Nuclear Energy :: essays research papers

Nuclear Energy Radioactive wastes, must for the protection of mankind be stored or disposed in much(prenominal) a manner that isolation from the biosphere is assured until they use up decayed to unobjectionable levels. If this is not d matchless, the world could face severe physical problems to victuals species living on this planet. Some atoms can disinteg site spontaneously. As they do, they emit ionizing radiation. Atoms having this plaza are called radioactive. By far the greatest number of uses for radioactivity in Canada relate not to the fission, but to the decay of radioactive materials - radioisotopes. These are rickety atoms that emit energy for a period of time that varies with the isotope. During this active period, mend the atoms are decaying to a stable state their energies can be utilize according to the kind of energy they emit. Since the mid 1900s radioactive wastes have been stored in different manners, but since several years new ways of disposing and stor ing these wastes have been developed so they may no longer be harmful. A very advantageous way of storing radioactive wastes is by a summons called vitrification. Vitrification is a semi-continuous process that enables the following operations to be carried out with the resembling equipment evaporation of the waste solution mixed with the borosilicate any of several salts derived from two boric acid and silicic acid and found in certain minerals such(prenominal) as tourmaline. additives necesary for the production of borosilicate glass, calcination and elaboration of the glass. These operations are carried out in a metallic pot that is heated in an induction furnace. The vitrification of one load of wastes comprises of the following stages. The first footstep is Feeding. In this step the vitrification receives a constant flow of mixture of wastes and of additives until it is 80% full of calcine. The feeding rate and heating power are adjusted so that an aqueous form of several litres is permanently maintained at the surface of the pot. The second step is the Calcination and glass evaporation. In this step when the pot is practically full of calcine, the temperature is increasingly increased up to 1100 to 1500 C and then is maintained for several hours so to allow the glass to elaborate. The third step is Glass casting. The glass is cast in a special container. The heating of the output of the vitrification pot causes the glass taxi to melt, thus allowing the glass to flow into containers which are then transferred into the storage.