NUCLEAR ENERGY

2.006 Lecture , May 12,

2016
Neil Todreas
Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Professor of Mechanical Engineering(Emeritus)
todreas@mit.edu 617-253-5296

THENUCLEARFISSIONPROCESS
Neutron-driven
chain reaction
producing heat

Uranium-235 is the
fuel: 2.5 million times
more energy per kg
than coal
Only 37 tons of fuel
(3%-enriched uranium)
per year needed for
1000 MWe reactor
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Gabon Roots
17 natural fission reactors operated for
about a million years about 2 billion years
ago
Postulated in 1956; discovered in 1972
4 conditions needed

high U concentration

sufficient U-235 enrichment

water for moderation

no neutron absorbers ( silver or boron)

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Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)

Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

PWR Primary System

Complexity of Energy Removed

in Nuclear Reactors
1. Interdependence of Thermal Science
+ Neutronics*
2. High Power Densities
3. Radiation Fields-Materials damage
4. Core must maintain fixed core
geometry over lifetime
5. Existence of heat source from fission
product decay long after shutdown
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Interdependence of
Thermal Science +
Neutronics
1.Low neutron absorption
2.Appropriate moderation
3.Short half life of activated
species
4.Radiation stability of
materials
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Reactor fuel

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Moderators and Coolants

(or steam)

(or CO2)

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Nuclear Energy in the US, today

99 US reactors, 100 GWe is 13% of US installed
capacity but provides 19.5% of total electricity.
In 2010 nuclear energy production in the US was the
highest ever.
US plants have run at 91.7% capacity in 2014, up from
56% in 1980.
7.3 GWe of uprates were permitted since 1977. About
0.6 GWe additional expected by 2018.
76 reactor licenses extended, from 40 years to 60
years of operation, 22 more reactors in process.
Electricity production costs of nuclear are the lowest
in US (2.4 /kWh average, with large distribution), but
natural gas costs have come down
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Nuclear Energy in the World

Today

CourtesyofMITgraduatestudentMarkReed

438 World reactors in 30 countries, 11% of

global electricity produced

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67 new reactors are in various stages of construction

Olkiluoto Finland
Lungmen Taiwan

Kudankulam India

Flamanville France
Shin kori S. Korea
Rostov Russia
Shimane Japan
Taishan China

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5 new units under construction in the U.S.

Vogtle,
Georgia

Summer,
South Carolina

Watts Bar,
Tennessee

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Can nuclear displace coal?

Yes, as they are both used for
baseload electricity generation.

What about oil?

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Oil Is Used for Transportation.

What Are the Other Transport Fuel Options?

Plug-in hybrid electric cars

Liquid fuels from fossil sources
(oil, natural gas and coal)
Liquid fuels from biomass

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Nuclear Safety Primer

Hazard: fission products are highly

radioactive
Objective: protect environment/staff/public
by preventing uncontrolled release of
radioactivity
Safety Principle #1: Defense in Depth - There
exist multiple physical barriers between the source
of radioactivity (the fission products) and the
environment.

<

<

Fuel pellet and cladding

Reactor coolant system

Containment 28

Nuclear Safety Primer (2)

Safety Principle #2: prevent fuel
overheating at all time. There are
Engineered Safety Systems to:
Shut down reactor: stop chain reaction
and terminate fission heat
Remove decay heat: lingers long after
reactor shutdown
Maintain (or replenish) reactor coolant
inventory: keep fuel covered
Relieve pressure: prevent component
failure
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Safety Systems in Traditional Plants

Require offsite AC power and/or diesel
generators to operate pumps. Can be defeated
by a station blackout (Fukushima)
(3)
(2)

(7)

(5)

(4)

(6)

(1)

(1)Shutdownthe
reactor
(2,3)Removedecay
heat
(4,5,6)Maintaincoolant
inventory
(7)Relievepressure

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Passive safety systems (AP1000)

Open valves +
keep going
indefinitely
No need for AC
power
Must refill
external pool
after 3-4 days

http://www.ap1000.westinghousenuclear.com/ap1000_psrs_pccs.html

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Mitigation of severe accidents (AP1000)

Use In-Vessel Retention (IVR) approach: flood vessel
cavity + remove decay heat by boiling on outer
surface of the vessel
IVR eliminates:

Water

4.8 m

Vessel

Core-Concrete Interaction
Steam Explosions
Passive H2 igniters/recombiners
eliminates:

Corium melt

22 cm

H2 explosions
Water

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Spent Fuel Management (waste disposal)

In the US all spent fuel is currently stored at the plants

In the spent fuel storage pools for about

10 years
then transferred to sealed dry casks;
cooled by air; heavily shielded; internal
temp and press monitored; can last for
decades with minimal maintenance and
cost.
A 1000-MW reactor requires about 80
dry casks for all the spent fuel it
produces in 60 years of operation
(about 3 acres of land).
Dry cask storing of all US nuclear fleet
spent fuel would require only 300 acres
of land. (The volumes are small !!!)
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Spent Fuel Management (waste disposal) (2)

In the long-term the spent fuel can be stored in deep geological repository
- The Yucca Mountain site was selected for the US, authorized

by
then-President Bush, the license application received by NRC in
2008. Recently work and licensing have been halted.
- The project is strongly opposed by the State of Nevada

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Spent fuel management (recycling)

Spent fuel from LWRs is reprocessed and:
-

Separated Pu is recycled in LWRs (MOX approach, done in France

and Japan)

Pu+U recycled in (sodium-cooled) fast reactors (being reconsidered

in Russia, Japan, France and US )under GNEP umbrella)

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Proliferation Risk
Fuel access problem: how to get 235U/239Pu for
weapons
Some technical characteristics of the fuel cycle
(high burnup, no Pu separation, use of Th) can
alleviate (but not completely eliminate) the
proliferation risk
For the US the problem is minimal, as the fuel
cycle is well safeguarded
For nuclear new-comers, fuel supplier can take
back spent fuel (Russian approach)
Political problem: why countries want nuclear
weapons
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Perhaps best handled through multilateral

Innovative MIT Reactor

Concepts
1. High temperature, Fluorite Molten
Salt cooled reactor(FHR)
2. Off-shore Floating Nuclear
Plant(OFNP)

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Conclusions
Nuclear produces 19.5% of US electricity today
Many new plant construction projects underway
worldwide, including the U.S.
Renewed interest in nuclear stems from concerns over
climate change and fossil fuel imports
Nuclear can displace coal in electricity sector and a lot
of oil in transportation sector
New reactor technologies offer superior level of safety
via increased redundancy and/or passive safety
systems, including consideration of severe accidents
Biggest challenge is high capital cost of new plants
(not safety) + competition from NG (in the US only)
Waste and proliferation are largely political issues, not
technical
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