Abstract
The 21st century will face an increased population with limited resources. The latest projection of the United Nations estimates an additional 1.65 billion people by 2030. The rising population should access to all modern services and welfare. Resources demand is expected to increase dramatically in the 21st century, especially in developing countries, where population growth is fast and billions of people nowadays have no access to these services. If no new, strong energy-policy interventions occur, the world’s energy needs will be well over 50% higher in 2030 than today. Fossil fuels will continue to dominate world fuel mix (IEA, International Energy Agency, in World energy outlook 2007, Paris, 2008). The consequent growth in energy-related emissions of carbon-dioxide is noteworthy. The challenge is to reach an energy system allowing this growth and assuring security, reliability, and environmental protection. With worldwide demand for energy expected to more than double by 2030, the need for safe, clean, reliable energy is essential. Much of greenhouse gasses emissions is due to the energy sector. Energy supply, generation and use (and its environmental consequences) is definitely the issue of our times and the coming. All technologies may be complimentary for fitting the demand. Known means exist to cut energy demand and change the fuel mix. In this paper, we will introduce the energy issue and show which role nuclear energy could have in reducing emissions.
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International Energy Agency (under the umbrella of OECD).
International Atomic Energy Agency, set up by the United Nations.
It is possible because of the wide range of temperatures in which different reactors designs can operate (200–1,000°C).
Other means are: regulatory approach, financial incentives.
More energy options through the development of technology, non-conventional fuels could be used: oil sands, shale oil, extra-heavy oil, gas-to-liquids and coal-to-liquids.
Measures to improve energy efficiency stand out as the cheapest and fastest way to curb demand and emissions growth in the near term.
Renewables, nuclear and CO2 capture and storage CCS, which is one of the most promising options for mitigating emissions from coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities. The penetration of CCS by 2030 is uncertain and it depends both on the carbon price and the rate of technological advance in costs and performances.
Burnup is the amount of heat released by nuclear fuel relative to its mass, usually expressed as gigawatt days per ton (GWd/tU).
Capacity factor is the ratio of the actual energy produced by a power plant in a given period, to the hypothetical maximum possible, i.e. running full time at rated power.
United Nations Scientific Committee on the effects of Atomic Radiation.
Worldwide average background dose is about 2.4 mSv/y. Natural background radiation comes from two primary sources: cosmic radiation and natural radionuclides in the environment. This is far greater than human-caused background radiation exposure, which in the year 2000 amounted to an average of about 5 μSv per year from historical nuclear weapons testing; nuclear power accidents and nuclear industry operation combined, and is greater than the average exposure from medical tests, which ranges from 0.04 to 1 mSv per year. Older coal-fired power plants without effective fly ash capture are one of the largest sources of human-caused background radiation exposure (UNSCEAR 2000).
TEDE total effective dose equivalent: the sum of the deep dose equivalent (DDE) for external exposures and the committed effective dose equivalent (CEDE) for internal exposures. The deep dose equivalent (DDE)—the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 1 cm; applies to external exposure. The committed effective dose equivalent (CEDE) is the sum of the products of the weighting factors applicable to each of the body organs or tissues that are irradiated and the committed dose equivalent (CDE) to each of these organs or tissues. This is a measure of the overall risk associated with internal deposition of radioactive material.
The INES Scale is a worldwide tool for communicating to the public in a consistent way the safety significance of nuclear and radiological events. Events are classified on the scale at seven levels: Levels 1–3 are called "incidents" and Levels 4–7 "accidents" (IAEA).
Power generation refers to fuel use in electricity plants, heat plants and combined heat and power (CHP) plants.
We only refer to power generation related emissions.
We consider for actual plants an average thermal efficiency of 33%. We consider a medium capacity factor of 85%.
Gen II are actual reactors. Gen III reactors are a development of any of the generation II nuclear reactor designs incorporating evolutionary improvements. These include improved fuel technology, superior thermal efficiency, passive safety systems and standardized design for reduced maintenance and capital costs. Gen IV reactor: a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched. Most of these designs are generally not expected to be available for commercial construction before 2030, with the exception of a version of the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR).
The term ‘developed country’ is used to describe countries that have a high level of development according to some criteria, in this context the term has a qualitative meaning.
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Bonavigo, L. Meeting World Growing Energy Needs the Role of Nuclear Power. Transit Stud Rev 17, 332–345 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11300-010-0146-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11300-010-0146-2