Nuclear energy, a better and cleaner energy for the future??

So, after 3-4 week of informative nuclear information has been given, what do you all readers think about nuclear? Some say green, some say nay, some say yeay and lots more. But the point to ponder upon here is will nuclear today create better future tomorrow?  

As engineer, we do our best to improve human quality life by adding the comfort they are enjoying. On the other hand, we also try our very best to sustain the environment, so that our future generation will be able to enjoy what we enjoy today. Today, the most serious environmental issues we faced is global warming. U may not want to admit this, but we know the coldness of yesteryear have been long gone, and today we suffer severe heating at even 11am-4pm in Malaysia!! To prove this statement, the star paper have once publish that the sales of air conditioning over the last few years has increased. Hence, we need to over come this problem first, as soon as possible.

Some people might be worried about nuclear radiation. Throughout nuclear history, there are 2 most severe case which is the three-mile-island and also Chernobyl. Both cases have shown that nuclear power generation is deadly. Hence, I believe that, some might not be able to sleep peacefully knowing that the nuclear power plant is operating. This is because, we cant predict when accident could happen, and our lecturers have warned us that an accident anywhere is an accident everywhere. This imply that, this is our last nuclear power chance. 1 more accident like Chernobyl will cause the whole world nuclear power plant to shut down for good. However, despite the odds, until we can reduce the global carbon dioxide emission in the world to below 450ppm with other method, nuclear is still one of the best possibility available. This is on par with the resolution come out in the Copenhagen Summit.

In fact, aside from the accident, some might worry bout the nuclear waste, nuclear radiation and also the Malaysian "tak apa lah" attitude in handling the nuclear power plant. Nuclear waste is seriously not a joke. A lecturer whom just got back training from Japan, clearly mention to me indirectly that the nuclear waste is costing a bomb to be cleared. Aside from that, it is highly radioactive and very dangerous to human. However this waste is very little compare with the toxic waste factory produces. As for nuclear radiation, it is proven, a nuclear power plant emits less radiation than a smoker produce when he smokes. 


So, be responsible to yourselves and to the future of your kids, you would want them to live in a better environment than you do now.

Chow Down Da Radioactive Gasses XP

Radiation, radiation, radiation and radiation..... This is what people would think of when the sensitive words like nuclear and uranium are being spoke of. As we all know, spent nuclear fuel is radioactive.... they too emit radioactive gas that would be easily spread to the surroundings if not contained properly.....


But hei.... good news have arrived.... Apparently, a group of researchers have found something that would be able to capture and remove volatile radioactive gas from spent nuclear fuel. This idea would be achieved by using MOF.... not to be mistaken for Ministry of Food but metal-organic frameworks.


MOFs are crystalline, porous materials in which a metal center is bound to organic molecules by mid self-assembly chemical synthesis. Since iodine has half-life of 16 million years and would be created from spent nuclear fuels, MOF would be used to help seperate one molecule of iodine from a stream of molecules. Then the MOF and pore-trapped iodine gas can then be placed into a glass waste for long-term storage.


Well..... Lets hope that there would be more to come in order to make the use of nuclear fuel in our society to be an even more safe resource for the benefit of mankind ^^


Below is a picture of a lady holding some of the samples of MOFs

Uranium = Renewable Resource????

We've always heard of different energy sources being renewable...... Wind energy, hydroelectric and also the solar energy are some of the renewable energy sources. These renewable energy sources are clean and of the abundance in our beautiful earth.

However, what if I would like to say that the heart and core of the nuclear reactor, URANIUM!!! is also one of the renewable resource for us to exploit. Apparently, the supply of uranium on earth would still be there even after the earth has become uninhabitable... Unless everyone of us suddenly starts going green and preserving the environment of the world... Then that would be a different story.... But from the looks of things, the humans would have long left the earth or the worst case scenario dead before the supply of uranium would be depleted....

Apparently, a japanese guy with the name of Masao Tamada from the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency stated that there is an extremely huge amount of uranium dissolved in the seawater. There are around 4.5 billion tons of uranium dissolved in the seawater in which is equivalent to a thousand times of the amount found in terrestrial ores. Soon, the uranium which is from the seawater would be used as resources for the demand of the ever energy craving society in the future.

Tamada pointed out that there were researches on uranium absorbing materials that has been going on since quite some time ago which can be traced back into the 1960's. However, one should note that 'mining' uranium from the sea is more expansive than mining uranium from the ground which is as expensive as 300 dollar per kg. However, if the mined uranium is being used for power generation, it would still be considered as inexpensive.

It should be noted that new uranium would constantly be flowing into the sea whether through rivets and also through under water sources. Therefore, should harvesting of uranium from the sea becomes a major bloom of the industry, the constant amount of uranium being channeled into the sea would be able to replace the uranium that has been harvested.

Therefore, URANIUM IS A RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE!!!!


Anyways, below is a graphical flow chart showing the process of uranium being mined from the earth

Nuclear Waste : Safer Than You Think.

          One of the most concerning issues pertaining to nuclear energy generation is the waste management strategies. In other words, this matter can be simplified in one single question “What do we do with the all nuclear wastes?”. The general understanding of these wastes are that they are radioactive, and this raises concerns of their effects towards the surrounding environment should they be exposed through improper waste disposal or leakage from their containments. Thus, much research and effort has been done to find a viable solution to this problem, which then leads to the fact that nuclear power being the only large scale energy producing technology which takes full responsibility for all of its wastes and even fully costs them into the product.

            However, the truth is that the amount of waste produced by nuclear power generation is much smaller when compared to other power generation types. In comparison, a 1000MW nuclear power plant produces 27 tonnes of nuclear waste per year where as a typical 1000MW coal plant produces 7 million tonnes of waste. In addition, out of the 27 tonnes of nuclear waste produced (which are actually used nuclear fuels) , 97% of it is recycled, which then leaves only 700kg of hazardous high-level radioactive waste to be disposed.

           The reason for such a relatively small amount of waste produced by nuclear power plants is due to the amount of fuel it consumes. A coal power plant requires up to 3 million tonnes of coal per year where as a nuclear power plant only requires 25 tonnes of Uranium per year, and this is because the energy conversion value for coal fuel averages at 24MJ/kg whereas a Uranium fuel has a value of 500000MJ/kg.

           To make matters worse, the ash that is released to the atmosphere during the operation of coal power plants are found to be radioactive, and it poses great health concerns when inhaled into the body from the contaminated air. A U.S. NCRP report made in the 1993 displayed a more concerning fact, that the radioactive emission of a coal power plant is actually greater than a nuclear power plant, in which it found that a 1000MW coal power plant emits 490 person-rem/year of radioactive exposure where as an equally powered nuclear plant only emits up to 136 person-rem/year.

          Unlike other industrial wastes, the degree of hazard imposed by these radioactive nuclear wastes actually decreases over time due to the nature of its half-life, and in countries which utilize nuclear power, the produced radioactive waste from these plants only make up 1% of the total industrial toxic wastes (for which the 99% remains hazardous indefinitely).

References:
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf04.html
http://www.world-nuclear.org/education/whyu.htm
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs163-97/FS-163-97.html
http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html

Safety of a nuclear power plant

Nuclear safety cover the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. Safety is concerned with both radiation risks under normal circumstances and radiation risks as a consequence of incidents, as well as with other possible direct consequences of a loss of control over a nuclear reactor core, nuclear chain reaction, radioactive source or any other source of radiation. ‘Radiation’ in this context means ionizing radiation. ‘Incidents’ includes initiating events, accident precursors, near misses, accidents and unauthorized acts (including malicious and non-malicious acts). ‘Safety measures’ include actions to prevent incidents and arrangements put in place to mitigate their consequences if they were to occur. ‘Nuclear security’ denotes the prevention and detection of, and response to, theft, sabotage, unauthorized access, illegal transfer or other malicious acts involving nuclear material, other radioactive substances or their associated facilities. Safety measures and security measures have in common the aim of protecting human life and health and the environment. The safety standards concern the security of facilities and activities to the extent that they require ‘security for safety’ measures that contribute to both safety and security, such as;

1. Appropriate provisions in the design and construction of nuclear installations and other facilities
2. Controls on access to nuclear installations and other facilities to prevent the loss of, and the unauthorized removal, possession, transfer and use of radioactive material
3. Arrangements for mitigating the consequences of accidents and failures,which also facilitate measures for dealing with breaches in security that give rise to radiation risks
4. Measures for the security of the management of radioactive sources and radioactive material

A Step Into The Future

A journey of life is ever challenging....... We start as a baby, crying our way into the world. Then we would start to crawl, stand, eventually walking and finally running.... In the process of learning how to walk, a baby would definitely fall down, cry a little, then would contemplate whether to try to walk again or not. Eventually, that little toddler would stand up again and start to walk again. I am pretty sure, in the baby's language, he or she would be thinking of what should be done to make sure that the next step of the walk to be a successful one. After some baby maths and risk assessment, the next step would be done and voila...... The baby DID IT!!!!! The baby has successfully started to walk..... And the next thing you would notice is the tear filled eyes of the baby's parents knowing that their baby is taking the next step into his or her growth.

Well to a baby, the hurt of falling is very risky since it would be painful since the floor is not sofa. However, due to the baby's desire to walk knowing that through walking, he or she would be able to reach places and most importantly, his or her toy, the risk is definitely worth it. Therefore, no risk no gain........

The majority of nuclear reactors in the world now are 2nd generation nuclear reactors in which has around 30 to 40 years of lifespan.... the reactors' lifespan would be able to be extended to up to 80 years with the right steps taken. The 2nd generation nuclear reactors operate under standard safety and operational standards ensuring that the reactor would operate safely and would not cost mushroom clouds for the viewing pleasure of people nearby. Up until now, out of so many operating nuclear reactors, only 3 notable catastrophe happened which are the chernobyl nuclear reactor, the fukushima nuclear reactor and also the 3 mile island nuclear reactor. Considering the amount of accident compared to the amount of nuclear reactors in the world, statistically speaking, power generation through nuclear means is very safe.

Like a baby, the understanding and the improvements being done on nuclear reactor designs are ever growing. We have now entered the age of the 3rd generation nuclear reactors.

The 3rd generation nuclear reactor has a more standard design leading to better efficiency in acquiring license since the current nuclear reactors would need years to get the license for building and operation. Not only that, since the design is standard, the construction cost and time would be decreased as well.

Due to the simpler and rugged design of the nuclear reactor, there would be less chance for the reactor to experience operational error since the operational difficulty would be way less than the current nuclear reactors.  The technological advancement of this generation of nuclear reactors also would mean that the operational lifetime of the reactor to be longer which can last up to 60 years and up to 120 years with extension. The melting of the core would mean that the reactor would start to release radioactive waste into the environment. The 3rd generation nuclear power plant would be designed so as to make sure that it would further reduce the possibility of core melt accidents.

Due to the happening of the 911 incident in which that planes were being crashed onto the world trade centre in the United States of America, the 3rd generation nuclear reactor would be designed so as to ensure that the reactor would be resistant to serious damage that would cause the radioactive substance to be released into the atmosphere should some crazy 'thrill seekers' who want to get into the history books by crashing planes into any nuclear reactors in the world. Since the radioactive waste is one of the major problem of nuclear reactors these days, the 3rd generation nuclear reactor addresses this problem by having a decrease in nuclear waste per mass of fuel by operating more efficiently resulting in the generation of more energy per mass of fuel being used.

Therefore, in my opinion, nuclear generation through the use of 3rd generation nuclear reactor is the future of  power generation of the world. I am sure, with more interest and financial support being poured into supporting the new generation of nuclear power plants, it would emerge as a safe and yet effective power generating tool (^_^)

The Double Miracle of a Nuclear Reaction

In the previous post, we discussed on how nuclear fission can be controlled, and thereby, avoiding cathostrophe. But the question asked is, how can nuclear fission cause such devastation? When we talk about devastation, we are reminded of the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings of 1945 and the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

We first answer that question with another question, "How does a nuclear reaction work?"

There are two types of nuclear reactions, a Fusion reaction and a Fission reaction. Fusion reaction is the act of fusing two atoms to create energy where as fission is the act of splitting one atom to create energy. In nuclear power plants, the type of reaction that is used is a fission reaction.

Nuclear reaction is in itself, a double miracle. If not for this double miracle, nuclear reactions could not bring so much devastation as mentioned earlier.

The first miracle is that in fusing or splitting an atomic nuclei, energy is released equivalent to the "missing mass" which results from this reaction. What this means is that, in a time when nuclear reaction was first discovered, scientists were puzzled as to why the total mass of the atoms before and after a nuclear reaction are never equivalent.

What they found is that the total mass of atoms after the reaction are always lesser than the total mass of atoms before the reaction, and hence the term "missing mass" or "mass defect".

It was only later when Einstein came up with his famous equation of E=MC^2 to explain this phenomenon. He theorized that the missing mass was directly transformed into pure energy as a result of the reaction, an energy equivalent to the missing mass times a certain constant value, the speed of light squared. Further experiments done later proved the validity of his equation.

In short, the first miracle is the release of raw energy (a direct conversion from mass to energy) as a result of a nuclear reaction. Further expanding this idea implies that a small amount of nuclear fuel can be converted to extensive amounts of pure power, which sounds as fascinating as it is terrifying.

The second miracle is the chain reaction tendency of a nuclear reaction. For example, in a nuclear fission reaction, all that is needed to split one atom is one single neutron. However, such a reaction would create not only one, but two and sometimes three neutrons. These high energy neutrons released will then split other neighbouring atoms which will in turn create even more neutrons. This is the chain reaction as mentioned earlier and it will continue to happen until either all atoms are split or when there isn't any high energy neutrons left. This means that once when a nuclear reaction is initiated, the reaction rate will continue to increase at a ridiculously tremendous rate.

Combining both these miracles, you will get a reaction that not only releases huge amounts of raw energy, but at a release rate so fast that it is just.. MINDBLOWING!!! *ba dum tsss*

Back to a serious note, the blast from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on that day was so powerful, that it imprinted the shadows of its victim on the floors and walls everywhere in that place, and these shadows are called atomic shadows. True story my fellow readers.

For pictures of these atomic shadows, click here:
http://therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/atomic-shadows/

After witnessing the use of nuclear weapons in World War 2, Einstein was quoted to have said "The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker." (If Einstein didnt pursue his career in physics, he would have followed his fathers footsteps in being a watchmaker)

We are all too familiar with the famous phrase "With great power comes great responsibility" and clearly, nuclear energy brings so much potential in power generation. As discussed in the previous post, with the advancements of technology in the present age, a safe control of nuclear power generation is more than possible. Therefore, it is very true that the future is nuclear power.

Nuclear Energy, for the Good or Bad??

As the public would perceived the world nuclear", some might see it as a threat to the human population, but some sees it a a future source of energy. Why? Because if we properly utilized the technology of nuclear power, it will create more benefits than harm. 

As previously mentioned, nuclear reaction consist of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Each fission produces two or three neutrons, which in turn produce new fissions and release other neutrons and so on. This is called a chain reaction. In a nuclear reactor, the chain reaction is controlled. Only one neutron is allowed to propagate and continue the reaction, the others are trapped. Thus, one fission gives rise to one fission, not two or three. 

The amount of heat released in the uranium mass is therefore completely controlled. In practice, absorbents such as boron, indium, and cadmium absorb excess neutrons and control the chain reaction. Mobile control rods are used. These can be inserted or extracted from the reactor core. If necessary, they will automatically fall into the fuel and thus stop the chain reaction almost instantly. In an atom bomb, the chain reaction is not controlled. 

All the neutrons that are being released will propagate and thus the amount of heat released in the uranium mass will be uncontrollable. This is the difference between an atom bomb and a nuclear reactor. If the chain reaction in the nuclear reactor is not controlled, then it will be a disaster!

How does a Nuclear Power Plant work? What are its potentials?

The operation of a nuclear power plant depends solely on 2 main elements, the nuclear reactionsin the nuclear reactor, and the power generation process by the steam turbine.

The nuclear reactor creates a condusive envorinment for the nuclear fission reactions of the fuel to occur. This reaction generates extensive amounts of heat energy which will then be the converted to electrical energy by means of a steam power cycle.

The steam power cycle used in a nuclear power plant is similiar to that in a steam power plant, where the heat source is used to heat the water into steam or superheated steam, and then directed to the turbines to generate electricity. The steam or sometimes water that leaves the turbine has a lower temperature as compared to when it

first entered the turbine. It is then pumped back into the reactor containment structure where it absorb the heat generated from the reactor core once again, and the whole process repeats itself.

With that said, there are 2 types of nuclear reactor types, the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), and the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). The difference between these 2 is that in a PWR, the heated water is pressurized to very high pressures (the water does not boil due to high pressures) before it enters the turbine generators. Whereas in the BWR, the water is just heated until boiling point temperature, turning into steam just before it enters the turbine generator.

Regardless of the type of reactor, nuclear power plants generally have very high power generation rates due to the massive amount of energy released from nuclear fission reactions. From this, it also could be said that nuclear power plants also have very dense energy generation, meaning that one nuclear plant generates far more electrical power than a conventional coal power plant.

Nuclear power plants also have virtually ZERO emmisions of green house gasees. The fuel (uranium) is also currently inexpensive and easily attainable, and not to mention the volumes of nuclear waste produced are significantly lesser than the wastes from coal burning. Considering all these advantages, it is no wonder why nuclear energy is taken into serious consideration as an alternate energy source.

Money Money!!!

You go to a restaurant to have your daily serving of your favourite chicken rice.... It costs around RM4.50.... Not cheap and not that expensive.... Then one fine day, of your of friends tell you that he or she found an another shop selling chicken rice for only RM4.00 with the taste of the chicken slightly different but still taste nice and is as filling as the one you usually eat... You would definitely try it right???

Coal is currently the main contributor for power generation in Malaysia... Coal is a relatively cheap fuel since its one of the most abundant fossil fuel on our planet... Unlike China, USA and Australia, Malaysia does not have the luxury of having abundance of supply of domestic coal resources. Therefore, a large portion of Malaysia's coal supply is being imported. Currently, fossil fuel in the international market is fluctuating vigorously. Unfortunately, the acquisition price for coal becomes more expensive from time to time. Therefore this would more or less affect Malaysia's power production cost.

Therefore, would it be a hightime for us to find an alternative fuel source to replace the use of coal??? DEFINITELY!!!!

Believe it or not, power generation through nuclear is actually one of the cheapest if compared to other power generating means. In fact, power generation through the means of nuclear is the cheapest in developed countries such as Japan and also Korea. It should be noted that coal and uranium mining in these country is in a very small scale or none at all.

The power generated per mass of nuclear fuel is very massive which far surpasses the capability of other power generating fuel such as coal and natural gas. Therefore, although the initial start-up and operation cost would be higher, in the long run throughout the life-cycle of the nuclear power plant, the total cost of electricity production per kWh would be very low which would go as low as just $0.04 per kWh which is equivalent to around RM0.12 per kWh.

Below is a video from youtube about one of the world's richest person, Bill Gates having a talk about the future of nuclear energy in the world. Although he is no nuclear specialist but hei, due to his vision about the future in which that computer would be part of our daily life, he is one of the riches person in world. So do watch this clip and maybe you might gain an another perspective on the future of nuclear energy ^^

Radiation and its effect to humans!!

 

We always heard of the word " RADIATION" on the internet, newspaper and television channels, but how much do we really understand about the word radiation and its effect to human's physical condition? Is it harmful and how will it bring harm to us??

In physic and biological context, radiation is an energy emitted by unstable atoms of a particle to reach a stable state. There are 3 common radioactive rays emitted, namely alpha, beta and gamma rays. Gamma rays are like X-rays, which possessed high energy electromagnetic waves and can pass through solid objects with great ease. A 1m thick of concrete wall is barely able to stop gamma rays from penetrating human body cells.

But why is it dangerous for gamma rays to penetrate human body cells?? The reason is that when gamma rays passes through our body cells, the positive and negative charge will disrupt the chemical bonds of human body's DNA. As a matter of fact, the DNA of the human's body will change and causes mutation. In a general context, mutation in human's DNA will cause cancer, which is a type of cell mutation.

However, the construction of nuclear power plant had received a lot of objection from the public in Malaysia. The general idea of a nuclear power plant is that a person staying near the power plant will eventually be sick due to the radiation of the power plant. But what we do not know is that a normal person receives 2.4mSv/year of natural radiation from air, soil, food and cosmic rays, but staying near nuclear power plant only receives less than 0.001 mSv/year from the power plant if it is well maintained, which will not create much harm to the body cells.

If a nuclear power plant is well maintained, it will be the future energy of Malaysia. Therefore, don't reject an idea before understanding the real impact and consequences. This is why this blog will educate you on what is nuclear energy how about. Please stay tuned for more updates, till then, work smart and work hard!! ;D

Above is a video about Radiation and the effects on human body, enjoy the video!!

Brace yourselves, nuclear energy post is coming your way!!!

Good day ladies and gentlemen, this blog is created by 3 future mechanical engineers of Uniten to open up your eyes on the knowledge and application of Nuclear Energy. We will be updating this blog from 25/03/2012 to 27/04/2012 on the latest technology of nuclear energy. Please feel free to visit our blog from time to time to quench your thirst for the latest updates and embrace yourselves towards the future of nuclear energy.

P.s: Knowledge on nuclear energy can prevent nuclear disaster all around the world!! KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!