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> Nuclear power is a zero emissions source of power. That's not exactly true, apart from mining for example the construction of a reactor building requires hug
by jnxx 6y ago
> Nuclear power is a zero emissions source of power.
That's not exactly true, apart from mining for example the construction of a reactor building requires huge amounts of concrete. Also, mined uranium needs to enriched by centrifuges before it becomes usable, which is a process that requires a lot of energy.
- pfdietz 6y agoCentrifuge enrichment is actually quite energy efficient, using just 2% of the energy of enrichment by gaseous diffusion.
- jnxx 6y agoThat diffusion isn't efficient is not surprising as it's an almost purely entropy-generating process. But does centrifuge enrichment not use still, in absolute terms, a large amount of energy? Looking at the EROEI numbers of different enrichment levels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EROEI#EROEI_and_payback_periods_of_some_types_of_power_plants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EROEI#EROEI_and_payback_period...
- pfdietz 6y agoYour link shows it's a trivial amount of energy compared to what the reactor will produce. As a criticism of nuclear it's a non-starter.