Nuclear energy is based on the same principles as traditional fossil fuel energy. Heat is produced and water added to the system. When the water boils, the steam moves a generator and electricity is collected. In order for nuclear fission, the process used to create heat, to happen a fuel base needs to be used. Here are 5 of the more common fuels.
* Uranium Dioxide - uranyl nitrate reacted with ammonia.
* Mixed Oxide - plutonium and uranium.
* TRIGA (training, research, isotopes, general atomics) - uranium and zirconium.
* Actinide - zirconium, uranium and plutonium.
* Ceramic - uranium nitride and uranium carbide.
Creating the Nuclear Fuel Rods
Once the fuel type is selected, the chemical must go through a series of changes before it can be stacked inside of a rod and placed in the nuclear reactor. Most often, the fuel is processed into a pellet. The pellets are heated (or fired) and hard pellets result. These pellets are ground down to uniform sizes before then are carefully placed inside of a zirconium alloy rod. The rods are then moved to the reactor where they are placed in bundles based on carefully spaced plans.
When the rods are complete, they are given identification numbers. This allows the plant to keep track of each rod as it moves through the power production process to waste control. Careful monitoring is needed due to the radioactive nature of the base fuel.
Creating energy via nuclear fission creates quite a few byproducts. Some of these are reprocessed to make additional energy while others are stored on waste sites. The most famous site for storing nuclear waste is located in Nevada, USA.
To read more about nuclear fuels, visit http://www.biofuelswatch.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Yvonne_Mustafelli
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