Nuclear Physicist EXPLAINS - The Rise of Generation IV Reactors?
Nuclear Physicist EXPLAINS - The Rise of Generation IV Reactors?
Nuclear Physicist Explains - The Rise of Generation IV Reactors?
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In this video, Nuclear Physicist Explains - The Rise of Generation IV Reactors? I break down the history of different generations of reactors and explain Generation IV Reactors.
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Content
0 -> I recently made a poll asking you if you would
like to watch Generation 3 versus Generation 4
4.86 -> reactors or the different types of generation 4
reactors so I thought that it would be a great
10.98 -> idea since the poll ended up pretty much at
50 50. to start from the beginning to start by
17.34 -> introducing Generation 1 2 and 3 and then later on
discussing what are the advantages of generation
23.46 -> 4 and why are we moving towards Generation 4
reactors in the nuclear industry so without
27.78 -> further Ado let's get into it so starting from
the Generation 1 reactors these were the first
33.18 -> ever reactors to be constructed they were pretty
much constructed around the 50s and the 60s when
38.76 -> the nuclear power became a thing when people
discovered fission and started working on it
43.86 -> and understanding that they could make such
equipment such as reactors to make energy out
50.22 -> of nuclear fission therefore these reactors were
mostly experimental quite small in size compared
56.22 -> to the one that we have today so those kind of
reactors were the Fermi 1 reactor for example and
62.7 -> two other reactors the ship Import in the US is
another example and The Calder Hall in the UK this
70.2 -> so you can see up here as I said these were the
early prototypes connected to the grid to produce
75.96 -> electricity the last ever generation one reactor
was shut down in 2015 in the UK so Having learned
83.34 -> from this and acquired experience from Generation
1 reactors will move on to generation 2 and these
89.16 -> were commercial reactors pretty much the designs
that we are currently employing in the nuclear
94.38 -> industry and make energy and electricity from
these reactors are of large scale connected to the
99.72 -> grid producing electricity and are typically four
types they are pressurized water reactors boiling
106.5 -> water actors can do reactors which is the Canadian
design that uses the heavy water and natural
112.32 -> uranium and the vvers which is the Russian design
which is basically a pressurized water reactor
118.92 -> as well so those four designs were the early on
designs that were constructed and were supposed
124.08 -> to be used for approximately 40 years before they
shut down to produce electricity to be connected
129.6 -> to the grid an example of these types of reactors
is at Diablo Canyon in the USA those reactors
135.96 -> even though they were larger and they were already
operated on some experience that was learned from
140.82 -> the generation one they didn't really have any
advanced safety features they were mostly relying
147.9 -> on active safety which means that the operators
himself or herself would need to activate some
154.92 -> sort of button or some sort of sequence for the
safety features to turn to be turned on inside
160.62 -> these reactors so as you can understand this is
not ideal and hence from generation 2 which was
166.8 -> pretty much from the 70s to the 90s we move
on to the Generation 3 reactors and these are
173.46 -> basically evolutionary designs on the generation
2. so they are not different reactor types they
180.12 -> are still the same pressurized and boiling water
reactors however with Advanced safety features
185.52 -> mostly focusing on passive safety meaning that the
reactors themselves could self-regulate and not
193.68 -> needing so much active attention from the operator
in order for them to shut down for example in case
199.5 -> of an accident or in case of something is going
wrong wrong outside in the environment of the
205.26 -> power plant or in the reactor itself these
types of reactors started to be built in the
211.44 -> 90s and early 2000s and some of these examples
is the ap600 made by Westinghouse and the ebwr
221.1 -> the European pressurized water reactor now moving
on from the Generation 3 react doctors we have an
228.12 -> intermediate generation which is called Generation
3 plus which was basically introduced in 2010 and
234.9 -> 2020 this is the most advanced generation when it
comes to the still water cooled reactors such as
243.3 -> pwrs and bwrs this emerged with a need for extra
Safety Systems especially passive ones when it
252.54 -> comes to for example since the Fukushima extent
happened in 2011 so then after that the scientists
259.92 -> started thinking of extra passive safety systems
that would be needed to be introduced in the
265.32 -> Generation 3 reactors to enhance their safety
and enhance their reliability enhance the low
273.66 -> risk and the low probability of a core melt or any
other severe nuclear accident that would result in
280.74 -> environmental contamination and contamination to
the people therefore this extra safety systems
286.5 -> were then implemented to the existing Generation 3
and generation 2 reactors and with that in mind we
294.84 -> have the intermediate as I said step which is
a generation 3 plus which one of the examples
301.08 -> is the ap1000 from the Westinghouse another one
is shown here is an under construction in India
309.18 -> and this concludes the basically 50 to 70 years
of development of nuclear energy when it comes to
318.42 -> mostly light water reactors so when we use light
water reactors we already explained in previous
324.36 -> video that these were not the most ideal or the
most efficient ways to utilize nuclear energy
331.08 -> however it was the simplest way to go about it
since using water as a coolant is pretty much
337.44 -> radially available there is no extra technology
or r d necessary to develop such a reactive design
344.64 -> using enriched uranium fuel is something that we
already know how to do and the technology is in
350.88 -> place therefore the light water reactors were
the way to go from their own however stepping
358.08 -> away from the light Water Reactor Technologies
and introducing a whole new type of Technology
364.08 -> systems such as the ones existing in generation
four that happened for a reason so let us discuss
371.7 -> first what is the goal of generation 4 why would
we aim to build Generation 4 reactors compared to
377.82 -> the ones we are currently using so Generation 4
is uh basically a concept that was introduced in
384.06 -> the 2000s and that is basically built on four
goals for pillars and this is sustainability
391.62 -> economics safety and proliferation resistance
if we go about breaking down each one of them
398.16 -> we can discuss a little bit further what is
the goal for each pillar separately for the
405 -> generation 4 to basically achieve when it comes
to sustainability this would be improved fuel
410.94 -> utilization which means making designs that could
utilize more of the fuel that we introduce inside
416.28 -> the reactor compared to the light water reactors
that use for example thermal neutrons therefore
421.86 -> utilizing only the uranium-235 which we know to be
the least percentage of uranium present compared
429.06 -> to the biggest amount of uranium-238 meaning
that for example if we introduce fast Neutron
434.82 -> reactors therefore we could utilize the biggest
amount of uranium-238 hence having a much bigger
441.24 -> resource availability for those types of reactors
to be used in the future and produce electricity
447.42 -> for much longer time than the reactors we are
currently using another aspect that goes under
452.82 -> sustainability is recycling or fuel meaning that
since we can actually use the uranium-238 means
459.48 -> that the fuel that is currently sitting as waste
from the Generation 3 reactors in generation 2
464.58 -> can be recycled changed in a way that fits the
new reactor designs and be burnt or be efficient
472.32 -> inside the new generation 4 reactors therefore
be used for hundreds and hundreds of years
477.72 -> compared to mining new uranium and depleting this
Source much much quicker than something that is
484.5 -> something that would have happened if we continued
with Generation 3 reactors another very important
490.2 -> aspect of sustainability is the fact that we can
reduce the need for a long-term storage of the
497.04 -> spam nuclear fuel since the generation 4 reactors
will be able to burn or in another way more
503.58 -> scientific transmute such elements called minor
actinides which are americium curium neptunium
511.62 -> Etc which are very long-lived and actually
contribute to these hundreds of thousands
516.3 -> of years that we're discussing that we need the
geological repository to last for for the fuel
520.68 -> to drop its reductivity levels to Natural uranium
levels therefore in that case we would still need
526.08 -> some hundreds of years or a few thousands of years
but definitely not hundreds of thousands of years
532.14 -> for the fuel to be maintained underground which
is a very big plus for the safety and the resource
539.88 -> utilization and sustainability of the nuclear
industry as well so when it comes to the economics
544.8 -> these reactors aim to be as economically as any
other a renewable and sustainable energy source
551.46 -> out there meaning that they would want to compare
financially with the available sources that we
556.56 -> have this could be utilized with the fact that
these reactors would not really require a new fuel
563.16 -> mining but as we said more so the reprocessing
of the fuel that we currently have so the waste
568.98 -> that's currently sitting could be used to fuel
these reactors another plus when it comes to the
574.5 -> economic aspect that the nuclear industry doesn't
currently have is that these reactors are planned
580.62 -> to be smaller and more mass-produced and easier
to be produced and installed in each areas making
587.94 -> them faster to produce hence by streamlining this
process reducing the cost of every reactor that's
595.38 -> produced with this kind of design and instead
of basically producing a one-of-a-kind prototype
601.08 -> reactor every time that the industry decides to
make a reactor in another country which is pretty
606.84 -> much what we are doing right now every time we
want to build a generation of the reactor it is
611.58 -> somewhat somehow a little bit different from every
other one that we have built therefore the whole
616.08 -> licensing process everything basically has to
start from the start it's like we are Reinventing
621.72 -> the wheel every time we'll be in a reactor and
this of course contributes significantly to the
626.94 -> time delays to the cost associated with building
new reactors therefore by somehow streamlining
632.58 -> this process and making it more factory made
let's say it will be much more economical in
639.66 -> the future to build this type of reactors compared
to the Generation 3 reactors that we are currently
644.64 -> building of course this doesn't go it goes without
saying that we will need significant amount of r
651.54 -> d and funding to develop these reactors to
develop all of these materials that will be
656.52 -> used in these reactors to make them a competitive
economically to the reactors that we are currently
662.4 -> using and the other energy sources and of course
at the moment since the technology is experiment
668.7 -> metal and it's under research significant
funding needs to be uh significant significant
677.1 -> and this technology is still under research
and development there needs to be significant
681.36 -> funding for it to reach the stage of commercial
and economical attractiveness when it comes to
687.6 -> safety this is an aspect that the generation
fall heavily heavily works on and in safety
694.14 -> there are several aspects such as passive
Safety Systems natural physical laws that
699.9 -> the reactors operate under that would make
them virtually impossible to have any sort of
706.38 -> core melt or any sort of explosion or any sort of
severe accident that would result in environmental
714.18 -> and human contamination for example corn melts
are even more reduced in these reactor designs
721.44 -> which introduce passive safety features such as
negative coolant coefficient which basically means
728.64 -> that if the temperature in the coolant inside the
reactor will rise then the temperature of the fuel
734.22 -> will drop basically making it able to shut down
by itself naturally without the intervention of
741.9 -> any operator or any such active safety system
another for example idea is such thing called
750.48 -> core catcher and that means that in case of high
temperatures inside the core that could result
756 -> in a core melt the core can be basically dropped
inside a big cooling pool that will basically stop
762.6 -> the fission of course and reduce the temperature
of the whole fuel inside the core another safety
768.54 -> feature is the fact that these reactors are
designed to have in mind the elimination of
773.76 -> the off-site emergency response so basically they
are designed to not need any offsite any outside
782.88 -> of the power plant response or help for them to
cool down or shut down or not cause any severe
789.36 -> nuclear accident which is of course very important
to have a system that is self-sustained and you
795.12 -> are sure that can that it can shut down under
some sort of accident conditions and the last
801.42 -> but not least goal that the generation 4 reactors
aim to tackle is the proliferation resistance and
808.68 -> with that in mind the fuel is basically made in
a way that would make it the least attractive
816.9 -> route for proliferation purposes or for terrorist
thefts to be used for for proliferation purposes
826.26 -> therefore making it even safer in that sense
and every design of the generation 4 is made
833.64 -> with that in mind and of course some designs this
is easier to be introduced than in others in some
839.52 -> designs reprocessing is required so there the
question of proliferation comes very strongly
845.34 -> in place in some designs this is not necessary as
for example fuel will stay throughout its whole
850.86 -> lifetime inside the core and then the whole let's
say call will be replaced therefore making it much
858.36 -> harder for proliferation and for reprocessing in
order to extract for example plutonium from it
864.12 -> which is a very important advantage and a very
important safety feature when it comes to the
869.4 -> proliferation several countries pursue Generation
4 concept reactors and develop them at different
876.96 -> stages such countries is the United States China
Russia France and Sweden that are actively working
884.76 -> on their own generation for reactor types for
their own purposes and their own reasons since
890.64 -> every one of the sixth generation four reactor
types aims to tackle a different aspect or
896.64 -> focuses more on one aspect than the other hence
every country would like to focus on what is for
902.64 -> interest to that particular country therefore to
sum up the advantages of the generation 4 reactor
908.46 -> types offer over the Generation 3 and the types we
are currently using is first that they can reduce
914.22 -> the amount of for the spent nuclear fuel that we
are currently having in storage first in terms of
920.46 -> volume and utilizing that to produce electricity
and secondly in terms of long-lived radio toxicity
928.74 -> of the fuel itself secondly they can produce more
energy than the reactors that we're currently
933.84 -> having since they are employing fast Neutron
spectrum means that they can utilize fuels such
940.32 -> as natural uranium which is the biggest amount of
uranium that we currently have also fuels such as
947.52 -> plutonium mixed with uranium thorium mixed with
uranium and all these kinds of innovative fuel
952.86 -> cycles that are not possible to be utilized by gen
3 reactors they can improve the operating safety
958.2 -> since they are going to be built in with in mind
to have practically no release to the environment
964.14 -> around them in case of an accident and the very
low need for off-site or emergency response in
970.92 -> case an accident will occur and as we said strong
safety passive safety features that will be
978 -> enabled automatically by themselves governed by
laws of physics without the need of an operator
984.12 -> intervene they are also being made with
proliferation resistance in mind meaning
989.58 -> that the materials that are going to be used
are going to be made in the least attractive
993.78 -> way for proliferation meaning that there will be
hard to reprocess therefore separate and use for
1000.62 -> any kind of theft or the creation of some sort
of nuclear weapons additional generation for
1006.74 -> Yak will be able to produce high quality process
heat which therefore will give the possibility to
1013.76 -> produce for example hydrogen which will help very
much with reducing the greenhouse emissions and
1020.12 -> also our dependence on fossil fuels however now
that we have summed up all of the advantages it
1026.24 -> is important to state that all of these reactor
types are still experimental and none of them
1032.6 -> has been proven to work or yet employed therefore
it is important to know that they will be worked
1041.6 -> upon and improved even more however some of
them lack operational experiences compared
1047 -> to others that we already have some experience
from and this is an important feature that as
1054.56 -> much as you would try to improve the safety
only by building and operating a reactor one
1059.96 -> would actually get valuable information about how
to improve it even more and goes without saying
1066.26 -> that since these reactors are quite new and the
technology is still very much in the development
1073.82 -> and research stage they cost quite significantly
in the stage that they are right now with the
1079.4 -> hopes that with mass producing them the cost
will be driven down and that sums up a short
1085.58 -> introduction on the generation one two three and
three plus reactors that we are currently using in
1091.16 -> the nuclear industry for electricity production
and an introduction to the generation 4 reactor
1097.28 -> designs so let me know down in the comments
below what you thought about this video and
1101.3 -> if you want me to make a future video explaining
every generation 4 reactor type separately what
1107.6 -> are the advantages and disadvantages of each as
well as which countries are focusing on which
1112.7 -> reactive designs don't forget to like And
subscribe and turn on the Bell notification
1116.96 -> icon it's been Elina your friendly nuclear
physicist and until next time see you soon
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsSH153h-_Q