Uranium dioxide, a common nuclear fuel, has a density of 10.5 g/cm^3. Assuming that the fuel used is pure uranium dioxide, and ignoring the effect of changes to the composition of the fuel during consumption in nuclear reactor, estimate the total volume of waste generated each year by the world’s

Question

Uranium dioxide, a common nuclear fuel, has a density of 10.5 g/cm^3. Assuming that the fuel used is pure uranium dioxide, and ignoring the effect of changes to the composition of the fuel during consumption in nuclear reactor, estimate the total volume of waste generated each year by the world’s nuclear reactors.

Accepted Answer

From Table 8-1, the world’s total nuclear electricity output in 2006 was 2661 billion kWh.

Using the values from Example 8-2 as an approximation of the average rate of UO[latex]_2[/latex] consumption in nuclear plants, each year a plant generating 9.26 billion kWh yields 58,600 kg in spent fuel. On this basis, nuclear plants around the world would generate (58,600 kg) × (2661)/(9.26) = 1.68 × 10[latex]^7[/latex] kg of waste. This amount is equivalent to 1.60 × 10[latex]^9[/latex] cm[latex]^3[/latex] of volume, or approximately 1600 m3. To put this volume in visual terms, if it were laid out on the playing area of standard a tennis court (32 m × 16 m), it would fill the area to a depth of approximately 3 m. This calculation assumes no reprocessing of the fuel.

Country	Output (bil. kWh)	Share (%)
Armenia	2.4	42
Belgium	44.3	54.4
Bulgaria	18.1	43.6
Canada	92.4	15.8
Czech Republic	24.5	31.5
Finland	22.0	28.0
France	428.7	78.1
Germany	158.7	31.8
Hungary	12.5	37.7
Japan	291.5	30.0
Korea	141.2	38.6
Lithuania	8.0	72.3
Russia	144.3	15.9
Slovakia	16.6	57.2
Slovenia	5.3	40.3
Spain	57.4	19.8
Sweden	65.1	48.0
Switzerland	26.4	37.4
Ukraine	84.8	47.5
United Kingdom	69.2	19.9
United States	787.2	19.4

TABLE 8-1 Output of Nuclear-Generated Electricity, and Nuclear’s Share of Total Electric Market, for Countries with More than 15% Share of Electricity from Nuclear Energy, 2006

Question 8.3: Uranium dioxide, a common nuclear fuel, has a density of 10....

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