![]() ![]() As they split, the atoms release tiny particles called fission products. In a nuclear reactor, atoms of uranium are forced to break apart. The fuel that nuclear reactors use to produce nuclear fission is pellets of the element uranium. A nuclear reactor, or power plant, is a series of machines that can control nuclear fission to produce electricity. In the process of nuclear fission, atoms are split to release that energy. In fact, the power that holds the nucleus together is officially called the " strong force." Nuclear energy can be used to create electricity, but it must first be released from the atom. There is a huge amount of energy in an atom's dense nucleus. Atoms are tiny units that make up all matter in the universe, and energy is what holds the nucleus together. The main objective today in this context is to design reactors capable of destroying long-lived radioelements in spent fuel while producing new fuel.Nuclear energy is the energy in the nucleus, or core, of an atom. While Europe has lagged behind Russia, China, Japan and India, France has picked up the pace of investment – notably with the government’s recent announcement to build new generation nuclear reactors (see Box 1). A number of countries have invested a lot of money in the development of Generation IV reactors. ![]() The same applies to the waste that will result from the decommissioning of these reactors at the end of their lives. If it were to remain at current levels, the mined uranium we already have would be sufficient to run reactors for several thousand years.Īs with Generation II and III reactors, the non-reusable fission products, or waste, from Generation IV reactors will also have to be disposed of safely and stored permanently. There are huge reserves of this isotope in the world, as it has been set aside over the years as a by-product of the uranium-235 enrichment process that enriches this isotope to the concentrations required for today’s reactors.Įven if nuclear power generation were to increase significantly, we would not need to extract additional uranium for a very long time. ![]() Most “breeder” reactors must be fuelled with uranium-235, but most fourth generation reactors only need uranium-238 to operate. Plutonium is formed when uranium-238 captures neutrons from nuclear fission reactions. Uranium used in nuclear reactors is composed of two isotopes: uranium-235, which can be used as fuel, and uranium-238, which makes up 99.3% of natural uranium and which must be converted to plutonium before it can be used as fuel. Another requirement for Generation IV reactors is that they must produce more fuel than they consume as well as destroy the long-lived radioelements created in the reactor during operation. Reactor operators are therefore endeavouring to extend the operation of this fleet through long-term investments, with new standards having been adopted following the Fukushima accident. In 2020, the average age of the world’s nuclear fleet was 30 years, with 25% of the fleet being over 40 years old 2. ![]() Most of the reactors currently in operation are of the second and third generation, but China successfully started up a first fourth generation reactor with its high-temperature gas-cooled modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) demonstration project in late December 2021. The Generation IV International Forum 1, which is dedicated to future reactor research and was launched in 2001, has defined four generations of nuclear fission reactors, each with a certain set of objectives. Different generations have specific requirements at a given point in time. In the nuclear industry, the term “generation” is distinct from “reactor technology”, and a generation may comprise several types of technology. ![]()
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