Katerina Swanson
Nuclear power plants are an important source of energy, providing more clean energy to the grid than any other energy source. Nuclear power plants use uranium fuel to generate electricity through controlled nuclear fission chain reactions. The amount of nuclear fuel required to power a plant depends on various factors, including the size and capacity of the plant, the type of fuel used, and the efficiency of the reactors. Uranium fuel pellets, for example, contain the energy equivalent of one ton of coal or 149 gallons of oil. The fuel requirements for a nuclear power plant can be determined by considering the annual operation of a typical reactor with specific fuel enrichment and burn-up levels.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Uranium fuel required to power a 1 GW plant for a year | 27.6 tonnes |
| Uranium fuel required to power a 1000 MWe plant for a year | 200 tonnes |
| Uranium fuel required to power a 1 MW plant for a year | 0.45 kg |
| Uranium fuel required to power a 1 MWe plant for a year | 450 kg |
| Number of uranium fuel pellets in a typical 1 GW reactor | 18 million |
| Uranium fuel required to power a 1 kWh of nuclear electricity | 0.1-0.3 kWh |
| Average power generated by a nuclear plant | 1 gigawatt |
| Uranium fuel required to power a 1 MWd/t plant for a year | 360,000 kWh |
| Uranium fuel required to power a 1 GWe plant for a year | 192-206 tonnes |
| Uranium fuel required to power a 1 GWd/t plant for a year | 276,000,000 kWh |
| Uranium fuel required to power a 1000 MWe plant with 5% enriched fuel for a year | 163 tonnes |
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Uranium fuel cycle
Uranium is a relatively common element found throughout the world. It is mined in several countries and must be processed before it can be used as fuel for a nuclear reactor. The nuclear fuel cycle involves a series of industrial processes that produce electricity from uranium in nuclear power reactors.
The nuclear fuel cycle consists of two phases: the front end and the back end. The front-end steps prepare uranium for use in nuclear reactors. Uranium is mined and then milled to separate the U-235 isotope from the uranium ore. This is done either at uranium mills or from a slurry at in-situ leaching facilities, producing uranium concentrate, which can be used as fuel. The uranium concentrate is then processed at conversion and enrichment facilities to increase the level of U-235. This enriched uranium is then sent to reactor fuel fabrication plants, where it is made into reactor fuel pellets and fuel rods. These fuel rods are then arranged into fuel assemblies, which are loaded into the core of the reactor.
The back-end steps of the nuclear fuel cycle involve the safe management, preparation, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel. After about three years in a reactor, the used fuel is removed and undergoes temporary storage, reprocessing, and recycling before the waste is disposed of. Spent fuel can be reprocessed to recover any remaining uranium that could undergo fission again in a new fuel assembly, although this is not permitted in the United States. The waste produced by the nuclear fuel cycle must be safely contained and disposed of, as it is highly radioactive.
Transport is an integral part of the nuclear fuel cycle, as nuclear materials need to be transported between the various stages of the cycle and the specialized facilities that provide fuel cycle services. Most nuclear fuel materials are transported in solid form, except for uranium hexafluoride, which is a gas.
Overall, the nuclear fuel cycle involves the mining, processing, use, and disposal of uranium fuel, with the front-end steps preparing the fuel and the back-end steps managing the spent fuel.
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Uranium demand
Uranium is the primary fuel for nuclear reactors. It is a relatively common metal found in rocks and seawater, and economic concentrations of it are not uncommon. Uranium is not an unlimited resource, but known uranium resources and reserves are sufficient to power decarbonized global energy systems in the 21st century and beyond.
The world's power reactors, with a combined capacity of about 400 GWe, require around 67,500 tonnes of uranium from mines or elsewhere each year. While this capacity is being run more productively, with higher capacity factors and reactor power levels, the uranium fuel requirement is increasing, but not necessarily at the same rate. The factors increasing fuel demand are offset by a trend for higher burn-up of fuel and other efficiencies, so demand is steady. For example, between 1980 and 2008, electricity generated by nuclear power increased 3.6-fold, while uranium use increased by a factor of only 2.5.
The world's present measured resources of uranium (6.1 Mt) are enough to last for about 90 years. Uranium demand per unit capacity has been falling due to efficiencies in power plant operation and lower enrichment tails assays. For instance, the generic reactor fuel consumption was reduced from 175 tU per GWe per year at 0.30% tails assay (2012 report) to 163 tU per GWe per year at 0.25% tails assay.
In the past, there have been concerns about "peak uranium" or uranium resource depletion, but a review of identified, economically recoverable reserves indicates that there is sufficient uranium fuel supply for any conceivable 21st-century clean energy need. Uranium supply is not a significant constraint to using nuclear energy for climate mitigation. Thorium is also being investigated as a potential alternate source of nuclear fuel.
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Nuclear fuel sources
Nuclear fuel refers to any fissile material used by nuclear power stations to generate energy. Nuclear fuel sources are therefore an integral part of nuclear power plants. Nuclear fuel is loaded into reactors and used until the fuel assemblies become highly radioactive and must be removed for temporary storage and eventual disposal. The nuclear fuel cycle consists of two phases: the front end and the back end.
The front-end phase involves preparing uranium for use in nuclear reactors. Uranium is a relatively common element found throughout the world. Uranium ore is extracted from an open pit or underground mine, then refined into uranium concentrate at a uranium mill. The ore is crushed, pulverized, and ground into a fine powder. Chemicals are added to the fine powder, causing a reaction that separates the uranium from other minerals. Groundwater from solution mining operations is circulated through a resin bed to extract and concentrate the uranium. The concentrated uranium product is typically a black or brown substance called yellowcake (U3O8). About 200 tonnes of U3O8 are required to keep a large (1000 MWe) nuclear power reactor generating electricity for one year.
The back-end phase involves ensuring that spent nuclear fuel is safely managed, prepared, and disposed of. Nuclear power plants primarily use a specific type of uranium (U-235) for nuclear fission because its atoms are easily split apart. Although uranium is about 100 times more common than silver, U-235 is relatively rare, at just over 0.7% of natural uranium. The U-235 is separated from uranium ore at uranium mills or from a slurry at in-situ leaching facilities to produce uranium concentrate, which can be used as fuel. The uranium concentrate is first processed in conversion and enrichment facilities to increase the level of U-235 in the uranium to 3%–5%. It is then sent to reactor fuel fabrication plants, where it is made into reactor fuel pellets and fuel rods.
Other nuclear fuel sources are also being considered. For instance, deuterium and tritium are both considered first-generation fusion fuels as they are the easiest to fuse due to the low electrical charge on their nuclei. However, utilizing fusion fuel as a net energy source remains only a theoretical possibility. Uranium alloys that have been used include uranium aluminum, uranium zirconium, uranium silicon, uranium molybdenum, uranium zirconium hydride (UZrH), and uranium zirconium carbonitride. Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is a blend of plutonium and natural or depleted uranium, which behaves similarly to the enriched uranium feed for which most nuclear reactors were designed.
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Fuel costs
Nuclear power plants are expensive to build but relatively cheap to run. Fuel costs for nuclear plants are a minor proportion of total generating costs, though capital costs are greater than those for coal-fired plants and much greater than gas-fired plants. Fuel costs account for about 28% of a nuclear plant's operating expenses. In 2013, half the cost of reactor fuel was taken up by enrichment and fabrication, so the cost of the uranium concentrate raw material was 14% of operating costs.
The fuel used in nuclear power plants is uranium, though other materials may be used, such as mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. Uranium is a relatively common element found throughout the world. U3O8 is the uranium product that is sold. About 200 tonnes are required to keep a large (1000 MWe) nuclear power reactor generating electricity for one year.
The cost of raw uranium contributes about $0.0015/kWh to the cost of nuclear electricity, while in breeder reactors the uranium cost falls to $0.000015/kWh. In 2005, prices on the world market for uranium averaged US$20/lb (US$44.09/kg). By 2007, prices had reached US$113/lb (US$249.12/kg), but by 2008, the price had dropped to $59/lb. The world's present measured resources of uranium are enough to last for "at least a century" at current consumption rates.
Nuclear power is cost-competitive with other forms of electricity generation, except where there is direct access to low-cost fossil fuels. On a levelized (i.e. lifetime) basis, nuclear power is an economic source of electricity generation, combining the advantages of security, reliability, and very low greenhouse gas emissions. The operating cost of these plants is lower than almost all fossil fuel competitors, with a very low risk of operating cost inflation.
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Fuel waste
Nuclear power plants produce small amounts of waste compared to other energy sources. This waste is broadly classified into three categories: low-level waste (LLW), intermediate-level waste (ILW), and high-level waste (HLW). Low-level waste makes up 90% of the total volume of waste and includes lightly contaminated items such as tools and work clothing, containing only 1% of the total radioactivity. Intermediate-level waste contains higher amounts of radioactivity and requires some shielding. High-level waste, on the other hand, is highly radioactive and hot due to decay heat, requiring cooling and shielding. It accounts for 3% of the total volume of waste but contains 95% of the total radioactivity.
Used nuclear fuel can be recycled, and the nuclear sector takes full responsibility for all of its waste. There are several management strategies in place, such as direct disposal or reuse in reactors to generate more low-carbon electricity. For instance, near the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant in Sweden, the CLAB facility stores all the used fuel from the country's nuclear power plants, which have provided over 40% of Sweden's electricity.
While nuclear waste has never caused harm to people, it is important to distinguish the processing of uranium to make fuel from the reprocessing of used fuel. The used fuel contains highly radioactive products of fission, which can be managed through burial in a deep geological repository for long-term storage. However, the radioactivity from the main component of the waste will decay to safe levels within a few hundred years.
Spent nuclear fuel can also be processed in nuclear reprocessing plants, where 96% of the spent fuel can be recycled back into uranium-based and mixed-oxide (MOX) fuels. The remaining 4% is made up of minor actinides and fission products, some of which are medium-lived or long-lived. These long-lived fission products have half-lives in the hundreds of years and include isotopes such as californium-251, with a half-life of 898 years.
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Frequently asked questions
About 200 tonnes of U3O8, the uranium product that is sold, is required to keep a large (1000 MWe) nuclear power reactor generating electricity for a year.
Nuclear power plants require relatively little fuel compared to other forms of electricity generation. For instance, one kilogram of natural uranium yields about 20,000 times as much energy as the same amount of coal.
Nuclear power plants in the US reduce generation to refuel every 18 to 24 months, usually in fall or spring when electricity demand is lower.
