NON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND NUCLEAR ENERGY

In the 21 century almost everything created by humans runs on some sort of energy, but energy is not infinite, it will run out eventually. Approximately 80 percent of the total amount of energy used globally each year comes from fossil fuels. We depend on fossil fuels because they are energy-rich and relatively cheap to process. To prevent overuse of finite energy recourse s humans created the way to use renewable energy sources, like water, air and sun. But hydro electro stations, wind farms and solar panels don’t generate enough electricity to be a substitute for fossil fuels. To understand the benefits of nuclear energy we need to understand the sources and types of energy.

Ancient plants and algae absorbed sunlight and due to photosynthesis created energy. Over time, dead organisms transported to the ocean floor were crushed by the sea floor. Stones and other sediments piled on top of them, creating high pressure underground. Eventually, animal and plants became fossil fuels. Today there are huge underground storage facilities for these non-renewable energy sources all over the world. Crude oil is a liquid fossil fuel that resides underground. It is used mainly for the production of gasoline and diesel for automobiles, as well as for the production of plastics. Natural gas is mainly used for cooking and heating homes. It mostly composed of methane and is found near oil fields below the Earth's surface. Coal is a solid fossil fuel that primary used to heat homes and power plants. Coal needs to be dug out of the ground because coal cannot be mined in the same way as crude oil or natural gas, due to being a solid fossil fuel. All fossil fuels, when burned, emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Because of that the rise in the level of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a major cause of global warming.

After all of this set and done we can move to the main topic. Nuclear energy is a form of energy released from the core of atoms, the nucleus. They are made up of protons and neutrons. There are two ways of generating energy: first- splitting nuclei of atoms into several parts, this process called fission, second- fusing nuclei together, this process called fusion [1]. The nuclear fission of nuclear energy used around the world today to produce electricity, while technology to generate electricity from fusion is at the research and development phase. For nuclear energy scientists usually use atoms of thorium. Since thorium is the raw material that comes from stable regions around the world and is usually widely available. This dependability means that nuclear power is a long-term and low-carbon option. However, we need enough power stations to process it, because thorium deactivates after around 40 and 50 years of work.

Uranium and Thorium are the main minerals used in production of nuclear energy. But they are not equal. Thorium cycles allow the use of exclusively thermal breeder reactors (as opposed to fast breeder reactors). In thermal reactors, more neutrons are released per one neutron absorbed by the fuel. This means that if the fuel is reprocessed, the reactors can be fueled without producing additional U-235 to increase reactivity, which means that the nuclear fuel resources on Earth can be increased by 2 orders of magnitude without some of the difficulties associated with fast reactors. Heat breeding is perhaps best suited for molten salt reactors, which are discussed on a separate page and also briefly described below. The Th-U fuel cycle does not irradiate uranium-238 and therefore does not produce transuranic (larger than uranium) atoms such as plutonium, americium, curium, etc. These transuranic compounds pose a serious health problem associated with long-term nuclear waste. Thus, Th-U waste will be less toxic on a time scale of more than 10,000 years [2].

One of the main benefits of nuclear energy is it low carbon cost. Nuclear energy isn't only low-carbon option, but it is also reliable when compared to other low-carbon options [3]. So when the sun doesn't shine or the wind doesn't blow, nuclear takes over keeping the lights on around the world. Not to mention that nuclear is the most powerful type of energy. It is the largest source of clean power in the world. In 2019, The Robert Emmett Ginnanuclear power plant(located in New-York)  actually generated at total of 4,993,693 megawatt hour. Nuclear power plants run constantly. They are designed to operate for longer stretches and refuel every 2 years. In 2019, nuclear plants operated at full power more than 92% of the time, making it the most reliable energy source on the grid today for sure [4] .  Nuclear energy also protects air quality [5], has a small land footprint [6] and produces minimal amount of waste[7]. What about safety? Many people are worried about safety of nuclear energy for good reasons. But the evidence over six decades shows that the risk of accidents in nuclear power plants is low and declining [8]. The consequences of an accident or terrorist attack are minimal compared with other commonly accepted risks. Radiological effects on people of any radioactive releases can be avoided.

Despite being the most powerful and clean energy source it’s not perfect. The most obvious one is expensiveness. From 2002 to 2008 the estimated cost to build a nuclear plant grew from $2-$4 billion to $9 billion, and power plants often surpass their cost estimates during construction [9]. In addition to the expense of building a power plant, nuclear plants must also allocate funds to protect the waste they produce and keep it in cooled structures with security procedures in place. All of these costs make nuclear power quite expensive. Chernobyl incident is probably the most infamous accident involving nuclear energy. Although we don’t know exactly how many people died due to Chernobyl incident, it’s estimated that there have been as many as 10,000 deaths from the long-term effects of radiation in the region [10]. The Fukushima power plant crisis in 2011 showed that no matter how safe nuclear power plants are designed to be, accidents can and do happen. The most important con of nuclear energy is depends on uranium and thorium to produce energy. Unless we can find a way to create nuclear fusion or build breeder reactors before our supply dries up, we will be unable to create energy with the nuclear power plants we’ve built for the future. Ultimately, nuclear power is only a temporary solution with a very high price tag.

Despite all of that nuclear is the best type of energy right now. Nuclear Energy Is Our Best Alternative for Clean Affordable Energy. Though it may surprise many environmentalists, nuclear power is environmentally friendly, or “green”. Society needs clean, cost-effective energy for a number of reasons: global warming, economic development, pollution reduction, etc.  Nuclear energy also protects air quality, has a small land footprint and produces minimal amount of waste. It is 100% safe but it is not nearly as dangerous as people think. It is not a substitute to the fossil fuels during this times but in the future nuclear energy will play pivotal role in the developing new technology leading humanity forward.

References:

1. Andrea Galindo, International Atomic Energy Agency //What Is Nuclear Energy? (2021) URL:https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/what-is-nuclear-energy-the-science-of-nuclear-power
2. World Nuclear Association //Thorium - World Nuclear Association (2020) URL:https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/thorium.aspx
3. United States Department of Energy //3 Reasons Why Nuclear is Clean and Sustainable (2021) URL:https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/3-reasons-why-nuclear-clean-and-sustainable
4. Energy Information Administration //How much electricity does a nuclear power plant generate? (2021) URL: https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=104&t=3
5. Nuclear Energy Institute  //Emissions Avoided by U.S. Nuclear Industry (2021) URL: https://www.nei.org/resources/statistics/emissions-avoided-by-us-nuclear-industry
6. Nuclear Energy Institute //Land Needs for Wind, Solar Dwarf Nuclear Plant’s Footprint (2015) URL: https://www.nei.org/news/2015/land-needs-for-wind-solar-dwarf-nuclear-plants
7. Nuclear Energy Institute //Nuclear Waste Part of being a responsible, clean energy source is safely handling waste (2019) URL: https://www.nei.org/fundamentals/nuclear-waste
8. World Nuclear Association //Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors (2021) URL:https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/safety-of-nuclear-power-reactors.aspx
9. Union of Concerned Scientists //The Cost of Nuclear Power plants (2015) URL:https://web.archive.org/web/20211124030530/https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/nuclear-power-cost
10. AEA 2005, Chernobyl Forum report: Chernobyl's Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts