New technologies reduce nuclear waste
Lehtikuva / Heikki Saukkomaa- As a result, many of the most long-lived radioactive substances could be used at new types of facilities, says Professor Riitta Kyrki-Rajamäki from Lappeenranta University of Technology.
Professor Kyrki-Rajamäki heads the New Type Nuclear Reactors -project which belongs to the Sustainable Energy Research Programme funded by the Academy of Finland. The new-generation reactors are very different from the existing light water reactors.
While the use of nuclear energy does not generate significant emissions of greenhouse gases or fine particles, the inexpensive uranium resources required for light water reactors will only last for the next 200 years. If the number of nuclear power plants increases, the resources will be depleted even faster. Currently, the units in operation are approximately 450, while 50 new ones are in the process of being built.
- The transition to new types of reactors over the next few decades would guarantee that the existing reserves of raw material for nuclear fuel can last for thousands of years to come, explains Professor Kyrki-Rajamäki.
Professor Kyrki-Rajamäki emphasizes that the new reactor concept would present many challenges because no compromise must be made on reactor safety. For one thing, the new plants would make use of different new materials, which would have to be tested for their durability.
The participants in the New Type Nuclear Reactors –project are Lappeenranta University of Technology, Helsinki University of Technology and the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT.
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