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The more interesting climate advantage of nuclear power is it can be used directly in manufacturing, for example in creating steel (which represents 8% of GHG e
by slymon99 6y ago
The more interesting climate advantage of nuclear power is it can be used directly in manufacturing, for example in creating steel (which represents 8% of GHG emissions). You can't make steel with electricity - the current strategy involves essentially setting a bunch of oil on fire on top of the requisite components (you can tell I'm not actually an industrial engineer, but steel generation is very not green).
However, you could harness the heat from a nuclear plant directly (instead of using it to create steam and drive turbines) to create steel. This has been discussed for decades[1], but modern improvements in nuclear technology could make it a reality
[1]: https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:8341064 https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:8341064
- philipkglass 6y agoFrom your link: "The most promising concept is a High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Nuclear Reactor heating helium to a temperature sufficient to steam reform hydrocarbons into reducing gases for the direct reduction of iron ores." That still consumes fossil hydrocarbons. Hydrogen can substitute for hydrocarbons in the production of direct reduced iron from iron ore. "Assessment of hydrogen direct reduction for fossil-free steelmaking" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618326301 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095965261... Hydrogen can of course be produced cleanly from nuclear power. But it's questionable if nuclear-derived hydrogen will be cheaper than other clean hydrogen sources.