Power Generation/Nuclear Power/Part1

Figure 1:Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant Kozloduy Nuclear Power Station, Bulgaria( Click on image to view full size image )

Introduction: Nuclear Power station

A Nuclear power station uses nuclear energy for generating electrical energy.

This power station is generally located far from populated areas. This kind of power station can be used to produce large amounts of electrical energy. In most countries these power stations are used as Base load power stations. This is because they can take several days to be warmed up and brought on-line.

Operation

Heavy elements such as Uranium ($U^{235}$) or Thorium ($Th^{232}$) are subjected to nuclear fission in a reactor to produce steam at high temperatures and pressure.

Steam runs a steam turbine which converts this energy into mechanical energy.

The turbine drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Pros & Cons: what this power station presents

Advantages	Disadvantages
Small amounts of fuel required	Fuel is expensive and hard to recover
Power plant requires less space	Capital cost very high
Low running charges	Erection & commissioning of plant requires great technical knowledge
Economical for producing bulk electrical energy	Fission by-products are generally Radio-active & may cause nuclear pollution
Large available deposits of fuel around the world	Maintenance costs are high
Reliability of operation	Not suited for varying loads as reactor does not respond to fluctuations
Does not require large quantities of water for cooling	Disposal of nuclear by-product is difficult & problematic

Future generations will want to depend more on this type of electricity generating power station (and other renewable energy sources), due to a fast increasing depletion of fuels(Coal). There are a number of construction projects currently underway for this kind of power station around the world.