This could bring us one step closer to nuclear fusion. This is huge. Lets hope environmentalists actually support this, because it makes nuclear power far more safer and more powerful.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060929/sc_nm/utilities_nuclear_fuel_dcNEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have designed a reactor fuel that they believe can make nuclear power plants 50 percent more powerful and safer, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said.
Researchers say their new technology should be ready for commercial use in existing reactors in about 10 years.
In a nuclear reactor, the fission of uranium atoms provides heat used to produce steam for generating electricity.
Already, one pickup truck full of uranium fuel in a nuclear reactor can supply a city with enough electricity for a year. The MIT scientists believe they have found a way to make the fuel go even further, boosting output by about 50 percent.Uranium fuel typically is formed into cylindrical ceramic pellets about half-inch in diameter. The pellets look like a smooth, black version of food pellets for small animals.
Pavel Hejzlar and Mujid Kazimi of MIT recently completed a three-year project for the U.S.
Department of Energy, along with scientists from Westinghouse and other companies. The researchers looked at how to make fuel for pressurized water reactors more efficient while maintaining safety margins.
About two-thirds of the 103 reactors operating in the United States are pressurized, using high pressure to prevent the water from boiling.
The scientists changed the shape of the fuel from solid cylinders to hollow tubes, adding surface area that allowed water to flow inside and outside the pellets, increasing heat transfer.
The new fuel design also is much safer because it reaches an operating temperature of about 700 degrees Celsius, much lower than 1,800 degrees for conventional fuel and further from the 2,840 degrees melting point for uranium fuel.
