Eden High School

Eden, Texas

United States of America

Students

Tiffany Medders

Amanda Garza

Gail Harper

Kyle Scott

Brittany McCulloch

Seth Rucker

Valerie Rodgers

Table of Contents

Benchmark 1-Objective 1……….……pg.3

General Info……………………………...pg.4-7

Coal……………………………………….pg.5-6

Oil Refineries…………………………….pg.6

Nuclear Power Plants…………………...pg.6-7

Objective 2………………………………pg.8

Changes in Energy……………………...pg.8

Nuclear Fuel Cycle………………………pg.9-11

Glossary…………………………….…….pg.12

Bibliography………………………………pg.13

Legend

· Common Knowledge

Ø Facts

Examine the objectives from the point of view of the scientific and environmental; social and cultural; economic; political and geopolitical domains to demonstrate a comprehensive in understanding and comparison of conventional energy and nuclear energy.

The understanding of energy sources in use in the world today and their availability, distinguishing between renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy.

Power Sources

· Coal

· Wind

· Oil

· Hydroelectric

· Electricity

· Solar

· Nuclear Power

· Fire

· Steam

· Natural Gas

· Fossil Fuel

Types of Power Plants

· Steam Turbine Power Plants

· Solar

· Wind Turbines

· Nuclear Power Plant

· Combustion Gas Turbines

Renewable Energy

· Water

· Wind

· Solar

· Geothermal

· Biomass

· Ocean Energy

· Hydropower

· Wood

· Biofuels

Nonrenewable Energy

· Oil

· Nuclear

· Coal

· Natural Gas

· Uranium

Facts about Nonrenewable Energy

Ø Half of the nuclear power plants are in the United States

Ø Nuclear Reactor has a few main parts

Ø A nuclear power plant produces electricity in almost exactly the same way that a conventional power plant does

Ø A nuclear power plant uses much less fuel than a comparable fossil fuel plant

(“What is Energy?” 1)

Renewable

· Solar Thermal Systems for Heating Buildings

· Solar Thermal-Electric Power Plants

· Photovoltaic Systems

· Renewable Energy Initiatives

· Green Power Programs

· Ethanol Use & Production

(“What is Energy?” 1)

Facts about Coal

Ø Coal is a combustible black or brownish sedimentary rock composed mostly of carbon and hydrocarbons

Ø Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel produced in the United States. (“How Coal was Formed” 1)

Types of Coal

· Lignite-Lowest rank of coal with the lowest energy content

· Sub bituminous-Has a higher heating value than lignite

· Bituminous-Contains 45-86% carbon and has two to three times the heating value

· Anthracite-Contains 86-97% carbon and has a heating value slightly lower than Bituminous

(“How Coal was Formed” 3)

Coal is mainly found in three large regions:

-The Appalachian Coal Region

-Interior Coal Region

-Western Coal Region

Ø Texas was the largest coal producer in the Interior Coal Region

Ø About 92% of the coal used in the United States is for generating electricity (“How Coal was Formed” 4)

Four major uses of coal are:

-Industry

-Electric Power

-Making Steel

-Export

Ø When coal is burned as a fuel it gives off carbon dioxide the main greenhouse gas that is linked with global warming

Ø Power plants are “scrubbers” to clean sulfur from the smoke before it leaves their smokestacks

Ø Burning coal also produces emissions such as sulfur, nitrogen oxide, and mercury that can pollute the air and water

Ø Industry and government have cooperated to develop “clean coal technologies” that either remove sulfur and nitrogen oxides from coal

Oil Refineries

· Major sources of oil

· United States consumes 20.5 billion barrels a day

· United States produces 8.69 million barrels a day

· United States exports 1 million barrels a day

· United States imports 11.8 million barrels a day

(“How Oil was Formed” 2)

Nuclear Power Plants

· They provide 17% of the world’s electricity

· Some countries depend on nuclear power more than others

· France is 75% ran by nuclear power

· US nuclear powers 15%

· More than 400 nuclear plants in the world

· More than 100 in the US

(“How Nuclear Power Works” 1)

Top 5 Crude oil producing countries:

-Saudi Arabia

-Russia

-US

-Iran

-China

(“How Oil Was Formed” 2)

Top crude oil states:

-Texas

-Alaska

-California

-Louisiana

-Oklahoma

(“How Oil Was Formed” 2)

An understanding of the processes involved in the production of nuclear energy in countries around the world.

Changes in Energy

A 100 years ago the main source of energy was coal, fuel wood, and animal power. Coal was one of the most used sources of energy in the early century. It was used to power many of our railroad system and steam powered engines. Today in our modern century we have advanced our source of energy with technology. We use more than ever oil and natural gas rather then coal to heat our homes. These fuels contribute much of our energy that we use today. Oil and natural gas are the fuels of choice especially in industry and transportation. As much as our energy sources have changed we still rely very much on fossil fuels. We have invented devices that will produce energy at a lower cost with just using wind power. Also nuclear power is also a source that is used to power industries. (Meeting U.S. Energy Resource Needs 7-8)

(“What is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?” 1)

1. Mining and Milling

These are the first two procedures in the nuclear fuel cycle. “After the uranium ore is mined, using underground or open-cut methods, it is then sent to the closest mill where it is crushed and ground finely into a paste. The uranium is dissolved from the other materials by sulphuric acid. The uranium-rich solution is filtered, and the uranium separated and dried to produce a solid uranium concentrate called yellowcake. The solid uranium oxide concentrate is now exported and ready for the next step – conversion” (“What is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?” 1).

2. Conversion

“After removing the solid uranium oxide concentrate from the ore, the uranium actually needs to be in the form of a gas before it undergoes the next process. It is converted into uranium hexafluoride which is a gas at relatively low temperatures” (“What is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?” 2). This process usually happens at a conversion plant in Europe, Russia, or North America. (“What is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?” 2)

3. Enrichment

Enrichment is the process of concentrating or increasing the amount of the U-235 isotope, compared with the U-238 isotope. The process is complex and expensive. After the uranium is mined, separated from the ore and converted into the gas, hexafluoride, it needs to be enriched. The enrichment process increases the concentration of U-235 to about 3.5% or slightly more. (“What is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?” 3)

4. Fuel Fabrication

Fuel fabrication is the last stage of the 'front end' of the nuclear fuel cycle. The enriched uranium, which has been milled to separate it from the ore, converted and enriched, is now sent to a fuel fabrication plant where it is changed into uranium dioxide powder. The powder is pressed into microscopic pellets, which are then put into metal tubes, forming fuel rods. These fuel rods are put together to form a fuel assembly. The fuel assemblies are put into the core of the nuclear reactor along with a moderator, such as graphite or pure H2O. Control rods are used to slow down or stop the chain reaction inside the reactor. They absorb neutrons. Water carries the heat away from the core and makes steam. The steam turns the turbines that generate the electricity. (“What is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle? 4)

The Back End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

When the spent fuel is removed from the reactor, it is very radioactive. It must be cooled and kept away from people. It is put into storage ponds at the reactor site. The storage ponds are steel-lined concrete tanks, about 8 meters deep and filled with pure H2O. The water cools the spent fuel rods and acts as a shield. The heat and radioactivity decrease over time - after about 40 years they are down to about 1/1000 of what they were when taken from the reactor. The longer they are stored, the easier they are to deal with. Sometimes the spent fuel is sent off to plants in the United Kingdom and France for reprocessing. This means that the most highly radioactive waste, about 3%, is separated, concentrated and made into a special glass (verification). The unused uranium and some plutonium are then recycled into fresh reactor fuel. Plutonium is formed from the U-238 in the reactor core. Spent fuel is generally treated as a waste and not reprocessed. After long storage in the ponds it can be put into a waste repository in a geologically stable area.(“What is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle? 5)

Waste Management

All human activities create waste that needs to be managed carefully, however radioactive waste is a form of waste that is given special consideration and is managed under strict rules and guidelines. There has been, and continues to be considerable research to investigate methods of reducing and minimizing the risk of contamination and damage from radioactive waste.

Radioactive waste, like any waste, needs to be managed to protect people and the environment. Radioactive waste results from the uses of radioactive material, for example, medical, industrial, agricultural, and nuclear energy generation. Such waste is classified as either low-level, intermediate-level, or high-level, depending on the amount and type of radioactive material in it. These definitions are agreed upon by the international organizations that actively formulate the methods for managing radioactive wastes.

Low-level radioactive waste in any clothing or rags that contain short lived radioactivity should be disposed by being compacted and burnt. This kind of waste does not need to be disposed like everyday trash. Radioactive waste can be placed in a landfill site.

Intermediate Level these radioactive wastes are usually chemical sludge’s, metal fuel, and materials from nuclear electricity plants. It usually is short lived. Unlike low level waste it has to be put into concrete and put into a waste repository.

High-level radioactive waste comes from spent fuel from the reactor. It must be shielded and cooled. (“What is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?” 6)

Glossary

· Nonproliferation-Not spreading or containment

· Nonrenewable-Cannot be used again or limited supply

· Renewable-Unlimited supply

· Commodity-A good or product

· Consumption-How much of a product that is used

· Refinery-A factory where crude oil is processed into petroleum products

· Greenhouse Gas-When coal is burned as fuel, it gives off carbon dioxide

· Hexafluoride-Accomplished through a technique called gaseous diffusion process the uranium ore is combined with fluorine to create a compound

· Quantum Mechanics-The branch of physics that is the study of particles in the micro world of atoms and nuclei

· Heavy Water Reactor-A reactor that uses heavy water as a moderator instead of normal water

· Nonstate actors-People doing things not supported by the government

· Exports-Goods sold to another country

· Imports-Goods brought from another country

· Surface Mining-Used to produce most of the coal in the US because it is less expensive then underground mining

Works Cited

“How Coal was Formed.” Energy Kid’s Page. 2 February 2008. http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/coal.html

“How Nuclear Power Works.” How Stuff Works: It’s Good to Know. 12 February 2008. http://www.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm

“Meeting U.S. Energy Resource Needs: The Energy Resources Program of the U.S. Geological Survey.” The National Academy Press 1999.

“The Nuclear Fission Power Plan.” Thinkquest.org. 1998. 6 Feb 2008. http://library.thinkquest.org/17940/texts/fission_power/fission_power.html.

“The Nuclear Fuel Cycle” UIC. 12 Feb 2008. http://www.uic.com.au/nfc.htm

“What is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?” The Nuclear Fuel Cycle? 2001. South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy. 28 Feb 2008. http://www.uraniumsa.org/fuel_cycle/nfcycle.htm

“What is Energy?” Energy Kid’s Page. 6 Feb 2008. http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/whatsenergy.html

“World Oil Guide.” About US Oil Consumption and the Strategic Oil Reserves. 13 Feb 2008.

http://worldnews.about.com/od/oilnaturalgas/ig/World-Oil-Guide/US-Oil.htm