Used fuel and depleted uranium worth trillions (Ken Kok, ASME) USofA

ENERGY COMMITTEE – ENERGY TALKING POINTS (ETP) SERIES

ETP 7: USED FUEL AND DEPLETED URANIUM WORTH TRILLIONS Issue: Since the 1940’s we have mined millions of tons of uranium ores. More than 90 percent of the uranium extracted from those ores remains as used nuclear fuel and depleted uranium. In the US, these materials have an energy content equivalent to 12 trillion barrels of oil and have a monetary value of $1,200 trillion when compared to oil at $100 per barrel. This resource can be used to fuel new nuclear power reactors, known as fast reactors. The asset value of these materials can be used as a basis for financing the development of the fast reactors and associated fuel cycle facilities.

HISTORY Since the 1940’s, the US has obtained millions of tons of uranium which has been extracted from ores mined at many locations around the world.

Extracting enriched uranium from this material has left 775,000 metric tons (MT) of depleted uranium (DU), and, the nuclear fuel cycle has left us with 65,000 metric tons of uranium in the form of used fuel (UF). Today, this material is considered “waste” and is awaiting permanent disposal.1 The mining of uranium ore containing 1% uranium oxide (U3O8) yields about 8.4 kg of uranium per metric ton of ore. The current fuel cycle for light water reactors consumes less that 0.5% of that uranium, leaving the remainder in UF from the reactors and the DU from the enrichment process.

URANIUM VALUE In order to find a value for the UF and DU fuel assets, the energy content is calculated using the factor that 1 gram of uranium yields 1 megawatt day of energy. The calculated energy content of the resource is compared to crude oil using a value of $100 per barrel. The result gives a value for the uranium exceeding $1,000 trillion.

UF

DU

Amount

MT

65,000

775,000

Energy Content

Btu

5.32E+18

6.35E+19

Oil Equivalent

Bbl

923 Billion

11,000 Billion

$92.3 Trillion

$1,100 Trillion

Value Base - Oil = $100/bbl

Argument can be made that since uranium is not used as a transportation energy source, determining its value based on comparing its Btu content to petroleum, as shown in the table above, may not be a valid way to assess its value.

Uranium is used in nuclear power plants to generate electricity and, therefore, as a fuel for power generation it is more akin to coal and natural gas.

For Public Release, 1/31/2013

1 of 2

When comparing uranium to coal and natural gas, the following assumptions are made: • • • • •

•

Coal cost is $2.40 per million Btu (EIA.gov 2011 average) Natural gas cost $3.67 per million Btu (EIA.gov 2011 average) Depleted uranium and used nuclear fuel asset value are devalued by a factor of 10% to cover fuel processing losses.

Conversion efficiency of uranium to electricity is 33%.

Conversion efficiency of coal to electricity is 35%.

Conversion efficiency of natural gas to electricity

is 45%.

The result, shown in the table below, shows a value for the uranium in excess of $100 trillion.

UF

DU

Amount

MT

65,000

775,000

Energy Content

Btu

5.32E+18

6.35E+19

Value Base - Coal = $2.40/106 Btu

$10.8 Trillion

$129 Trillion

Value Base - Natural Gas = $3.67/106 Btu

$12.9 Trillion

$154 Trillion

The value of the UF and DU has been demonstrated in the previous tables. These materials are treated as waste that will undergo permanent disposal.

URANIUM UTILIZATION The effective use of the UF and DU would provide the US with electric power for more than 1000 years.

The light water reactor technology currently planned or in operation uses less than 0.5% of the metallic uranium. While it is possible to burn reprocessed fuel in the light water reactors used for power generation today, the generation of power from these uranium resources will require the development and application of fast reactor technology for power generation. An effective fast reactor fuel cycle will eliminate the need for uranium enrichment and will effectively keep all of the generated transuranic

ENERGY COMMITTEE – ENERGY TALKING POINTS (ETP) SERIES materials such as plutonium in the nuclear fuel cycle.

Both of these facts ensure that the use of uranium for electricity production will not lead to nuclear weapon useable materials. It eliminates the long lived transuranic elements from the ultimate waste stream reducing the level of radioactivity of the waste to less than that of the original uranium in less than 300 years rather than 400,000 years if the transuranic elements are included.2 FAST REACTORS The key to effectively using all of the uranium and, at the same time, burning the transuranic elements produced in the reactor fuel is the commercial development of the fast reactor. The US has operated four sodium-cooled fast reactors, of which the EBRII was the most successful. EBR-II was designed as a prototype nuclear power system and included the electrical generation components.

It operated successfully for 30 years in Idaho.3 EBR-II was a pool type fast reactor. A pool type reactor has the reactor as well as the primary heat exchangers in a large pool. The operation of EBR-II resulted in the development of the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) concept. The IFR is an integrated system with a closed fuel cycle that includes fuel fabrication and fuel reprocessing, in addition to a sodium-cooled fast reactor producing electric power.

A goal of the IFR program was to develop a inherently safe reactor system. The result of the IFR program was a reactor concept that would passively deal with accidents with no damage to the reactor system. In addition, the metal fuel developed for the reactor was shown to be capable of high burn-up which allows long operating cycles.

REPROCESSING TECHNOLOGY The reprocessing technology developed in the IFR program is also unique. Reprocessing of commercial reactor fuels currently uses a wet chemical process which produces large volumes of waste. It also separates the plutonium in the used fuel as an independent product leading to safeguards related concerns.

LOGICAL PATH FORWARD With current reactor technologies in service, worldwide reasonably-assured uranium ore supply can sustain nuclear fleets for approximately 80 years.4 Using the considerable value remaining in existing depleted uranium resources, otherwise discarded, the domestic U.S. nuclear fuel supply would then be at least 1000 years.

When the IFR program was terminated in the 1990’s, the next proposed step was the construction and operation of a demonstration scale reactor and fuel processing facility, as authorized in the Energy For Public Release, 1/31/2013

2 of 2

Policy Act of 1992. Licensing and building such a demonstration is the logical next step.

A corporate entity or entities should be formed that takes title to both the depleted uranium and the available used fuel. The asset value of these materials would provide a basis for raising the funds required for such a venture without the need for government funding. The NRC should be charged with licensing the required facilities with the national laboratories supplying any special assistance to expedite the licensing process.

Use of private funding will allow this to be accomplished with little or no new federal funding obligations.

REFERENCES 1. ETP 4:An Energy Resource for Thousands of Years, http://files.asme.org/asmeorg/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRe lations/PositionStatements/30195.pdf 2. CANDU Fuel Waste Re-Used, Recycled, Eliminated: $45 Trillion of Carbon Free Electricity Via FastNeutron Reactors, Peter Ottensmeyer, Engineering Dimensions, July/August 2012 3. Plentiful Energy, The story of the Integral Fast Reactor, Charles E. Till and Yoon Il Chang, 2011 (Available at Amazon.com) 4. World Nuclear Association, Uranium Supply, http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf75.html

CONTRIBUTORS / PRINCIPAL REVIEWERS Kenneth Kok, ASME Fellow, P.E., Editor, Handbook of Nuclear Engineering (Lead Author) Joseph Falcon, PE, ASME Fellow, Pres. ASME, 1992-93 Arnold Feldman, ASME Energy Committee Conrad Ladd, PE, ASME Fellow, ASME Energy Comm.

Don Gimpel, Ph.D., ASME Energy Committee Mindy Grinnan, PE, ASME Energy Committee Richard H. Meeker, Jr., PE, Chair, ETP Working Group Steven Unikewicz, Chair, ASME Energy Committee Energy Talking Point (ETP) papers are produced and reviewed by the ASME Energy Committee to address fundamental questions that should be asked regarding the future of energy.

ASME, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, is a nonprofit, worldwide educational and technical society that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, career enrichment, and skills development across all engineering disciplines. Founded in 1880, ASME includes more than 120,000 members in over 140 countries.

It conducts one of the world's largest technical publishing operations, holds more than 30 technical conferences and 200 professional development courses each year, and sets some 600 industrial and manufacturing standards, some of which have become de facto global technical standards.

The Energy Committee of ASME’s Technical Communities comprises 40 members from 17 Divisions of ASME, representing approximately 40,000 of ASME’s members.

This public statement represents the views of the Energy Committee of ASME’s Knowledge and Community Sector. It does not necessarily represent the views of ASME as a whole.