What is used for fuel in a nuclear reactor

Uranium is the main fuel for nuclear reactors, and it can be found in many places around the world. In order to make the fuel, uranium is mined and goes through refining and enrichment before being loaded into a nuclear reactor. Nuclear fuel pellets, with each pellet — not much larger than a sugar cube — contains as much energy as a tonne of coal Image: Kazatomprom.

Uranium is found in small amounts in most rocks, and even in seawater. Historically, conventional mines e. After mining, the ore is crushed in a mill, where water is added to produce a slurry of fine ore particles and other materials.

The slurry is leached with sulfuric acid or an alkaline solution to dissolve the uranium, leaving the remaining rock and other minerals undissolved. However, over half of the world's uranium mines now use a method called in-situ leaching, where the mining is accomplished without any major ground disturbance. Water injected with oxygen or an alkali, acid or other oxidizing solution is circulated through the uranium ore, extracting the uranium.

The uranium solution is then pumped to the surface. In a nuclear power station, nuclear fuel undergoes a controlled chain reaction in the reactor to produce heat - nuclear energy is converted to heat energy: heat is used to change water into steam in the boiler the steam drives the turbine heat to kinetic energy this drives the generator to produce electricity - kinetic to electrical energy Cross-section of a nuclear reactor Nuclear and geothermal energy are the only energy resources that do not come from the Sun.

Advantages Unlike fossil fuels, nuclear fuels do not produce carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide. Disadvantages Like fossil fuels, nuclear fuels are non-renewable energy resources. Nuclear reactors are very reliable at generating electricity, capable of running for 24 hours a day for many months, if not years, without interruption, whatever the weather or season.

Additionally, most nuclear reactors can operate for very long periods of time — over 60 years in many cases. A number of different materials can be used to fuel a reactor, but most commonly uranium is used. Uranium is abundant, and can be found in many places around the world, including in the oceans. Other fuels, such as plutonium and thorium, can also be used. A single pellet contains as much energy as there is in one tonne of coal. A typical reactor requires about 27 tonnes of fresh fuel each year.

In contrast, a coal power station of a similar size would require more than two-and-a-half million tonnes of coal to produce as much electricity.

Like any industry, the nuclear industry generates waste. However, unlike many industries, nuclear power generates very little of it — and fully contains and manages what it does produce.