Greening of Nuclear - Fission Energy

Опубликовано 28 июля 2016, 22:48

Nuclear Energy will have to be a major component of any carbon-Free energy mix that must be created in order to effectively fight global warming. As it is, nuclear energy, though a very reliable and industrially successful technology has two fundamental problems- The biohazard of the long-lived nuclear waste and an eventual inadequacy of fissile fuel if nuclear energy were called upon to substitute coal power for base-load electricity. Here is a technically sound, affordable and near term solution to both of these crippling problems so that nuclear energy can become both green and plentiful. This solution to, perhaps, one of the most pertinent of human problems, must be of interest to anyone and everyone. A combination of nuclear fusion-a copious source of neutron production, and nuclear fission (a tried and tested commercial industry) can lead to an energy economy that is sustainable, environmentally safe, and proliferation resistant. Nuclear fusion, though not likely to be a source of direct energy for any foreseeable future, can be harnessed as a neutron source to cure two fundamental “sins” of nuclear fission- it can destroy (producing energy in the process) the so called nuclear waste, and it can, by efficiently breeding fissionable fuel, sustain the nuclear industry for any imaginable time. An architectural plan for a Fusion Fission Hybrid, in which an intense compact, modular and removable fusion neutron source drives a highly subcritical fission reactor, will be presented. A host of scientific and technical challenges had to be met through several new ideas innovations for the University of Texas group to fuse two extremely complicated technologies in a harmonious union. The scientific essence of these inventions will be explained. Fusion Fission Hybridization may be our best if not the only weapon to fight the menace of impending global warming in the world of increasing energy demands.