Fuel Resources Research and Development
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Transcript of Fuel Resources Research and Development
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Fuel Resources Research and Development
Robert R. PriceDirector, Office of Systems Engineering and IntegrationFuel Cycle Technologies Program13 October 2010Boston, MA
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Welcome
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Fuel Resources
Boston has History,…
October 13, 2010
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Fuel Resources
Arts and Architecture,…
October 13, 2010
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Education,…
January 11, 2010
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Fuel Resources
Cuisine,…
October 13, 2010
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Systems Engineering and Integration
Sports, and…
January 11, 2010
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Systems Engineering and Integration
a unique dialect.
January 11, 2010
Boston English is a dialect of American English spoken in the city of Boston, Massachusetts and much of eastern Massachusetts. The Boston accent and closely related accents can be heard commonly in an area stretching into much of Massachusetts, New England ...
www.bu.edu/mfeldman/Boston/wicked.html
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Systems Engineering and Integration
Now to the business at hand
January 11, 2010
Fuel Resources Research and Development
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Questions persist on sustainability of nuclear energy
“A global shortage of uranium could
jeopardise plans to build a new
generation of nuclear power stations
in Britain. “ Angela Jameson, 15 Aug 2005 in
Uranium shortage poses threat, The Times
“The supply of uranium has already reached its peak, in 1981... As a result, about a quarter of nuclear power plants could be forced to shut down within a decade because of a lack of fuel.” Michael Meacher, 7 June 2006, in On the Road to Ruin, The Guardian
“Uranium, the fuel of
choice for nuclear power
plants is a finite resource
that is becoming in short
supply.” Gerson Lehrman
Group, 23 April 2007 in Uranium
Scarcity Raising Questions about
Expanding Nuclear Power
“The analysis of data on uranium
resources leads to the
assessment that discovered
reserves are not sufficient to
guarantee the uranium supply for
more than thirty years.” Energy
Watch Group, Dec 2006 in Uranium
Resources and Nuclear Energy
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“Fuel Resource Exploration and Mining – The availability of fuel resources for each potential fuel cycle and reactor deployment scenario must be understood… involvement in this area would be R&D to support investigation of long-term, ‘game-changing’ approaches such as recovering uranium from seawater.”
Fuel Resources Campaign
Fuel Resources Mission Identify and implement actions to assure that economic
nuclear fuel resources remain available in the United States.
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Fuel Resources Campaign Scope of Work
Resource ExplorationWhy? • Low prices and U.S. industry structure provides little opportunity for R&D • Exploration is time consuming and costly
Benefits• Improved discovery techniques could increase resource base• Evaluate for potential future R&D opportunities through workshops
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Fuel Resources Campaign Scope of Work
Resource EstimationWhy?• U.S. baseline resource estimate is over 30 years old (NURE ca 1980s)• Estimates only first generation• Considerable new exploration since 2001• Current resource estimation tools do not utilize advances in HPC •Can we learn from other commodities?
Benefits• A revised estimate is fundamental to defining long-term sustainability (how much is there?)• Reduce time and cost of defining ore bodies
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Fuel Resources Campaign Scope of Work
Resource Extraction Why?• Unconventional resources represent vast potential sources of nuclear fuel• High costs of production limit their usefulness
Benefits• Eliminate concerns about long-term sustainability of nuclear energy• Create an upper bound on resource cost
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Fuel Resources Campaign Strategy
Exploration Estimation
Extraction
ResourceAssurance
• Focus on R&D related to U and Th fuel resources• Long-term, high-risk R&D• Science-based• Goal-oriented• Peer reviewed• Multidisciplinary team approach • Create university-based Center(s) of Excellence
Program Goal:To double the seawater U sorption capacity of the current best-in-class adsorbents (Japanese system) in three years.
Because of its enormous potential, extraction from seawater will receive priority attention
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0.0010.010.111010010000
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Redbook Identified
Redbook Specula-tive
Phosphates (Co-Product)
Phosphates (Primary)
Seawater
Uranium Grade [wppm U]
Estim
ated
Ave
rage
Pro
ducti
on C
ost
[$ /
kgU
]
1010010000
50
100
150
200
250
300
Uranium Grade [wppm U]
Est.
Avg
. Pro
d. C
ost [
$ /
kgU
]
Why Focus on Uranium from Seawater?
“I conclude that ocean extraction of uranium would turn today’s once-through reactors into a “sustainable” option – assuming that the uranium reactors can cover the energy cost of the ocean extraction process.” David JC MacKaySustainable Energy - without the hot air
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Fuel Resources
Meeting Objective
Bring together world-class expertsEvaluate state of the art in uranium exploration, estimation and
extraction technologies Identify R&D opportunities and needs suitable for federal
investment
October 13, 2010
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Summary
Fuel Resources Campaign begun in FY10 Campaign organized around three major components
· Exploration, Estimation, ExtractionStrategy is to implement a science-based, goal-oriented programExtraction of U from seawater is primary near-term focus
· Learn from the Japanese experience· Rapid, significant improvement is program objective
Meeting objective is to bring together world-class experts to evaluate state of the art in uranium exploration, estimation and extraction technologies and identify R&D opportunities and needs suitable for federal investment