|
|
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| ==Fission==
| | As a source of [[energy]], '''nuclear''' power can refer to a few types: |
| All of today's nuclear power plants run on nuclear fission.
| | * [[Conventional nuclear power]] - '''status quo''', used by all nuclear power plants today |
| | | * [[Breeder reactors]] - not viable yet |
| ===Supply===
| | * [[Nuclear fusion]] - not viable yet |
| Today's nuclear plants get their [[energy]] from uranium-235, which is a scarce mineral. If the whole world was powered this way, we'd start to run out of it in '''less than 4 years''':
| |
| {{dp
| |
| |<nowiki>uranium.reserves</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>8.070 million tonnes uranium_natural</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>Global uranium mineral reserves, measured in energy units</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>The calculator understands "tonnes uranium_natural" as an energy unit. It's based on the fact that natural uranium is just 0.7% uranium-235 (the isotope we extract energy from). The rest is uranium-238, which isn't useful for energy unless we use breeder reactors.</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| </nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| Citation:</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| Uranium 2020: Resources, Production and Demand ('Red Book')</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| "The total recoverable identified resources to $260/kg U is 8.070 million tonnes U."</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| </nowiki>
| |
| }}
| |
| {{dp
| |
| |<nowiki>nuclear_power_plant.efficiency</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>33%</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>Electrical output divided by the heat energy of the nuclear reactor</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>Nuclear power plants convert heat (from uranium-235, currently) into electricity. The process is approximately 33% efficient.</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| </nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| Citation: Key World Energy Statistics 2020 (IEA report) - Page 73 - Glossary - Nuclear</nowiki>
| |
| }}
| |
| {{dp
| |
| |<nowiki>energy.tfc</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>9937.70 Mtoe/year</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>Global energy usage - total final consumption (TFC)</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>Includes: fuel (80.7%) + electricity (19.3%) AFTER it is generated.</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| </nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| Does not include the fuel used in generating electricity. See [energy.tes] for that.</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| </nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| Citation: "Key World Energy Statistics 2020" IEA</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
| |
| - Page 47 - Simplified energy balance table - World energy balance, 2018</nowiki>
| |
| }}
| |
| {{calc
| |
| |<nowiki>uranium.reserves * nuclear_power_plant.efficiency</nowiki>
| |
| |<nowiki>years energy.tfc</nowiki>
| |
| }}
| |
| <small>We'd run out even faster [[energy demand scenarios|if all nations were developed]].</small>
| |
| | |
| Since uranium-235 and uranium-238 occur together in nature{{x|in the following proportion: uranium-238 (99.3%) and uranium-235 (0.7%). The proportion does not vary, no matter what part of the Earth's crust the uranium is mined from.}}, the 238 component ends up as [[nuclear waste|waste]].
| |
| | |
| | |
| These two problems could be solved with [[breeder reactors]] that make use of uranium-238 and/or [[thorium]] - both of which are far more abundant fuels. However, major innovations are needed before this is viable and safe.
| |
| | |
| For now, nuclear power is best suited as only a [[baseload]].
| |
| | |
| <small>There is also some talk about extracting [[uranium from seawater]], but the viability of this is questionable (like [[lithium|other trace minerals]]), because the concentration is extremely low.</small>
| |
| | |
| ===Safety concerns===
| |
| ====Proliferation====
| |
| If uranium gets into the wrong hands, it can be used to make [[thermonuclear bombs]]. Nuclear power plants need strong redundant security measures to mitigate this risk.
| |
| ====Meltdowns====
| |
| This has happened twice in history: [[Chernobyl]] and [[Fukushima]].
| |
| <!-- TODO: put in perspective the number of lives lost and the amount of land lost, relative to the amount of energy generated (throughout all of history). Compare to fossil fuels etc. -->
| |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| ==Fusion==
| |
| [[Nuclear fusion]] is '''not''' currently viable for generating power. It has great ''potential'' solve the [[energy]] crisis{{x|it could power the world for billions of years, from only tiny amounts of abundant material, and with almost no pollution}}, but it is nowhere near ready yet (despite some misleading news headlines).
| |
| | |
| The most recent [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbpUj1-tEhs breakthrough] was in December 2022. Fusion research & development is certainly worthwhile, but we can't "put all our eggs in one basket". [[Climate change]] is near a [[tipping point]], so we need clean [[energy]] sooner than fusion might be available.
| |