How to Expand Nuclear Power Without Proliferation

Williams, Robert H.; Feiveson, Harold A.

doi:10.1080/00963402.1990.11459813

Cited by 12 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…As an example, a one gigawatt (GW) light water reactor generates approximately 200 kg of Pu per year, enough for more than 20 nuclear weapons (Williams and Feiveson, 1990).…”

Section: Man-made Transuranium Elementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actinides and radiation effects: impact on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle

Ewing

2011

Mineral. mag.

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During the past 70 years, more than 2000 metric tonnes of Pu, and substantial quantities of the 'minor' actinides such as Np, Am and Cm, have been generated in nuclear reactors. Some of these transuranium elements can be a source of energy in fission reactions (e.g. 239 Pu), a source of fissile material for nuclear weapons (e.g. 239 Pu and 237 Np), and of environmental concern because of their long half-lives and radiotoxicity (e.g. 239 Pu and 237 Np). There are two basic strategies for the disposition of these transuranium elements: (1) to 'burn' or fission the actinides using nuclear reactors or accelerators; (2) to dispose of the actinides directly as spent nuclear fuel or to 'sequester' the actinides in chemically durable, radiation-resistant materials that are also suitable for geological disposal. For the latter strategy, there has been substantial interest in the use of actinide-bearing minerals, especially isometric pyrochlore, A 2 B 2 O 7 (A = rare earths; B = Ti, Zr, Sn, Hf), for the immobilization of actinides, particularly plutonium, both as inert matrix fuels and nuclear waste forms. Systematic studies of rare-earth pyrochlores have led to the discovery that certain compositions (B = Zr, Hf) are stable to very high doses of a-decay event damage. Recent developments in the understanding of the properties of actinide-bearing solids have opened up new possibilities for the design of advanced nuclear materials that can be used as fuels and waste forms. As an example, the amount of radiation damage that accumulates over time can be controlled by the selection of an appropriate composition for the pyrochlore and a consideration of the thermal environment of disposal. In the case of deep borehole disposal (3À5 km), the natural geothermal gradient may provide enough heat to reduce the amount of accumulated radiation damage by thermal annealing.

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“…As an example, a one gigawatt (GW) light water reactor generates approximately 200 kg of Pu per year, enough for more than 20 nuclear weapons (Williams and Feiveson, 1990).…”

Section: Man-made Transuranium Elementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actinides and radiation effects: impact on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle

Ewing

2011

Mineral. mag.

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“…A 1 GWy light water reactor produces 200kg/y of Pu (enough for 20 nuclear weapons). If the nuclear energy capacity is increased to 3000 GW, then the annual production of Pu would be over 500 000 kg (Williams & Feiveson 1990). If one foresees a nuclear industry based on Pu-breeder reactors, the 3000 GW nuclear system would produce five million kilograms of plutonium per year (Williams & Feiveson 1990).…”

Section: Nuclear Power and Carbon Emissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental impact of the nuclear fuel cycle

Ewing

2004

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Nuclear power provides approximately 17% of the world's electricity, which is equivalent to a reduction in carbon emissions of ~0.5 Gt of C/year. This is a modest contribution to the reduction of global carbon emissions, ~6.5 Gt C/year. Most analyses suggest that in order to have a significant and timely impact on carbon emissions, carbonfree sources, such as nuclear power, would have to expand total energy production by a factor of three to ten by 2050. A three-fold increase in nuclear power capacity would result in a projected reduction in carbon emissions of 1 to 2 Gt C/year, depending on the type of carbon-based energy source that is displaced. This paper reviews the impact of an expansion of this scale on the generation of nuclear waste and fissile material that might be diverted to the production of nuclear weapons. There are three types of nuclear fuel cycles that might be utilized for the increased production of energy: open, closed, or a symbiotic combination of different reactor types (such as thermal and fast neutron reactors). Within each cycle, the volume and composition of the nuclear waste and fissile material depend on the type of nuclear fuel, the amount of burn-up, the extent of radionuclide separation during reprocessing, and the types of material used to immobilize different radionuclides. This chapter is a discussion of the relation between the different types of fuel cycles and their environmental impact.

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“…A one-GWyr light water reactor produces 200 kg/yr of Pu (enough for 20 nuclear weapons). If the global nuclear-energy capacity is increased to 3,000 GW, then the annual production of Pu would be over 500,000 kg (Williams & Feiveson 1990). If one foresees a nuclear industry based on Pubreeder reactors, the 3,000 GW nuclear system would produce fi ve million kilograms of plutonium per year (Williams & Feiveson 1990).…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If the global nuclear-energy capacity is increased to 3,000 GW, then the annual production of Pu would be over 500,000 kg (Williams & Feiveson 1990). If one foresees a nuclear industry based on Pubreeder reactors, the 3,000 GW nuclear system would produce fi ve million kilograms of plutonium per year (Williams & Feiveson 1990). Alvin Weinberg (2000) has related the reduction (avoided increase) in CO 2 content in the atmosphere to the amount of U consumed, that is the percentage of U fi ssioned in nuclear power plants.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE versus THE CARBON CYCLE

Ewing¹

2005

The Canadian Mineralogist

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Nuclear power provides approximately 17% of the world's electricity, which is equivalent to a reduction in carbon emissions of ~0.5 gigatonnes (Gt) of C/yr. This is a modest reduction as compared with global emissions of carbon, ~7 Gt C/yr. Most analyses suggest that in order to have a signifi cant and timely impact on carbon emissions, carbon-free sources, such as nuclear power, would have to expand total production of energy by factors of three to ten by 2050. A three-fold increase in nuclear power capacity would result in a projected reduction in carbon emissions of 1 to 2 Gt C/yr, depending on the type of carbon-based energy source that is displaced. This three-fold increase utilizing present nuclear technologies would result in 25,000 metric tonnes (t) of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) per year, containing over 200 t of plutonium. This is compared to a present global inventory of approximately 280,000 t of SNF and >1,700 t of Pu. A nuclear weapon can be fashioned from as little as 5 kg of 239 Pu. However, there is considerable technological fl exibility in the nuclear fuel cycle. There are three types of nuclear fuel cycles that might be utilized for the increased production of energy: open, closed, or a symbiotic combination of different types of reactor (such as, thermal and fast neutron reactors). The neutron energy spectrum has a signifi cant effect on the fi ssion product yield, and the consumption of long-lived actinides, by fi ssion, is best achieved by fast neutrons. Within each cycle, the volume and composition of the high-level nuclear waste and fi ssile material depend on the type of nuclear fuel, the amount of burn-up, the extent of radionuclide separation during reprocessing, and the types of materials used to immobilize different radionuclides. As an example, a 232 Th-based fuel cycle can be used to breed fi ssile 233 U with minimum production of Pu. In this paper, I will contrast the production of excess carbon in the form of CO 2 from fossil fuels with the production of plutonium in a uranium-based nuclear fuel cycle, with special emphasis on the "mineralogical solution" for the "sequestration" of Pu into pyrochlore structure-types.

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How to Expand Nuclear Power Without Proliferation

Cited by 12 publications

References 3 publications

Actinides and radiation effects: impact on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle

Actinides and radiation effects: impact on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle

Environmental impact of the nuclear fuel cycle

THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE versus THE CARBON CYCLE

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