(nuclear power)

Nuclear electricity - Uranium needed to produce electricity, usually in a stable and compact form like (yellow cake) -  Urania

Researcher  and author: Dr.   (   Afshin Rashid)



Note: For electricity generation, nuclear fission in a reactor is only part of a nuclear cycle. This cycle starts from mines. Uranium extracted from the mine usually has a stable and compact form like yellow cake. This mineral uranium is sent to processing facilities, where the yellow cake is converted into uranium hexafluoride (which is used as reactor fuel after enrichment). At this stage, the degree of uranium enrichment, i.e., the percentage of uranium-235, is around 0.7%. 

If needed, depending on the type of power plant fuel (percentage of enrichment required for power plant fuel), uranium is enriched and then used to produce fuel rods used in the power plant (the shape of the rods is different in different power plants). The life of each mill is approximately three years, so that about 3% of the uranium in it is consumed. After the lifetime of uranium, it is taken to the spent fuel pool. Uranium must remain in these ponds for at least 5 years so that the isotopes produced by nuclear fission are separated from it. After this time, the uranium is stored in dry barrels or it is returned to the fuel cycle.




Nuclear fission in a reactor is only part of a nuclear cycle. This cycle starts from mines. The amount of uranium in the earth's crust is relatively high, so that it is equal to the sources of metals such as tin and germanium, and it is approximately 35 times the amount of silver in the earth's crust. Uranium is a constituent of many objects around us such as rocks and soil. In a nuclear power plant, this heat is provided by the nuclear fission that takes place inside the reactor. When a relatively large fissionable nucleus is hit by a neutron, it splits into two or more smaller parts, and in this process, which is called nuclear fission, a number of neutrons and a relatively large amount of energy are released. Neutrons released from a nuclear fission in the next stage by hitting other nuclei cause other fissions and in this way a chain process is created. When this chain process is controlled, the energy released in each fission (most of which is in the form of heat) can be used to evaporate water and turn steam turbines and finally produce electrical energy. If a uniform fuel of uranium-235 or plutonium-239 is used in a reactor, a nuclear explosion will occur due to the uncontrollable increase in the number of nuclear fissions due to the chain process. But the chain process will not cause a nuclear explosion in a reactor because the number of fissions in the reactor will not be large enough to cause an explosion, and this is due to the low degree of enrichment of the fuel of nuclear reactors. Natural uranium contains a small percentage (less than 1%) of uranium-235 and the rest is uranium-238 (because uranium-238 is not fissile).

Conclusion : 

To produce electricity, nuclear fission in a reactor is only part of a nuclear cycle. This cycle starts from mines. Uranium extracted from the mine usually has a stable and compact form like yellow cake. This mineral uranium is sent to processing facilities, where the yellow cake is converted into uranium hexafluoride (which is used as reactor fuel after enrichment). At this stage, the degree of uranium enrichment, i.e., the percentage of uranium-235, is around 0.7%. 

Researcher  and author: Dr.   (   Afshin Rashid)

Specialized doctorate in nano-microelectronics