23-10-2008, 03:01 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Wollongong
Posts: 3,821
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnH
... complete baloney...
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Hmmm ... OK, those figures look convincing. I pass them on to my 'trusted' friend. Perhaps he has some more smallgoods for me. 
Another point with nuclear power I wonder about is the production of the fuel. Of course coal and uranium are both mined but that is about the end of the similarities. Coal is needed in vast amounts but there is virtually no processing after mining because coal seams are nearly 100% coal and coal 'washing' is simple. Uranium is needed in much smaller amounts but it requires considerable processing to go from ore to fuel rods. The best ore is 70% uranium oxide but commercial-grade ores can be as low as 0.1% uranium oxide. Processing can involve leaching with acids or alkalies, or electrolysis, or heating (or a combination of those). So for each technology, how much of the energy extracted and recovered is required to produce and transport the fuel?
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