Sustainability of the Chinese nuclear expansion: Natural uranium resources availability, Pu cycle, fuel utilization efficiency and spent fuel management

Fiori, F.; Zhou, Zhiwei

doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2015.03.051

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…It should be noted, however, that China's nuclear industry still faces several challenges, such as the diversity in nuclear technology, nuclear waste treatment, risk of proliferation of weapons material, shortage of uranium, and safety concerns (Andrews‐Speed, 2020; Fiori & Zhou, 2015; Guo & Guo, 2016; King & Ramana, 2015; Thomas, 2017; Yang et al, 2016; Zhou & Zhang, 2010).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From fragmentation to centralization in policymaking: An explanation for the expansion of China's civilian nuclear industry

Han

2020

Env Pol Gov

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Several countries have pursued nuclear programs for various reasons, including energy security, environmental benefits, and technological progress. China is no exception, having pursued civilian nuclear programs since the 1970s. Existing studies depict China's nuclear policymaking as a contested bureaucratic struggle based on fragmented authoritarianism. This study, however, reveals an increasingly centralizing tendency in China's nuclear policymaking since the mid‐2000s. The central government has begun to undergird China's transition to an exporting country of nuclear technology through many policy instruments, seeing its technology as a global brand. China's accelerated promotion of the nuclear sector based on such centralization contrasts with its neighboring governments' shift away from the top–down, government‐dominant mode of policymaking to a more pluralistic and deliberative one in the post‐Fukushima era.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From fragmentation to centralization in policymaking: An explanation for the expansion of China's civilian nuclear industry

Han

2020

Env Pol Gov

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“…The decisions taken today on nuclear power, being based on current primary energy factors, are in fact very costly as they require future investments in methods for extraction of the energy in nuclear waste. The spent fuel policy in most countries is based on direct disposal, whereas some countries such as China, France, and Japan have reprocessing policies supporting closed NFC [39,40]. Reprocessing used nuclear fuel provides a significant (by many orders of magnitude) reduction of the potential hazard of nuclear waste.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear Power and Resource Efficiency—A Proposal for a Revised Primary Energy Factor

Eriksson

2017

Sustainability

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Measuring resource efficiency can be achieved using different methods, of which primary energy demand is commonly used. The primary energy factor (PEF) is a figure describing how much energy from primary resources is being used per unit of energy delivered. The PEF for nuclear power is typically 3, which refers to thermal energy released from fission in relation to electricity generated. Fuel losses are not accounted for. However; nuclear waste represents an energy loss, as current plans for nuclear waste management mostly include final disposal. Based on a literature review and mathematical calculations of the power-to-fuel ratio for nuclear power, PEF values for the open nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) option of nuclear power and different power mixes are calculated. These calculations indicate that a more correct PEF for nuclear power would be 60 (range 32-88); for electricity in Sweden (41% nuclear power) PEF would change from 1.8 to 25.5, and the average PEF for electricity in the European Union (EU) would change from 2.5 to 18. The results illustrate the poor resource efficiency of nuclear power, which paves the way for the fourth generation of nuclear power and illustrates the policy implication of using PEFs which are inconsistent with current waste management plans.

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“…A commercial reprocessing plant should be built soon to recycle spent UOX: extracted U & Pu would be used to fabricate MOX fuel for fast reactors (FBR) and/or PWR (Fiori and Zhou, 2015b). With enough SF and reprocessing capacity, the nuclear power plants (NPP) may gradually switch to FBR only, and accelerator-driven systems might be used to burn nuclear wastes (Fiori and Zhou, 2015a).…”

Section: Current Situationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects in China for nuclear development up to 2050

Chen

Martin

Chabert

et al. 2018

Progress in Nuclear Energy

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An ambitious plan for nuclear development exists for long in China. The study of scenarios with prospect of 150 GWe to 400 GWe in 2050 is carried out using the COSI6 simulation software, and aims at analyzing the evolution of nuclear energy currently planned in China. Results rely on natural uranium supplies, fuel fabrication, spent fuel reprocessing, quantities of proliferating materials and the opportunity of a rapid deployment of fast reactors (FBR). It seems impossible for China to start two fast reactors before 2020 without any external source of plutonium. Anyway, FBR may represent at the most around 30% of the total nuclear capacity in the country by 2050. Indeed the deployment of FBR only can start from 2035 to 2040. Finally, the pace of FBR development should be controlled carefully by the proportion of FBR and PWR with respect to the reprocessing capacity. Natural uranium savings appear rather low by 2050, because the transition toward a fast reactor fleet independent from uranium ore lasts decades. However, this independence may be reached by the end of the century, before uranium resources are dwindling, if the first corners to close the fuel cycle are turned in the next decade.

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Sustainability of the Chinese nuclear expansion: Natural uranium resources availability, Pu cycle, fuel utilization efficiency and spent fuel management

Cited by 13 publications

References 9 publications

From fragmentation to centralization in policymaking: An explanation for the expansion of China's civilian nuclear industry

From fragmentation to centralization in policymaking: An explanation for the expansion of China's civilian nuclear industry

Nuclear Power and Resource Efficiency—A Proposal for a Revised Primary Energy Factor

Prospects in China for nuclear development up to 2050

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