can help identify more robust and fertile grains.

IV-Comparison between nuclear energy and other sources of energy

Energy sources available in the world include coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, gas, wind, solar, refuse-based, and biomass. In addition, fusion had been originally proposed as the long-term source.

Coal Power
Coal is one of the most important sources of energy for mankind providing an easy way to generate energy in a cheap manner. The relative abundance and low costs of using Coal has made it the the first choice of Fuel for building Power Plants in the world. Coal has huge importance as an Energy source and forms the most important raw material for Cement and Steel.

Coal is also used in a variety of other industries like Paper, Aluminum, Chemical, Transportation and Pharma. However Coal also has huge negative consequences as it is the largest source of Carbon Emissions which happen during Coal Combustion

Advantages of Coal Power

* Abundance:
Coal is located almost universally, it can be found on every continent in over 70 countries, with the biggest reserves in the USA, Russia, China and India. * Continuous, Predictable, Reliable Source of Power : Coal Based Energy can be generated almost 247 unlike other forms of renewable energy like wind and solar that are intermittent in nature. * Low Capital Investment: The capital investment required for Coal based Power plants is relatively less at $1-2/watt of Thermal Capacity. Note wind energy is slightly higher while Solar is even higher. Coal Mines are also quite cheap to build and Mine with Open Cast Mines providing Coal at a very Low Cost.

Disadvantages of

Coal Power

* Greenhouse Gas Emissions : One of the biggest cons of

Coal Energy is that it releases Carbon Dioxide which has been sequestered for millions of years in the dead bodies of plant and animals. This transfer the Carbon from the Earth to the Environment leading to the Global Warming Effect. * Coal Mining Deaths - Coal Mining has resulted in thousands of deaths each year ever since man discovered coal. Note Coal Deaths happen not only in countries which dont have good safety regulations like China but also in developed countries like USA and New Zealand. * Emission of Harmful Substances like Sulfur Dioxide,Carbon Monoxide, Mercury, Selenium, Arsenic, Acid Rain

Hydro-electric or Water Power

"Run of the river" systems do not require a dam or storage facility to be constructed. Instead they divert water from the stream or river, channel it in to a valley and drop it in to a turbine via a pipeline called a penstock.

Advantages of Hydro-electric Power

* Hydro-electric source is a flexible source of electricity since

plants can be ramped up and down very quickly to adapt to changing energy demands. * Hydroelectric plants have long economic lives, with some plants still in service after 50100 years * The major advantage of hydroelectricity is elimination of the cost of fuel. The cost of operating a hydroelectric plant is nearly immune to increases in the cost of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas or coal, and no imports are needed * Dedicated hydroelectric projects are often built to provide the substantial amounts of electricity needed for aluminium electrolytic plants, for example. * Reduced CO2 emissions

Disadvantages of Hydro-electric Power

* Hydroelectric power stations that use dams would submerge

large areas of land due to the requirement of a reservoir. downstream

* Environmental damage for areas flooded (backed up) and

* Relocation: Another disadvantage of hydroelectric dams is the
need to relocate the people living where the reservoirs are planned. In 2000, the World Commission on Dams estimated that dams had physically displaced 40-80 million people worldwide. * Failure risks: Because large conventional dammed-hydro facilities hold back large volumes of water, a failure due to poor construction, natural disasters or sabotage can be catastrophic to downriver settlements and infrastructure

IV-2COMPARISON WITH SOLAR POWER AND WIND POWER

SOLAR POWER
Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP).

Advantages It does not emit any greenhouse gases. Solar energy is produced by conducting the suns radiation a process void of smoke, gas, or other chemical by-product. It creates absolutely no pollution.

 Very little maintenance is required to keep the solar cells running. There are no moving parts in a solar cell, which makes it impossible to really hurt them. Solar cells tend to last a good long time with only an annual cleaning to worry about. It is a renewable source. This means that even when we cannot make use of the suns power because of nighttime or cloudy and stormy days, we can always rely on the sun showing up the very next day as a constant and consistent power source It is one hundred percent free. Solar does not require expensive and ongoing raw materials like oil or coal, and requires significantly lower operational labour than conventional power production. It does not rely on constantly mining raw materials, it does not result in the destruction of forests and eco-systems that occurs with most fossil fuel operations.

Disadvantages Solar does not work at night. To produce solar electricity there must be sunlight. So energy must be stored or sourced elsewhere at night. Beyond daily fluctuations, solar production decreases over winter months when there are less sunlight hours and sun radiation is less intense. Solar electricity storage technology has not reached its potential yet. Capital costs for installing a home solar system or building a solar farm are high. Solar panels take up a lot of space. In overcrowded cities where power consumption is highest and space is scarcest, building massive tanks of solar panels could be very challenging indeed.

WIND POWER
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.
Advantages It is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed and clean. Once the wind turbine is built, the energy it produces does not cause greenhouse gas emissions or other pollutants during operations. The effects on the environment are generally less problematic than those from power sources. Although wind turbines can be very tall, each takes up only a small plot of land. This means that the land below can still be used. This is especially the case in agricultural areas as farming can still continue.

 Costs are relatively low and continue to decrease. The power is essentially free once the infrastructure is paid for. Remote areas that are not connected to the electricity power grid can use wind turbines to produce their own supply. Wind turbines are available in a range of sizes which means a vast range of people and businesses can use them. Single households to small towns and villages can make good use of range of wind turbines available today.
Disadvantages The strength of the wind is not constant and it varies from zero to storm force. This means that wind turbines do not produce the same amount of electricity all the time. There will be times when they produce no electricity at all. Wind turbines are noisy. Each one can generate the same level of noise as a family car travelling at 70 mph (minute per hour). Large wind farms are needed to provide entire communities with enough electricity. For examples, the largest single turbine available today can only provide enough electricity for 475 homes, when running at full capacity. How many would be needed for a town of 100 000 people?

V- Nuclear energy in South Africa

South Africa is the only country in Africa with a commercial nuclear power plant. South Africa's first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1984.
The SAFARI-1 tank in pool research reactor is located at the Pelindaba nuclear research centre in Gauteng.

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) was established as a public company by the Republic of South Africa Nuclear Energy Act in 1999 and is wholly owned by the State. The chief executive officer of Necsa is Mr. Phumzile Tshelane since 1 September 2012.

Figure 8: Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in South Africa

VI- Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Disaster in Japan

The Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, also known as Fukushima Dai-ichi (daiichi means "number one"), is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a 3.5square-kilometre (860-acre) site in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The plant suffered major damage from the 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011 and, as of February 2013
However, the use of nuclear energy as main source of energy in Japan will not stop. If Japan were to convert to a gas and oil energy economy, going completely nuclear-free, the repercussions would cost the people and government tens of billions of dollars in annual fees.

. The situation is quite complicated in Japan because the Japanese population wants the use of nuclear energy to be eradicated in Japan.

Figure 9: Fukushima I power plant before disater

Figure 10: Fukushima I nuclear power plant after the disaster

Figure:11 Anti-nuclear power plant movement on 19 September 2011(after the disaster) at the Meiji Shrine complex in Tokyo.

VII-Conclusion
Wind power cannot be used as the main source of energy due to its limited efficiency of electricity production (the largest turbine can only provide electricity to 475 homes). In terms of greenhouse gases emitted during processes of electricity production, coal power plants produce the highest emissions.

Regarding the costs involved in constructing a power plant, solar power plants are the most expensive. A nuclear power plant will cost less than half of a comparable solar power plant per megawatt. Even factoring in fuel, security and maintenance, nuclear power costs about 4 cents per kWh =, and solar power costs 22 cents per kWh produced. This means that if nuclear power were widely used, it cut energy costs for businesses to 18% of what their bills would be if solar power were more widely used.

Nuclear power ranks amongst the least safe power plant in the industry because events such as Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island accidents. As compared to above mentioned sources of energy, the nuclear plant produces the second most amount of energy after solar plant but they are less expensive than solar plants to construct. They also emit less harmful gases than coal power plants. Regarding electricity demand and energy, nuclear power plants are the most cost-effective source of energy.

However, the debate around the use of nuclear energy remains the center of many discussions all over the world and therefore the following question can be asked to each of us: Are you for or against the use of nuclear energy as main source of energy in your country?

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