2 - What is Fracking + Advanced Nuclear Energy

What is Fracking?

Hydraulic fracturing, the process of using a high-pressure mix of water, sand, and chemicals to extract oil and natural gas from deep underground

Drawn from impermeable rock like shale which locks in oil and gas, makes fossil fuel production difficult

How does Fracking Work?

Fluid is injected below the earths surface at a high pressure which creates new or exacerbates existing fractures in sedimentary rock formations to unlock natural gas and crude oil reserves

The Fluid Mixture

It is made up of 97% water, with chemical additive (proppants: small, solid particles, usually frac sand) to keep the fractures open after the pressure subsides

Fracking as a Climate Solution - Greenwashing

Unlike other extraction methods, this produced natural gas (methane) which can be burned and used for electricity, heating, and refining oil

Burning natural gas produces less CO2 than burning coal, so fracking is promoted for its product being a "bridge fuel" or "cleaner fossil fuel"

The 2-Fold Problem - Environmental Aspect

Depletes Water Supply: typically using between 1.5 and 9.7 million gallons per well, the average "frack" in BC using 5-100 million litres of water despite being under drought conditions

Earthquakes: resulting from the wastewater disposal wells used for the injections and other oil and gas operations occurring deep underground, with the added issue of the fluids causing faults to slip

Environmental Degradation: occurs from building wells, pipelines, and roads for fracking operations, which destroy forests and habitats, coupled with noise, lights, and pollution

The 2-Fold Problem - Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Health

Air Pollution: Fracking emits toxic chemicals such as benzene, toluene, and silica dust from frac sand, along with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds that form smog, causing respiratory, neurological, cardiovascular, and birth defect issues

Methane Leakage & Combustion Emissions: mostly methane released from fracking, which traps 80 times more heat than CO2, plus emissions from end-use

Bans and Regulations

France, Germany, Ireland, Bulgaria, and Australia have all banned fracking

US and Canada still allow fracking in several states/provinces

Economic Advantage in BC

Seen as a new economic opportunity because of its enormous gas reserves, fracking is growing in BC

Could benefit economic growth for thousands of years

LNG Canada in Kitimat and the Coastal GasLink Pipeline are examples of new/upcoming projects

The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline was stopped by Ecojustice for failing to complete a proper full cumulative effects assessment, relying on outdated 2014 studies instead

If the LNG Canada Phase 1 and Woodfire LNG projects alone proceed, the province will double oil and gas sector targets in 2030

Economic Risk for Canada

Market oversupply (US doubling its LNG capacity), demand declining in key markets, Japan and Korea's imports falling, Canadian projects will be less profitable and/or uncompetitive

High production costs persist, almost double than that along the US Gulf Coast, costs come from expensive development, transport, and logistical challenges of remote locations

Heavy reliance of government subsidies, without which the projects may never break even, public funds bear much of the risk of underperformance

Standard assets risks, oversupply + high costs + market volatility could force early closures in 2-5 years, major financial loss for all

What is Advanced Nuclear Energy?

A new generation of nuclear reactors that have higher safety, efficiency, and waste management compared to older "legacy" reactors

How Does Nuclear Energy Work?

There are several types, such as fast breeder reactors, molten salt reactors, and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors

These work by using not just uranium-235 but also fertile isotopes like uranium-238 and thorium-232, which can transform (through neutron capture) into new fissile isotopes (plutonium-239 and uranium-233) that produce heat when they split

Differences/Improvement - Fuel Use

Legacy: Uses mainly U-235, while most U-238 becomes waste

Advanced: Uses U-235, U-238, and Th-232, recycling more fuel and producing energy more efficiently

Differences/Improvement - Waste Production

Legacy: Produces large amounts of long-lived waste that takes tens of thousands of years to decay (e.g., spent fuel rods which contain U-238)

Advanced: Produces less than 1% of the waste of legacy reactors, decays to safe levels in around 400 years, creates far less and shorter-lived radioactive waste

Differences/Improvements - Operating Conditions

Legacy: Operates at high pressure, which increases risks of leaks, meltdowns, and explosions, and uses low temperatures (~290C)

Advanced: Operates at near-ambient pressure and higher temperatures (550-750C), making the system safer and more efficient

Differences/Improvements - Safety Features

Legacy: Susceptible to thermal runway, when reactors temperatures rise uncontrollably which causes fuel to overheat and possibly melt, leading to serious accidents

Advanced: Has a negative temperature coefficient, automatically shuts down if overheated, prevents meltdowns, generally improves safety (e.g., using passive natural circulation like helium gas for cooling)

Differences/Improvements - Versatility & Efficiency

Legacy: Limited to electricity generation and less-efficient heat use

Advanced: Can provide both power (electricity) and very high temperature heat which can be used directly in industrial processes (e.g., making steel, chemicals)

Limits of Renewable Energy

Solar and wind depend on finite and non-recyclable mineral resources, undermining their long-term sustainability

Their natural vulnerability means they cannot consistently supply power without large-scale energy storage

These limitations make solar and wind unreliable as the sole energy sources for meeting global energy demands over the long term, at least 200 years into the future

Solar/Wind vs Nuclear - Material Limitations

Solar/Wind: Require rare materials and operate off of intermittent energy

Adv Nuclear: Continuous baseload power from abundant U-238, thorium, and seawater uranium, and structural materials like steel and nickel aren't rare

At current rates, proven uranium reserve will last around 90 years, but uranium in seawater could last thousands as it is continuously replenished by rainfall runoff

Solar/Wind vs Nuclear - Recycling

Solar/Wind: Materials cannot be recycled

Adv Nuclear: Fuel is recycled (U-235 to U-238 which can still be converted back to fuel), and waste decays faster

Solar/Wind vs Nuclear - Land Use Constraints

Solar/Wind: Need specific amounts of land space

Adv Nuclear: Require less land, SMRs can produce a lot of energy in a small space

Solar/Wind vs Nuclear - Climate Limitations

Solar/Wind: Require certain natural conditions to operate

Adv Nuclear: Can operate anywhere, independent of weather

Global Progress and Innovation

The US Department of Energy has awarded contracts to TerraPower (Natrium reactor) and X-energy (HTGR) to build advanced reactors by 2027

The US is also developing ANEEL fuel, combining thorium with low-enriched uranium for safer and more efficient fuel cycles

Replacing Crude Oil with Nuclear Biorefineries

Crude oil and natural gas currently supply about 85% of the raw materials used to make chemical products, with over 500 million tonnes of feedstock producing nearly 1 billion tonnes of chemicals each year

To reduce carbon emissions, we must replace these fossil-based feedstocks, ideally with nuclear biorefining initiatives which can produce the same chemicals sustainably

3 Key Technologies of Biorefining Capacity

In order for biorefining to overtake fossil fuels, there must be a focus on:

Biomass consolidation

Large-scale biorefineries

Nuclear-powered operations

Feedstocks would come from biomass (e.g., crops, agricultural waste, algae) and nuclear energy would provide the heat, electricity, and hydrogen needed to process it into the same chemicals

Nuclear biorefineries could fully replace crude oil in around 20 years in the US