There are many different types of nuclear facilities. The more common types are power plants, research facilities, repositories, Uranium mines, enrichment facilities, and manufacturing plants. Each plays its own important role in the nuclear power, medicine, and science industries.
Power Plants
There are currently 439 operating nuclear power plants in the world which provide about 16% of the world’s electricity. The United States has the most nuclear plants with 104 operating reactors. France receives the largest percentage of its electricity from nuclear with 58 plants generating more than 80% of its electricity. A nuclear power plant is considered “base load” power, meaning that it operates around the clock all year round. In the United States, nuclear power has a capacity factor of 95% (operating at 100% power 95% of the time). No other technology produces this level of performance.
Research Reactors
There are several different types of research reactors around the world. Some, like the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor (BNR) at Penn State University, run scientific experiments. Other reactors, like the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Chaulk River, Ontario, create Isotopes important to medical treatments all over the world. What ever the purpose, research reactors are at the leading edge of technology in industries like astronomy, healthcare, food sterilization, and energy.
Repositories
A repository is any location used to store some of the unfortunate byproducts of a nuclear reaction. The most famous and controversial of these is the proposed geological repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada which is the single most studied piece of real estate in the world. Yucca, and facilities like it, make up an extremely politically charged subject. The phrase “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) has been repeated countless times in reference to repositories and other nuclear facilities since the beginning of the Cold War.
Uranium Mines
Uranium is the most common element used as Nuclear Fuel. Like coal, oil, or gold it is mined from the Earth’s Crust. The supply of available Uranium is another political topic with varying answers on all sides. The ore found in the ground is composed of several different isotopes of Uranium including U-238 and the fissionable U-235.
Enrichment Facilities
Once removed from the ground, the Uranium is sent to a facility for enrichment. In this process, some of the U-238 is removed leaving a higher concentration of U-235. This leaves the famous yellow cake which is now enriched Uranium. The yellow cake is then processed into ceramic Uranium Oxide fuel pellets. A fuel pellet the size of an Aspirin has as much potential energy as 150 gallons of crude oil or 2,000lbs of coal. After six years in a reactor, this tiny pellet can be recycled to retrieve another 80% of that energy. No other fuel has such a high energy density.
Manufacturing Plants
These are the factories where nuclear components are made. They vary in size according to the components that are made there. The small nuts and bolts which are subject to the highest quality control standards can be made in several locations. The larger components, like the giant Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) and Steam Generators, can only be made at one facility in Japan. New reactor building facilities have been proposed in India and the US to keep up with the fast rate at which new reactors have been ordered since 2007.
Of course, there are several other types of nuclear facilities. Obviously the military has its share both in the form of weapons and power plants for naval vessels. But Nuclear Fissionary is devoted to the peaceful use of nuclear technology for the advancement of civilization and the betterment of mankind.
Image Credit
Cofrentes courtesy of Flickr user Toni Rodrigo under the CC license.
Spencer Wilcox: Thank you very much for doing this work and posting your findings. It is very helpful stuff. I also...
Greg Molyneux: Well said Jack. If we chose to live our lives fearing what might happen, we’d live no lives at...
Jack Gamble: Mr Riccio, I find it suspect that you and Greenpeace are suddenly interested in the war on terrorism. I...
Brian Mays: Oh my! An employee of Greenpeace lecturing someone about “repeating false claims” — how...
Jim Riccio: Sandia Labs indicated in the New York Times that the nuclear industry has misused their study in an...
Nuclear Power Plants and Other Nuclear Facilities
There are many different types of nuclear facilities. The more common types are power plants, research facilities, repositories, Uranium mines, enrichment facilities, and manufacturing plants. Each plays its own important role in the nuclear power, medicine, and science industries.
Power Plants
There are currently 439 operating nuclear power plants in the world which provide about 16% of the world’s electricity. The United States has the most nuclear plants with 104 operating reactors. France receives the largest percentage of its electricity from nuclear with 58 plants generating more than 80% of its electricity. A nuclear power plant is considered “base load” power, meaning that it operates around the clock all year round. In the United States, nuclear power has a capacity factor of 95% (operating at 100% power 95% of the time). No other technology produces this level of performance.
Research Reactors
There are several different types of research reactors around the world. Some, like the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor (BNR) at Penn State University, run scientific experiments. Other reactors, like the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Chaulk River, Ontario, create Isotopes important to medical treatments all over the world. What ever the purpose, research reactors are at the leading edge of technology in industries like astronomy, healthcare, food sterilization, and energy.
Repositories
A repository is any location used to store some of the unfortunate byproducts of a nuclear reaction. The most famous and controversial of these is the proposed geological repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada which is the single most studied piece of real estate in the world. Yucca, and facilities like it, make up an extremely politically charged subject. The phrase “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) has been repeated countless times in reference to repositories and other nuclear facilities since the beginning of the Cold War.
Uranium Mines
Uranium is the most common element used as Nuclear Fuel. Like coal, oil, or gold it is mined from the Earth’s Crust. The supply of available Uranium is another political topic with varying answers on all sides. The ore found in the ground is composed of several different isotopes of Uranium including U-238 and the fissionable U-235.
Enrichment Facilities
Once removed from the ground, the Uranium is sent to a facility for enrichment. In this process, some of the U-238 is removed leaving a higher concentration of U-235. This leaves the famous yellow cake which is now enriched Uranium. The yellow cake is then processed into ceramic Uranium Oxide fuel pellets. A fuel pellet the size of an Aspirin has as much potential energy as 150 gallons of crude oil or 2,000lbs of coal. After six years in a reactor, this tiny pellet can be recycled to retrieve another 80% of that energy. No other fuel has such a high energy density.
Manufacturing Plants
These are the factories where nuclear components are made. They vary in size according to the components that are made there. The small nuts and bolts which are subject to the highest quality control standards can be made in several locations. The larger components, like the giant Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) and Steam Generators, can only be made at one facility in Japan. New reactor building facilities have been proposed in India and the US to keep up with the fast rate at which new reactors have been ordered since 2007.
Of course, there are several other types of nuclear facilities. Obviously the military has its share both in the form of weapons and power plants for naval vessels. But Nuclear Fissionary is devoted to the peaceful use of nuclear technology for the advancement of civilization and the betterment of mankind.
Image Credit
Cofrentes courtesy of Flickr user Toni Rodrigo under the CC license.