CO2 emissions from fossil fuelled power stations are increasing especially from coal fired stations.

CCS and large output

forms of renewable energy are still under research and development. This leaves us with nuclear energy to produce our
electricity without emitting CO2 to the atmosphere.
The use of nuclear energy as a source of electrical power has diminished mainly due to the problem of long-term, safe
disposal of medium and high radioactive waste. The publics perception of risk of meltdown, which occurred at the Chernobyl
Nuclear Power Plant, has also made nuclear power unpopular.
However CO2 emissions from fossil fuelled power plants are still on increase, especially from coal-fired ones, adding further
to global warming. An alternative method of producing electricity without the CO2 emission is required to mitigate these CO2
emissions.
Renewable energy is gradually filling this essential role but the larger output capacity devices to capture this energy are still
being tested.
Nuclear power being a non producer of CO2 is another option for producing electricity, and it is this method of producing
power that this article is based, and we shall start with the mining and processing of the ore.
We go on to explore the different types of nuclear reactors and have a look inside a typical nuclear power plant, seeing how
it operates.

Mining and Processing Uranium Ore

Uranium is found in deposits in various locations throughout the world, Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan being at the
forefront of mining operations.
Once deposits of uranium ore have been located using surveys such as geophysical and geochemical analyses, it is mined
in the conventional manner from the seams of uranium ore. Despite the uranium ore mining being perpetrated to be a low
risk, in the early days it was positively linked to lung cancer in the workforce.
The lung cancer was caused by the inhalation of carcinogenic radon gas and, dust from the silicon contained in sandstone
host rock.
Today the underground mines are well ventilated by vertical shafts to reduce radon gas concentrations and all underground
workers now wear personal protection such as face masks and respirators.
Once the ore is brought to the surface it is conveyed to the milling area where it undergoes the next process where the ore
is extracted from the sandstone by crushers and grinders. It is then sent to a leaching plant as uranium oxide (U308) where
it is mixed with sulphuric acid into a slurry.
The slurry is passed through a system of water-wash tanks ensuring all available uranium ore is extracted and, just as
important, the separation of uranium bearing liquid within the leached solids. The later process is very important as the
waste solids are pumped into an open tailing pond which is susceptible to ground leaching.
The uranium solution is now processed further by subjection to an organic compound or ion exchange system. This
produces a saline solution to which peroxide or ammonia are added turning the solution into slurry known as yellowcake.
This is washed and dried in a rotating kiln after which the cake is packed into drums ready for the next process which is
conversion to uranium hexafluoride (UF6) before being enriched and shipped to the nuclear reactor.

Enrichment of Uranium and Formation of Fuel Assemblies

The UF6 is converted to a gas and is ready for enrichment by one of three methods, gaseous diffusion, gas centrifuge or
laser enrichment.
We shall examine the gas centrifuge method of enrichment.
Gas Centrifuge
The principle of centrifuge is to rotate at high revolutions, which throw heavier components of a substance to the outside of a
bowl, the lighter components remaining close to the centre. This type of gas centrifuge contains numerous tiers of
interconnected cylinders, the UF6 gas is placed in the first stage. As the cylinders rotate the heavier molecules in the U238
gas are thrown towards the outside whilst the lighter U235 are held close to the centre of the cylinder. These lighter U235
molecules transfer into further cylinders where the process is continued until the optimum enrichment of the UF6 is
achieved.
Fuel Assemblies
The enriched UF6 now undergoes the process of reactor fuel fabrication. This entails its conversion to uranium dioxide
powder (UO2) which is compressed into pellets. After machining to uniform size these pellets are stacked into containers
known as fuel rods which are bunched together in fuel assemblies to form the nuclear core.
We are now all set to go, but first we will have a wee look at the different types of reactors and describe a Pressurised Water
Reactor (PWR) being the most popular type used in nuclear power stations.

Types of Nuclear Reactors

There are numerous types of nuclear reactors some of them still in use, the more common are listed below

Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR)

Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGCR)
Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR)
Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR)

Components of a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR)

This is the preferred type of reactor used in todays power plants, and is considered currently the most reliable and safest
form of nuclear energy. The core where the nuclear reactions occur contains the fuel rods, inside the fuel assemblies, the
control rods, the moderator and the components coolant.
The Nuclear Fuel
This consists of the fuel rods we looked at earlier which are bundled together to form the fuel assemblies and packed tightly
into the reactor core.
The Control Rods

These are fabricated from neutron absorbing material such as cadmium. They are used to control the number of free
neutrons allowed to collide with the U235 atoms in the core. This is achieved by the automatic lowering the rods by a
mechanical device. This can also be operated manually by the operative in an emergency, by being fully lowered into the
core absorbing all the free neutrons thus stopping the reaction.
The Moderator
This can be ordinary water, heavy water (modified hydrogen content) or graphite. They all serve the same purpose which is
to moderate the speed of the neutrons following fission.
The Cooling Medium
The reactor gets very hot during the process of fission and it is kept cool by circulating the coolant through the core. Some
types of reactors combine the functions of the cooling medium and moderator.
Reactor Core Pressure Vessel
This is a heavy steel fabricated pressure vessel which contains the core, moderator and cooling medium.
Steam Generator
This consists of heat exchanger which is located inside the containment area. It utilises the core cooling water to produce
steam from process water. Both systems are closed circuits to prevent radiation contamination of the process steam, and
returning condensate.
The Outer Containment Module
This is fabricated from steel reinforced concrete and can be over a meter thick. It is designed to protect operatives from
radiation emission from within the reactor.

Operation of a Pressure Water Reactor

The core is loaded with the fuel assemblies and moderator and coolant system operating, in most PWR these two being the
same component. In the core the control rods are raised and fission occurs through the splitting of the U235 atoms, neutrons
break free colliding with other U235 atoms causing a chain reaction that produces intense heat. The rate of reaction of the
neutrons is controlled by the control rods and the speed of the neutrons slowed down by the moderator.
Cooling water is used to keep the core from overheating and this is piped to a heat exchanger also within the containment
area. The heat exchanger uses the core coolant to convert process water to high pressure steam to drive steam turbine
generators, exiting the LP turbine to the condenser. From here the condensate is returned to the heat exchanger in the
containment area, and is converted back to steam in the normal mode of power plant steam systems operation.

There are various types of nuclear reactors used to produce electricity in a nuclear power station, the most popular of these
being the Pressurized Water Reactor or PWR. Enriched uranium UO2 is placed in fuel rods and these packed together in a
tube to form the fuel assemblies. The assemblies are loaded into the reactor core and fission takes place.During fission the
speed and numbers of the free neutrons are controlled by the use of a moderator and control rods. The core rapidly heats up
during the process of fission and is kept cool by the circulation of coolant such as water. The heat from the coolant is
transferred to process water in a heat exchanger producing dry, high pressure steam which is used to drive turbo generators
producing electricity for the national grid

Moderation is necessary in all aspects of life if one has to achieve success. Usually extreme of anything is bad, no matter
whether it is good or bad. It is no wonder the same principle applies to nuclear reactions as well. Just learn few basic
concepts about moderation and moderators in context of nuclear power plants

Introduction
The nuclear fission reaction consists of bombarding fuels such as Uranium with energetic neutrons. This makes the target
unstable and makes it split into two parts accompanied with the release of energy which is utilized to generate electricity.
There is a certain threshold below which the neutron will not be absorbed by the target nucleus, but that does not mean that
above that threshold any neutron can cause fission. Infact there is a range of energy within which they can cause fission.
Neutrons which fall above that range are known as fast neutrons and they are not readily absorbed by the target nucleus
and hence not useful in sustaining a chain reaction. A moderator is one of the important components of nuclear power plant
helping to maintain neutron population in the thermal energy range.

The Moderator

The problem lies in the fact that whenever a thermal neutron causes fission it also leads to the release of fast neutrons. Now
these fast neutrons have to be slowed down and brought to lower energy levels if they have to cause successful fission in
turn. It is here that the concept of a moderator comes in the picture.

As you must have understood above, a moderator is a medium which is used to absorb a portion of the kinetic energy of fast
neutrons so that they come in the category of thermal neutrons which help to sustain a controlled chain reaction. The
mechanism of speed control works in such a way that fast moving neutrons strike the nuclei of moderator material which is
not efficient at absorbing them but simply slows them down with repeated collisions thus bringing them into the thermal
zone.

Materials for Moderator

There are several materials which are used for the purpose including the following

Normal or Light Water is used in majority of the reactors simply because of its cheap and abundant
availability. The only flipside of using light-water is that the fuel has to be enriched to use with water

Deuterium - also known as heavy water in common terminology, Deuterium is costly to manufacture

as compared to light water but gives the option of using un-enriched fuel in the reactor which is a
big advantage
Miscellaneous - Several materials such as Graphite, Beryllium, Lithium are used in different types of
reactors as moderators

Is it always necessary?
Although moderators are necessary in most nuclear reactors this does not mean to say that all reactors
require moderators. There is a special class of reactors known as fast reactors which do not use moderators
but depend on the use of fast moving neutrons for causing fission. Even otherwise it must be remembered
that fast moving neutrons have lesser probability of getting absorbed and causing fission but it does not
mean that they are incapable of causing the fission reaction. Just to give you a relative idea a fast moving
neutron travels with a speed which is nearly in the region of 10% of the speed of light, while a thermal
neutron travels with a speed which is typically of the order of a few kilometers per second.
There are also other categories of neutrons based on their energy levels such as slow neutrons, cold
neutrons, ultra cold neutrons and so forth.

Fissile material consist of fissionable isotopes that are capable of undergoing nuclear fission only
after capturing a thermal neutron. Typical fissile materials: 235U, 233U, 239Pu, 241Pu.

Fertile material consist of isotopes that are not fissionable by thermal neutrons, but can be
converted into fissile isotopes (after neutron absorption and subsequent nuclear decay).
Typical fertile materials: 238U, 232Th.

Most commercial nuclear reactors use normal water (also called light water) as a neutron
moderator. Some reactor designs, such as the CANDU reactor, use heavy water.
A heavy water molecule contains deuterium (Hydrogen-2), which is an isotope of hydrogen that has a
neutron in its nucleus in addition to the proton. The hydrogen in light water molecules contains only
the proton (and is therefore called protium or Hydrogen-1).
Deuterium is much less likely to absorb neutrons than protium. As a result, more of the neutrons in
a heavy water reactor are available to be absorbed by uranium than in a light water reactor. The
result is that the uranium in a CANDU reactor does not need to be enriched in U-235; natural
uranium can be used as fuel. This in turn means that a heavy water reactor can produce more energy
per unit of uranium mined.

Neutrons emerge from fission reactions at high speeds and that we typically like to slow them down
to thermal energies in order to increase their chances of continuing the chain reaction. This is what is
done in thermal reactors.
Splitting atoms is not the only thing neutrons do. In nuclides such as Uranium-238, thermal
neutrons are readily absorbed without causing a fission -- resulting in what we call a capture.

One drawback of fast neutrons in reactors is that the probabilities of their capture by nuclei are
comparatively small. Travelling in matter, neutrons see nuclei as targets. The apparent cross-section of
these targets is much more smaller for fast neutrons than it is for slower neutrons. As a result, an
intense neutron flux and a fuel rich in fissile elements are both needed to compensate for this lower
probability.

he second component is the nature of the interaction. This varies by isotope. U-235 just happens
to interact with slow neutrons in a way that easily produces fission. This is for the reasons that
the others have described: the neutron is absorbed into the nucleus and brings some kinetic
energy with it. This causes the nucleus to wobble like a drop of liquid. This wobbling elongates it
beyond the range of the strong nuclear force and causes it to rupture into two discrete chunks,
which then repel from each other under the influence of the electromagnetic force. Another way
to phrase this is that U-235 has a low activation energy it doesn't take much force for the
nucleus to rupture once a neutron is absorbed.
U-235 can also obviously fission from fast neutrons. (If this were not possible, then U-235
bombs would not be feasible.) But not only do those neutrons have less of a chance of finding a
U-235 nucleus, but there is also a chance that instead of the interaction resulting in fission, it will
result in scattering (it will just bounce off). This is why you need to have highly enriched material
in a bomb, to increase the number of fission interactions.

But not all nuclei, even uranium nuclei, behave this way. U-238, for example, will also have an
increased chance of absorbing a slow neutron compared to a fast one. But that interaction will
not result in fission, it will result simply in "absorption." The kinetic energy brought by the slow
neutron will not cause the U-238 nucleus to wobble. Instead it simply become U-239. This will,
over several days, decay into Np-239 and finally Pu-239.
U-238 can undergo fission, but it is much more stable than U-235 so it requires much more
kinetic energy in the neutrons. The problem now, as you can see, is that fast neutrons are
smaller and thus have a smaller chance of interacting with the nucleus than the slow neutrons.
So you need a LOT of them to increase the probability.

Fast Neutron Reactors

In a fast neutron reactor the fuel in the core is Pu-239 and the abundant neutrons which leak
from the core breed more Pu-239 in a fertile blanket of U-238 around the core. A minor fraction
of U-238 might be subject to fission, but most of the neutrons reaching the U-238 blanket will
have lost some of their original energy and are therefore subject only to capture and thus
breeding of Pu-239

Electrical power can be generated by means of nuclear power. In nuclear

power station, electrical power is generated by nuclear reaction.Here,
heavy radioactive elements such as Uranium (U235) or Thorium (Th232) are
subjected to nuclear fission. This fission is done in a special apparatus
called as reactor. Before going to details of nuclear power station, lets try
to understand what is fission? In fission process, the nuclei of heavy
radioactive atoms are broken into two nearly equal parts. During this
breaking of nuclei, huge quantity of energy is released. This release of
energy is due to mass defect. That means, the total mass of initial
product would be reduced during fission. This loss of mass during fission
is converted into heat energy as per famous equation E = mc 2,
established by Albert Einstein.
The basic principle of nuclear power station is same as steam power
station. Only difference is that, instead of using heat generated due to
coal combustion, here in nuclear power plant, heat generated due to
nuclear fission is used to produce steam from water in the boiler. This
steam is used to drive a steam turbine. This turbine is the prime mover of
the alternator. This alternator generates electrical energy. Although, the
availability of nuclear fuel is not much but very less amount of nuclear
fuel can generate huge amount of electrical energy. This is the unique
feature of a nuclear power plant. One kg of uranium is equivalent to 4500
metric tons of high grade coal. That means complete fission of 1 kg

uranium can produce as much heat as can be produced by complete

combustion of 4500 metric tons high grade coal. This is why, although
nuclear fuel is much costlier, but nuclear fuel cost per unit electrical
energy is still lower than that cost of energy generated by means of other
fuel like coal and diesel. To meet up conventional fuel crisis in present
era, nuclear power station can be the most suitable alternatives.

Advantages of Nuclear Power Station

1.

As we said, the fuel consumption in this power station is quite low

and hence, cost for generating single unit of energy is quite less than
other conventional power generation method. Amount of nuclear fuel
required is also less.
2.
A nuclear power station occupies much smaller space compared to
other conventional power station of same capacity.
3.
This station does not require plenty of water, hence it is not
essential to construct plant near natural source of water. This also
does not required huge quantity of fuel; hence it is also not essential
to construct the plant near coal mine, or the place where good
transport facilities are available. Because of this, the nuclear power
station can be established very near to the load centre.
4.
There are large deposits of nuclear fuel globally therefore such
plants can ensure continued supply of electrical energy for coming
thousands years.

Disadvantages of Nuclear Power Plant

1.
2.
3.

The fuel is not easily available and it is very costly.

Initial cost for constructing nuclear power station is quite high.
Erection and commissioning of this plant is much complicated and
sophisticated than other conventional power station.
4.
The fission by products is radioactive in nature, and it may cause
high radioactive pollution.
5.
The maintenance cost is higher and the man power required to run
a nuclear power plant is quite higher since specialist trained people
are required.
6.
Sudden fluctuation of load cannot be met up efficiently by nuclear
plant.
7.
As the by products of nuclear reaction is high radioactive, it is very
big problem for disposal of this by products. It can only be disposed
deep inside ground or in a sea away from sea share.
Different Components of Nuclear Power Station
A nuclear power station has mainly four components.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Lets

Nuclear reactor,
Heat exchanger,
Steam turbine,
Alternator.
discuss these components one by one:

Nuclear Reactor

In nuclear reactor, Uranium 235 is subjected to nuclear fission. It controls

the chain reaction that starts when the fission is done. The chain reaction
must be controlled otherwise rate of energy release will be fast, there
may be a high chance of explosion. In nuclear fission, the nuclei of
nuclear fuel, such as U235 are bombarded by slow flow of neutrons. Due to
this bombarding, the nuclei of Uranium is broken, which causes release of
huge heat energy and during breaking of nuclei, number of neutrons are
also emitted.
These emitted neutrons are called fission neutrons. These fission
neutrons cause further fission. Further fission creates more fission
neutrons which again accelerate the speed of fission. This is cumulative
process. If the process is not controlled, in very short time the rate of
fission becomes so high, it will release so huge amount of energy, there
may be dangerous explosion. This cumulative reaction is called chain
reaction. This chain reaction can only be controlled by removing fission
neutrons from nuclear reactor. The speed of the fission can be controlled
by changing the rate of removing fission neutrons from reactors.
A nuclear reactor is a cylindrical shaped stunt pressure vessel. The fuel
rods are made of nuclear fuel i.e. Uranium moderates, which is generally
made of graphite cover the fuel rods. The moderates slow down the
neutrons before collision with uranium nuclei. The controls rods are made
of cadmium because cadmium is a strong absorber of neutrons.
The control rods are inserted in the fission chamber. These cadmium
controls rods can be pushed down and pull up as per requirement. When
these rods are pushed down enough, most of the fission neutrons are
absorbed by these rods, hence the chain reaction stops. Again, while the
controls rods are pulled up, the availability of fission neutrons becomes
more which increases the rates of chain reaction. Hence, it is clear that
by adjusting the position of the control rods, the rate of nuclear reaction
can be controlled and consequently the generation of electrical power can
be controlled as per load demand. In actual practice, the pushing and

pulling of control rods are controlled by automatic feedback system as

per requirement of the load. It is not controlled manually. The heat
released during nuclear reaction, are carried to the heat exchanger by
means of coolant consist of sodium metal.

Heat Exchanger
In heat exchanger, the heat carried by sodium metal, is dissipated in
water and water is converted to high pressure steam here. After releasing
heat in water the sodium metal coolant comes back to the reactor by
means of coolant circulating pump.

Steam Turbine
In nuclear power plant, the steam turbine plays the same role as coal
power plant. The steam drives the turbine in same way. After doing its
job, the exhaust steam comes into steam condenser where it is
condensed to provide space to the steam behind it.

Alternator
An alternator, coupled with turbine, rotates and generates electrical
power, for utilization. The output from alternator is delivered to the busbars through transformer, circuit breakers and isolators.

Site Selection of Nuclear Power Station

1.

Availability of Water : Although very large quantity of water is

not regulated as hydro-electric power plant, but still sufficient supply
of neutral water is obvious for cooling purposes in nuclear power
station. That is why it is always preferable to locate this plant near a
river or sea side.
2.
Disposal of Water : The by products or wastes of nuclear power
station are radioactive and may cause severe health hazards. Because
of this, special care to be taken during disposal of wastes of nuclear
power plant. The wastes must be buried in sufficient deep from earth
level or these must be disposed off in sea quite away from the sea
share. Hence, during selecting the location of nuclear plant, these
factors must be taken into consideration.
3.
Distance from Populated Area : As there is always a probability
of radioactivity, it is always preferable to locate a nuclear station
sufficiently away from populated area.
4.
Transportation Facilities : During commissioning period, heavy
equipments to be erected, which to be transported from manufacturer
site. So good railways and road ways availabilities are required. For
availability of skilled manpower good public transport should also be
present at the site.