TYPE OF REACTORS

The impotent part of a nuclear power plant is the reactor itself. This is because the fission process takes place in the reactor. There are many different types of reactors which uses many different types of technology's to ensure the fission process is in its optimum performance and it is safe enough to contain the radiation of the fission products. The reactor technology has been improved drastically since the 1950's. These improvement is categorized into few categories according to the year the reactor generation is introduced. From the year 1950 - 1965 were the Generation I reactors (early prototypes), 1965 - 1995 Generation II reactors (commercial reactors used in most of the current nuclear power plant), 1995 -2010 Generation III (Evolutionary reactors), 2010 - 2030 (Evolutionary III+ reactors) and finally 2030 onward there is the Generation IV reactors which can produce hydrogen as the its by product.

In the Nuclear reactors which are available today are categorized in to almost 4 major types of reactors. Which are; the most comment reactor the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). Next is the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor.(ABWR). Other than that there is the Advance Gas Cooled reactor (AGR). Then finally we have the Presurized Heavy Water Reactor or simply the CANDU Reactor.

The table below show the types of Generation III reactors available in the market currently and their details.

WHAT IF.............

What if we can’t get nuclear by 2021,what are the impacts?

Electricity is an essential need for our daily usage. the use of electricity range from lighting up our bulbs to manufacturing goods. Whereby, the use of electricity in our country increases each and every year and with the amount of electricity that we are producing now, we wont be able to supply enough electricity for the whole country in years to come.


Therefore, if nuclear is not introduced by the year 2021, the total amount of energy production wouldn't be enough to cope with the increasing amount of demand for electricity since the fossil fuel in the country is depleting. For the country to be more developed more industries has to be introduced and for the operation of it electricity is needed. Following this, with less electricity the country wouldn't be able to develop.


Besides that, buying over fossil fuel or other means of power generation from foreign countries would result in high tariff for electricity which would reflect directly on the public. Adding to it, if the country that we are getting the fossil fuel supplied from has a political dispute on our country, then the supply of fuel would be cut to none and power production would be put to halt and leaves us in total darkness and this might be the biggest "earth day" celebration in the world.


Next, if by 2021 nuclear is not introduced then the amount of coal fired plants would be increased and would result in the emission of more green house gases and leads to a terrible global warming and the north and south poles might melt and raise the sea water level and lead to other disasters.


Therefore, to overcome all this problems and to create a greener and more developed Malaysia nuclear technology has to be adopted into the country. Nuclear reactors raise only one common question, the safety. The latest generation nuclear reactors are designed for safety, actually over designed for safety thus public don't have to worry and should agree for a nuclear reactor to be build here in Malaysia for the betterment of our generation and the future generation.

Nuclear Power : The Green Answer to Energy Demand

An adjunct professor of Universti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Nuclear Science Programme says nuclear power generation is the best option to meet Malaysia’s energy demand in the years to come.

“I do not mean to undermine the use of solar, wind and water energy to meet future power requirements from green and renewable resources but the best carbon-free option is nuclear energy generation,” said Prof David Bradley, a nuclear physicist, who arrived here 10 days ago for his two-week adjunct duty.

He said he is well aware of the present debate over the question of whether Malaysia should go for nuclear power generation, in view of the dwindling supply of fossilized fuel “which we can’t depend on forever,” and the carbon-spewing coal or combustion of vegetative wastes.

Except for nuclear power generation, all the other sources of power generation would require vast tracts of lands that can be better utilized for cultivation, not to mention the damage that they can do to the environment.

Prof Bradley, 58, who is from Surrey University, United Kingdom, said he could understand the Malaysian situation because “people all over the world generally fear anything that has to do with nuclear.”

What they did not know is that science and technology have developed and advanced so fast that “we know more about nuclear energy and we have much more sophisticated technology to ensure the safety of the nuclear power generation plant.”

With such a huge and growing industrial base, he said, nuclear power generation is an essential component of future supply of energy for Malaysia.

What people do not know, he said, is that the human body itself emits a low level of radiation, just like the environment. It is this fear and lack of knowledge that made people shy away or reject nuclear energy or anything that has to do with the word “nuclear”.

“Do you know that MRI (or Magnetic Resonance Imaging) was first called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging and they dropped the word ‘nuclear’ so that people can be comfortable using it in nuclear medicine,” he said.

“Ignorant is poverty,” he mused, noting that the first Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had once said that India’s poverty was tied to its lack of energy. But the Indian economy is booming today because it had nurtured and grown its own crop of nuclear scientists who are at the fore-front of their home-grown nuclear power generation industry, he said.

How Nuclear Power Plant Works....

Nuclear Energy

The sun and stars are seemingly inexhaustible sources of energy. That energy is the result of nuclear reactions, in which matter is converted to energy. We have been able to harness that mechanism and regularly use it to generate power. Presently, nuclear energy provides for approximately 16% of the world's electricity. Unlike the stars, the nuclear reactors that we have today work on the principle of nuclear fission. Scientists are working like madmen to make fusion reactors which have the potential of providing more energy with fewer disadvantages than fission reactors.

Production

Changes can occur in the structure of the nuclei of atoms. These changes are called nuclear reactions. Energy created in a nuclear reaction is called nuclear energy, or atomic energy. Nuclear energy is produced naturally and in man-made operations under human control.

• Naturally: Some nuclear energy is produced naturally. For example, the Sun and other stars make heat and light by nuclear reactions.
• Man-Made: Nuclear energy can be man-made too. Machines called nuclear reactors, parts of nuclear power plants, provide electricity for many cities. Man-made nuclear reactions also occur in the explosion of atomic and hydrogen bombs.
Nuclear energy is produced in two different ways, in one, large nuclei are split to release energy. In the other method, small nuclei are combined to release energy. For a more detailed look at nuclear fission and nuclear fusion, consult the nuclear physics page.
• Nuclear Fission: In nuclear fission, the nuclei of atoms are split, causing energy to be released. The atomic bomb and nuclear reactors work by fission. The element uranium is the main fuel used to undergo nuclear fission to produce energy since it has many favorable properties. Uranium nuclei can be easily split by shooting neutrons at them. Also, once a uranium nucleus is split, multiple neutrons are released which are used to split other uranium nuclei. This phenomenon is known as a chain reaction.

Fission of uranium 235 nucleus. Adapted from Nuclear Energy. Nuclear Waste*.
• Nuclear Fusion: In nuclear fusion, the nuclei of atoms are joined together, or fused. This happens only under very hot conditions. The Sun, like all other stars, creates heat and light through nuclear fusion. In the Sun, hydrogen nuclei fuse to make helium. The hydrogen bomb, humanity's most powerful and destructive weapon, also works by fusion. The heat required to start the fusion reaction is so great that an atomic bomb is used to provide it. Hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium and in the process release huge amounts of energy thus producing ahuge explosion.