Nuclear waste. Why did we make it in the first place? What do we do with it now that we ve got it? Energyeducation.edu

Transcription

1 Nuclear waste Why did we make it in the first place? What do we do with it now that we ve got it? Energyeducation.edu

2 Overview Who am I? Why are energy and matter are needed by society? What do we get from energy? Why nuclear power? Is nuclear power and a DGR worth it?

3 Energyeducation.ca Encyclopedia on entire energy sector For people who are curious about energy Tries to capture entire energy picture pages

4 Physics: The study of the physical world Matter -All stuff Energy -Movement & Ability to move

5 Energy can be: Motion Movement Heat Radiation/Light Ability to Fall Chemically react (burn) Have nuclear reactions

6 Matter is needed Solid materials from nature are building blocks Cotton, wool, pelts become clothing Food becomes our bodies Rocks and trees become our roads, our buildings, our homes, even the metal we use But water and air are used too!

7 Energy is needed Coal (solid) Radiation/Light Oil (liquid) Movement Natural gas

8 Need both matter and energy Matter Solids, liquids and gasses that we use Energy Heat, light and motion that we use Both matter and energy that we use have parts we don t want, and that s waste.

9 Waste: also energy and matter Energy: Waste heat & radiation Matter Solid waste ash from a fire or coal Liquid waste tailings ponds Gaseous waste exhaust from a smokestack

10 Waste vs. Pollution Waste Material or energy that is not wanted or not used Unusable remains or byproducts of a process. Pollution Harm to environment (including people) from waste Negative effects from byproducts of a process Solid waste - least likely waste to create pollution.

11 Energy from Earth and Sun. Materials from Earth. Waste material remains part of Earth

12 Took me years to understand: We don t want: Calories Gasoline Electricity Natural gas

13 Talk with grandma We want energy services send go visit grandma

14 Technology harnesses energy Technology uses energy Computers send e- mail Drive/fly/train to visit grandma

15 Technology harnesses energy from energy currencies Energy currencies make using energy easier Computers need electricity Cars need gasoline

16 Energy currencies are harvested from natural resources Harvest technologies generate energy currencies Wind turbines generate electricity Oil derricks and refineries make gasoline

17 Harvest technologies exploit natural resources Wind turbines get energy from flows (wind) Oil derricks get energy from oil deposits (fuel)

18 All comes from the sun The sun creates different wind patterns The sun creates flora/fauna that become oil Image 2014, Xining Chen, used with permission

19 Or 4 truck-loads of uranium

20 The Climate is Changing, the World is warming It s mostly CO 2, which makes it human driven (image from NASA: 6 decades of warming Earth)

21 To avoid CO 2, avoid combustion Solar Wind, or nuclear Wind farms Solar

22 Uranium from a hole in the ground

23 Geology Athabasca sandstone 530m Ore deposit Dry basement rock

24 Raise Boring Step 1 Pilot hole drilled through the ore from the upper level

25 Machine to grind rocks

26 Reaming head installed at the lower level Bores back up through the ore Raise Boring Step 2

27 Atoms and nuclei Neutrons Protons

28 Nuclear Fission Slow Neutron Fast Neutrons Heat

29 Need to slow the neutrons Fast Neutrons Heavy Water Slow Neutrons

30 Pistons and turbines ry/ html

31 Nuclear reactions electricity Need a place to get heat Nuclear fuel Also coal, gasoline, etc. Need a place to get rid of heat (waste) Large body of water Atmosphere

32 Dump water into the air Water vapor rises from the cooling towers around a large power plant. Not smoke! Not pollution! Cooling is needed regardless of fuel type

33 Steam Turbine Turbine (Backwards fan) Condenser Boiler Pump Source:

34 From nrc.gov:

35 Kept under water for ~10 years

36 After cooling in the pools Dry storage containers (50 years) The older the fuel is, the safer it is

37 How much? Each fuel bundle is the size of a fireplace log ~3 million in Canada Mostly Ontario 1 soccer field, the height of a player to find out more!

38 Do nothing and Fuel is ~ as radioactive as the starting rock in ~1,000,000 years ~

39 Let s keep it isolated 5 barriers 1. The pellet 2. The element & bundle 3. The used nuclear fuel container 4. Bentonite clay 5. The rock itself

40 Barrier 1: The Nuclear Fuel Pellet ceramic that won t dissolve in water

41 Barrier 2: The Fuel Element and the Fuel Bundle Zircalloy keeps fuel in and water out.

42 Barrier 3: The Used Nuclear Fuel Container 48 bundles isolated from environment (48 family s lifetime electricity waste.)

43 Barrier 4: Bentonite Clay Stops water flow To keep from corroding the copper

44 Barrier 5: half a kilometer of solid rock! Legend 1. Surface facilities 2. Main Shaft 3. Placement rooms 4. Ventilation exhaust shaft

45 5 communities of the 22 are still being considered. Need only 1.

46 Why bother? The world is getting hotter But hot isn t the real problem

47 Calgary June 18 th 2013

48 Calgary June

49 Folsom Lake June From California Department of Water Resources at: /#.VVQQAZNvm6I

50 January 2014 Fossil fuel use is causing droughts

51 Coral reefs

52 Are dying

53

54 Wildfires are getting worse

55 Can t return smoke to the ground, but the rock will safely hold nuclear waste. To sum up