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What are the advantages and disadvantages of the breeder reactors and regular nuclear reactors?
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
You are asking for a lot in one question! For thermal reactors there are replies available. Ask 'What are the advantages of nuclear fission power' and see the reply, there is also in the links section another reply to 'What are the disadvantages of nuclear fission power', so there is no need to repeat these.
Reactors specially designed for breeding are aimed at either producing plutonium from uranium 238, or uranium 233 from thorium. Various theoretical designs are possible, the difficulties are in the practical engineering, and of course the fuel separation which would be required to obtain the bred fuel. The most used design so far is the liquid metal (sodium or sodium/potassium mixture) fast reactor, which can breed plutonium from fast neutron capture in uranium 238. A fast reactor, that is one where the neutrons from fission are not slowed down by a moderator, is going to breed more Pu than a thermal one (with a moderator). Therefore water reactors are not suitable, as water moderates neutrons. If you know about chemistry, you will know how reactive sodium is, and if it is hot it is even more so, so it is potentially dangerous although the liquid metal does not have to be pressurised. But it has to circulate through heat exchangers to give its energy up to a steam/water circuit for power generation, so any leak there will result in water ingress to the reactor.
I think that at present there is no great incentive to press ahead with breeders, as PWR and BWR designs have been developed to be reliable workhorses and there is no shortage of uranium for enrichment. This could change in the future and breeders could come back, but mostly the impetus has gone, prototypes have been shutdown and building programs have been abandoned, though theoretical studies continue in some countries. India seems to be interested in the thorium cycle, but again I wonder if this will become reality, especially now with the US-India deal for co-operation, which will I expect deliver US water reactor technology to India.
To learn more see Wikipedia 'Fast Breeder Reactors', and also Dounreay PFR
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
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How are breeder reactors different from regular nuclear reactors?
A breeder reactor generates (in a way) new fuel, sometimes more fuel than it uses, by converting non-fissionable isotopes into fissionable isotopes, through neutron capture.
What are some advantages and disadvantages of nuclear reactors?
ADVANTAGES 1. releases large amounts of energy from small amounts of mass 2. very efficient 3. fuel lasts a long time 4. convert nuclear energy into thermal energy DISADVANTAGES 1. they are very expensive 2. they are hard to keep up 3. the waste is hard to get rid of
How widely is nuclear energy used?
There are 104 operating nuclear reactors in the US and at least 400 world wide.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear weapons?
I hate nuclear weapons. There are only disadvantages. Ever heard of Chernobyl? Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Sellafield? Three Mile Island, a.k.a Harrisburg? Nukes suck! So many poor babies born with birth defects due to idiotic humans! Ugg! Thanks for ur Q though! :-)
What is the Robug III?
It is a robot that is used in radioactive areas and can carry over 200lbs. it is used to remove nuclear reactors.
What are advantages and disadvantages of nuclear and breeder reactors?
You can't compare and contrast nuclear reactors and breeder reactors, any more than you can compare a lion with a mammal. A lion is one example of many mammals; a breeder reactor is just one example of many types of nuclear reactor.
Are there more fast breeder or thermal nuclear reactors?
Most nuclear reactors are thermal-neutron reactors. A few fast breeder reactors have been built, but not many.
Does a breeder nuclear reactor use moderator?
Thermal Breeder Reactors use moderators but Fast Breeder Reactors don't use moderator.
How are breeder reactors and nuclear reactor different?
The breeder reactor produce more fissile fuel than what is consumed while this is not the case for other nuclear reactors.
What are their advantages and disadvantages of Nuclear and Breeder Reactors?
You can't compare and contrast nuclear reactors and breeder reactors, any more than you can compare a lion with a mammal. A lion is one example of many mammals; a breeder reactor is just one example of many types of nuclear reactor.
What is the same between nuclear and breeder reactors?
They all use nuclear fission
Is plutonium produced only in breeder reactors?
No, plutonium is obtained in all the types of nuclear reactors.
How are breeder reactors different from regular nuclear reactors?
A breeder reactor generates (in a way) new fuel, sometimes more fuel than it uses, by converting non-fissionable isotopes into fissionable isotopes, through neutron capture.
Is thorium used in nuclear reactors?
Not as fuel, but it can be used in breeder reactors as breeding material to make fissile Uranium-233.
Does nuclear reactors and breeder reactors have any similarities?
They're mostly the same, except that nuclear reactors aimed at breeding more fissile material use expensive primary coolant instead of cheap water.
What are the advantages and disadvantages in having a natural nuclear reactor?
natural nuclear reactors are not possible now as the concentration of fissionable Uranium-235 in unenriched natural Uranium ore is too low.
What are the three main advantages of a fusion reactor compared to a fission reactor?
Nuclear fusion reactors do not exist yet as we don't know how to build them. All nuclear reactors are nuclear fission reactors.
