holy smoke, China announces breakthrough in Nuke Tech, solving Uranium supply issue forever. Options

[KJK]

China 'in nuclear power advance'
By Michael Bristow

China has developed its own technologies that will enable it to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, state television has reported.



China has developed its own technologies that will enable it to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, state television has reported.

The country has launched an ambitious programme to build a number of new nuclear power stations.

This latest breakthrough could provide fuel for those plants for years to come.

Chinese scientists have apparently been working on this technology for 24 years.

State television says they have now perfected a procedure that will allow them to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.

It is a complex and costly procedure but the recycled material can be used again to fuel nuclear power stations.

China is not the first country to develop its own reprocessing facilities. France, Britain and India are just three countries that already have their own operations.

But this breakthrough will have major implications in China.

The country is building a number of new nuclear power plants in an effort to diversify its energy sources.

At the moment it mostly relies on coal. This latest development could help its nuclear power programme.

State television says the country currently has enough known uranium for at most 70 years.

It claims this new process could mean that supply will now last for 3,000 years.

[Suijen]

3000 years theoretically or realistically?

[ClassicalMusic]

That's great because coal is too polluting for China.

[Elysee]

3000 year reich

[ktoast]

As always with the matter of nuclear waste - how should we dispose of it?

[LittleDeathAngel]

That's great because coal is too polluting for China.

Coal burning is harmful everywhere, not just in China.

The only reason people continue to use coal is because coal is cheap and there is an abundant supply of it.

This post has been edited by LittleDeathAngel: Jan 3 2011, 02:58 PM

[Hugham]

I read in the newspaper it's a joint-cooperation with France company.

[Mid-Night_Sun]

another source.

Scientific breakthrough may solve uranium supply problem at nuclear plants
Reuters in Beijing
Jan 04, 2011
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Scientists have made a breakthrough in spent fuel reprocessing technology that could potentially solve the mainland's uranium supply problem.

The technology, developed and tested at the No 404 Factory of the China National Nuclear Corp in the Gobi desert in remote Gansu province, enables the re-use of irradiated fuel. It is able to boost the usage rate of uranium materials at nuclear plants by 60 times.

"With the new technology, China's existing detected uranium resources can be used for 3,000 years," Central Television reported.

China, as well as France, Britain and Russia, actively supports reprocessing to manage highly radioactive spent fuel and as a source of fissile material for future nuclear fuel supply. But independent scientists argued that commercial application of nuclear fuel reprocessing has always been hindered by cost, technology, proliferation risk and safety challenges.

The mainland has 171,400 tonnes of proven uranium resources spread mainly across eight provinces - Jiangxi , Guangdong, Hunan , Xinjiang , Shaanxi , Inner Mongolia , Liaoning and Yunnan . It is planning a push into nuclear power in an effort to wean itself off coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.

It now has 12 working reactors with 10.15 gigawatts of total generating capacity. It has set an official target of 40 gigawatts (GW) of installed nuclear generating capacity by 2020.

But the government indicated it could double the goal to about 80 GW as faster expansion was a way of achieving emissions reduction goals.

China would need to source more than 60 per cent of the uranium needed for its nuclear power plants from overseas by 2020, even if the country moved forward with a modest nuclear expansion plan, researchers said.


http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menui...hina&s=News

This post has been edited by Mid-Night_Sun: Jan 3 2011, 04:28 PM

[foi2]

Amazing achievement. The US falls farther and farther behind with each passing day, and this is further proof for the continued rise of China.

Just look at the engineering and technological achievements just in the past 5 years.

1) Putting astronauts in space
2) Building High speed trains
3) Ability to design and build Stealth fighters, carriers
4) buildings constructed in 6 days
5) Coordination of huge, technologically complex events like the Beijing Olympics and the Asian games
6) World's faster supercomputer
7) World's fastest growing market
8) highest scores on the PISA
9) and now this... Nuclear fuel reprocessing tech

Taken by itself, this nuclear fuel reprocessing technology may not mean much, but taken together along with all the points above, I think you'd have to be blind to not know that China's coming up in a big way on all aspects of technology.

Incidentally, this is also the reason why I say it's stupid to make an enemy of China. Seriously, you'd have to be a pretty dim idiot to make an enemy out of a nation like this. This goes for all nations, not only Japan, but US as well (doesn't apply to Korea though, because Koreans own the universe).

I just hope there's a peaceful solution to Chinese territorial disputes. Once that's settled, then I think the East Asian region will again be a center of progress and commerce, like the way it was before the 16th century.

This post has been edited by foi2: Jan 3 2011, 07:49 PM

[samnang]

good news for everyone on the planet, really. anything to help get away form fossil fuels.

[Shenzhou]

Amazing achievement. The US falls farther and farther behind with each passing day, and this is further proof for the continued rise of China.

Just look at the engineering and technological achievements just in the past 5 years.

1) Putting astronauts in space
2) Building High speed trains
3) Ability to design and build Stealth fighters, carriers
4) buildings constructed in 6 days
5) Coordination of huge, technologically complex events like the Beijing Olympics and the Asian games
6) World's faster supercomputer
7) World's fastest growing market
8) highest scores on the PISA
9) and now this... Nuclear fuel reprocessing tech

Taken by itself, this nuclear fuel reprocessing technology may not mean much, but taken together along with all the points above, I think you'd have to be blind to not know that China's coming up in a big way on all aspects of technology.

Incidentally, this is also the reason why I say it's stupid to make an enemy of China. Seriously, you'd have to be a pretty dim idiot to make an enemy out of a nation like this. This goes for all nations, not only Japan, but US as well (doesn't apply to Korea though, because Koreans own the universe).

I just hope there's a peaceful solution to Chinese territorial disputes. Once that's settled, then I think the East Asian region will again be a center of progress and commerce, like the way it was before the 16th century.

I agree with you!

This post has been edited by Shenzhou: Jan 3 2011, 08:24 PM

[InitialDJay]

As always with the matter of nuclear waste - how should we dispose of it?

bury underground?

[ktoast]

bury underground?

China has a lot of earthquakes. Is it safe to bury radioactive waste underground if the land is prone to violent tremors? Hmm. I think another option is paying countries to have the waste (I imagine the poorer countries would be a little more desperate).

[ktoast]

double post.

This post has been edited by ktoast: Jan 4 2011, 08:47 AM

[ClassicalMusic]

Was this an orchestrated hoax to bring down the cost of uranium.

[Junzi]

China has a lot of earthquakes. Is it safe to bury radioactive waste underground if the land is prone to violent tremors? Hmm. I think another option is paying countries to have the waste (I imagine the poorer countries would be a little more desperate).

Yup, let the US have it. I knew, they have the Grand Canyon and the massive desert for a reason.

This post has been edited by Junzi: Jan 4 2011, 09:58 AM

[InitialDJay]

China has a lot of earthquakes. Is it safe to bury radioactive waste underground if the land is prone to violent tremors? Hmm. I think another option is paying countries to have the waste (I imagine the poorer countries would be a little more desperate).

it is very unlikely for earthquake to break apart the land surface. if that the case, it takes an extreme earthquake with a very weak surface crust.

paying other country to store radioactive waste is too economically expensive that probably costs more to store than to produce it.

[Suijen]

it is very unlikely for earthquake to break apart the land surface. if that the case, it takes an extreme earthquake with a very weak surface crust.

paying other country to store radioactive waste is too economically expensive that probably costs more to store than to produce it.

You can pay poor countries to take it and then just take the yelling out you'll get from NGO groups. I still like the idea of just hurling things into the sun with a giant Mao shaped railgun.

[Wocaonimagatts]

Amazing achievement. The US falls farther and farther behind with each passing day, and this is further proof for the continued rise of China.

Just look at the engineering and technological achievements just in the past 5 years.

1) Putting astronauts in space
2) Building High speed trains
3) Ability to design and build Stealth fighters, carriers
4) buildings constructed in 6 days
5) Coordination of huge, technologically complex events like the Beijing Olympics and the Asian games
6) World's faster supercomputer
7) World's fastest growing market
8) highest scores on the PISA
9) and now this... Nuclear fuel reprocessing tech

Taken by itself, this nuclear fuel reprocessing technology may not mean much, but taken together along with all the points above, I think you'd have to be blind to not know that China's coming up in a big way on all aspects of technology.

Incidentally, this is also the reason why I say it's stupid to make an enemy of China. Seriously, you'd have to be a pretty dim idiot to make an enemy out of a nation like this. This goes for all nations, not only Japan, but US as well (doesn't apply to Korea though, because Koreans own the universe).

I just hope there's a peaceful solution to Chinese territorial disputes. Once that's settled, then I think the East Asian region will again be a center of progress and commerce, like the way it was before the 16th century.

talk sense