Improved Nuclear Fission

Improved Uranium Extraction Techniques

- Polymer Adsorption

- Phosphate Mining

- Coal Ash

What's polymer adsorption?

1) Uranium dissolved in seawater adsorbs onto certain polymers that are placed in the sea

2) The uranium can be washed off using acids

3) It is then collected and concentrated

What's phosphate mining?

Uranium is actually often present in phosphate deposits, therefore they can be separated from the material extracted in the phosphate mines.

What's coal ash?

Uranium can be extracted from coal ash. This will become economic if the price of uranium rises.

What is fissile fuel?

An isotope that can easily undergo nuclear fission when struck by a neutron, releasing energy.

Give me an example of a fissile fuel

Uranium-235

Plutonium-239

What is a fertile fuel?

An isotope that cannot undergo fission itself, but can be converted into a fissile fuel in a reactor through the bombardment with neutrons

Give me an example of a fertile fuel

Uranium-238 (which can become Plutonium-239)

Thorium-232 (which can become Uranium-233)

New Reactor Designs

- Plutonium reactors

- Thorium reactors

Plutonium Reactors

Nuclear reactors that use plutonium as a fuel, often derived from reprocessed spent nuclear fuel.

What type of reactor are plutonium reactors?

A type of 'breeder' reactor

How do plutonium reactors work?

Uranium-238 fuel is bombarded by neutrons to create the fissile plutonium-239 fuel.

Why are plutonium reactors good?

They are fuel efficient but complex and expensive.

Thorium Reactors

Nuclear reactors that convert the fertile fuel thorium-232 into the fissile fuel, uranium-233

Thorium Reactor designs

They have rods of thorium-232 in the reactor core

These rods get bombarded with neutrons and breed uranium-233

Uranium-233 can then be extracted to make new fuel rods