@@YourFriendlyNuclearPhysicist Greetings Madam Elina. Congrats for your well done video. If we stack UN pellets in a lead pipe, to contain the radiation, would the pipe be a permanent heat source?
@@SteinsRealityIndeed. 🤣 Jokes aside, congrats and congrats by proxy. It's a fascinating field... I am too far in the "ifyaskeerd" crowd to want to play with it directly... but over the years I've realized I could have handled it... if it weren't for the pesky visibility problem. Opened up a smoke detector once and willied myself out, knowing (and learning even more insight later) that it couldn't do anything to me unless I *really* wanted it to... But big props to the people that get in there with it and work on figuring it out. It's the way... the only practical large scale base load way. We need this stuff.
I noticed the "No stupid people beyond this point" sign on your thumbnail. How do you expect to get more government funding when you won't let 90% of them into your lab? ;-) In all seriousness though, it's so good to see ongoing practical research and development into nuclear fission going on. Really enjoyed this video.
"Those" people are taken in to the break room kitchen where the toaster, espresso maker, etc. are all re-labeled. Some sugar cubes and aquarium charcoal are waved around and the Funding People are led out to have dairy free doughnuts and gluten free almond "milk".
Carbon 14 is produced by fast neutrons and cosmic rays impacting nitrogen atoms. It's also known as "bomb carbon." Would C-14 be an issue for reprocessing UN type reactor fuel?
I'm so glad you guys are creating a much more safer place to work if there is a melt down always stay safe, amazing video by the way love it thank you for sharing🙏
I never considered all the chemistry involved in nuclear physics. I assume there's a lot more chemistry and material science involved in reactor design that I had also never thought about. Thanks for the lesson!
As always, thank you for the video. I don't know anything about nuclear fission, so I appreciate you sharing your expertise with us. Yes, please make more videos on the work you do there in the lab. I hope you have a wonderful New Year! Thanks!
Elina do you know about Silex approach to uranium enrichment using lasers there is a lot of talk but no concrete results like the separation factor . The Americans used AVLIS and it had promising results the issue of using metallic uranium meaning very high temperatures used and the AVLIS unit breaking down after 400 hours of usage and constantly replacing components. The separation factor for AVLIS was around 6 to 10 were as centrifuges only has 1.5 .
Such a cool inside look at fuel fabrication! I was wondering if the same process can be used to produce thorium nitride? Or plutonium nitride in the case of recycled fuel?
You can use a similar setup for both thorium and plutonium. For the latter one would need to install it inside a hot call due to increased radiation. I have worked with nitriding thorium before and it works even though thermodynamically one would need to adjust the temperature reactions and holding time.
@YourFriendlyNuclearPhysicist For plutonium you really don't need much of a hot cell, actual 4.5kg chunks of metal are machined in ordinary polycarbonate glove boxes. Mostly the metal is stupidly reactive, similar to cerium used in cigarette lighter flints to make it give hot sparks. Also it's a lot more toxic due to its strong alpha emissions. A trivalant nitride fuel of U, Th and just enough Pu to make it spicy would have a very long plateau region in its burnup curve. The Pu would be a start up aid, and the U abd Th would react in both the fast spectrum and transmute in the slow spectrum to more fissile isotopes. Add a little berylliumto it and it would be self starting operate well in very small reactors for space probes and such..A lot of nath would be needed to find the sweet spot though.❤
It's easy to see you were boiling over with anticipation to finally talk about your own research! You clearly enjoyed it, and so did I. Thanks for again enlightening us. It was very clear and easy to follow, and to understand why you do and research the things you do. Also, I think your step counter will show you have reached your goal of 10k steps today, you were practically dancing of joy! 😊 Also a but surprised you are allowed to go in to so much detail. Then again, I guess the challenge is not so much in the theory, but more in how the sauce is made. Also, how much energy does it take to convert the start products into the end pellet, and how does that relate to the energy efficiency you get in return? Do you get more net energy out of the initial resources? Or is the benefit more about safety and logistics etc. ?
If you're making a reduced moderation water reactor, you would have a better fuel to moderator ratio with the improved density. Likewise, an increased fuel heat conductivity would allow you make wider fuel elements, providing you with an opportunity to make a fuel bundle consisting of fuel rods with different diameters, reducing the amount of water further.
My guess with UN in fast reactors is has to do with the release of nitrogen and reaction into n2 an inert gas, rather than off-gasing 02, which might mean significantly less risk of flames or more extreme unwanted reactions, giving the ability to hold the uranium at a higher temperature.
It's more a factor of as mentioned the higher uranium density/ molecule, also the somewhat higher density/ cm^3. Because neutron leakage is a big problem in fast reactors due to fast neutrons having low chances to interact.
My guess on why UN is better for fast reactors is: Since there is no moderator in a fast spectrum reactor, you want a larger percentage of uranium in the reactor to increase fission probability.
@@Angl0sax0nknight they _can_ be used for that purpose if designed and operated to do so and combined with a suitable purification process, but fast reactors have many advantages in terms of safety, efficiency, waste reduction, and fuel flexibility (including being able to consume the "spent" fuel of conventional reactors).
@@Angl0sax0nknight Any type of reactor can make Pu239 or any other type of transuranic elements. They are called fast because the neutrons are not slowed down (moderated) with water, heavy water, or graphite. When you slow neutrons down, believe it or not it results in more collisions (fissions). Fast reactors require more highly enriched U (higher % of U235) to compensate for no moderator.
@@soundsoflife9549 That is really more of an Elina question, but I assume you mean the nitrogen vs oxygen atoms in each compound. She said UN allows the entire pellet to heat equally. If the inside of the pellet does not heat equally, it will crack sooner, become inefficient, and have to be removed. In moderated (thermal) reactors, this happens about every 1.5 years. Evidentially, UN can stay in the reactor longer which decreases the frequency of downtime for refueling (less electricity equals less money). Also, by being only 50% U and 50% N, there is more fissionable U235 in each pellet. She uses natural uranium which consists of .7% U235 and 98.3% U238. You want more U235 in each pellet because that is the fissionable isotope of uranium. And fast spectrum reactors need more highly enriched uranium than thermal reactors to work effectively since they have no moderator to slow down the neutrons to increase the probability of collisions (fissions). In U02, the extra oxygen atoms take up space that uranium can be occupying.
What morphological characteristics are you looking for? which ones do you want or don't want & why? What are the properties of uranium carbide are they comparable to the nitride? Which one would you get with pyrolysis of uranium cyanide if either? How do you make the hydride? And how many of these pellets would I need if I wanted to make my own RTG? Or do I have to go get plutonium or strontium?
Very interesting to see a video about your research. Hoping to see more. With regards, to your question, and this is just a wild guess. Could it be that the O isotopes absorb some of the free protons and the N isotopes don’t perhaps?
My guess for why the higher density works better for fast reactors: it slows the neutrons down more efficiently and there is a higher chance of fission in the fuel. When you were talking about the thermal properties of the fuel, I got to wondering how the optimal diameter of the fuel pellets is determined? You didn't elaborate much on it but I assume that UN has a higher thermal conductivity than UO2. If more heat transfer is needed to keep the pellets from melting, wouldn't it be better to make the diameter smaller so that the ratio of surface area to volume is larger for more heat transfer? Or is there a manufacturing limit on the size of the pellets?
UN is about 30% denser than UO2, which means for fast neutrons a shorter mean free path in UN than UO2. The fast or faster neutron fission capability in the same volume means reducing the necessity for moderators, which thermalize fast neutrons to the lower energies where fission is more probable. Higher density UN also means better thermal conductivity so easier to cool down, and less core melt-down probabilities, meaning lower risks. All in all, quite a few advantages but a smaller core redesign necessity, different moderator thermodynamics, different pressure gradients in the cooling fluid, different cooling speeds, reaction cycles, reactor vessel redesign, pumping redesign, etc, etc. Huge effort but likely worth the effort if, as we see today, lots of countries will adopt nuclear power solutions. Needless to say, weapons production and design will also benefit from higher percentages of U available in UN for Pu production. All this has probably already been simulated, but the higher availability of UN fuel is a new info, which renders a new energy production alternative viable and… enviable.
So, you have the final unenriched form to play with, but currently no way to get enriched uranium into the final form? I would be curious how the waste products behave in the N pellets.
It should be chemically identical. The only difference is all of this would need to be done in facilities that handle the hot materials. She's not concerned with radiation here.
As for product behavior, who knows. I've always wondered what exactly happens to a molecule when one element within it suddenly becomes something else... I think that's the reason they use these oxides and nitride etc is because the bonds are very strong with these... oxygen and nitrogen are quite reactive and they probably are going on the idea that everything that forms has an oxide, nitride... fluoride... see the pattern here?
@@MadScientist267 Over time the pellets crack I believe. This is interesting though. The neutron cross section for Nitrogen is about 10 barns for thermal neutrons, and only 0.0002 barns for Oxygen. This makes me wonder how the fuel will behave in a reactor.
@@putinscat1208Yeah I was thinking about that more and didn't account for gas formation, thinking "a textbook spent rod should have dust inside it when it's done"... I know it doesn't otherwise "swell" (mass is lost after all)... the whatever-ide involved is intended I suppose as simply a "practical stable carrier", an immobilizer. In theory you could get all of this to happen with the metals but it's much harder to control, not to mention extract heat from. The more compact result means more heat in a smaller space... she's saying this has higher heat resistance and nitrides check out there lol... but the entire time I'm still sorta left wondering why would we actually need to compact this more... fuel rods are already these scrawny things that pale in comparison to everything else happening around the actual reaction... and thermal runaways have a bit of propensity here... there's a need to shrink this down further and push margins? I'm not saying an RBMK was the best design or anything... but the idea of "just throw a whole bunch of Uranium in there" is... the way to go. At those scales, built maintained and operated correctly of course, does it really matter how dense your fuel rods are? Edit: I know little on things like cross section and all of that... I'm aware of glossary level definitions and have all the basic ideas more or less understood, but in depth... not so much lol
Very good video... Absolutely, please show us more. Since this is out of my field, it will be very informational anuthing you can show. I would love to see it all. And one personal request if I may, your lab coat with the purpule gloves suits you very well, you look lovely in it. Could you do the evil scientist laugh for us please? Maybe also with the protective glases...
Can you make videos of all the nuclear power things? Like, all the different reactor types, Their different Pros and Cons, safety, what happens in an emergency.
Thanks 👍. I'm hardly smart enough to understand these concepts fully. However, I really do appreciate your bringing this information to the ytube world. I appreciate your energy, smarts and joy. I hope that before too long small nuclear reactors are rather common. Installed in rural areas and so on. Would definitely steer us away from current destructive energy production and allow us to concentrate on solving the most basic human problems in earnest (like lack of real education, hunger, access to clean water, irresponsible parenting...)
Would you not be better creating the nitride from hex? At some point there will need to be an enrichment process and we have to turn the natural yellowcake first into the oxide and then fluorinate with anhydrous HF. Hex is the traded form of U which is then turned into uranyl nitrate liquor before re oxidation to produce the pellets. Also, sintered UO2 pellets have to be sintered molybdenum or tungsten furnace boats. Don't forget we will be making a lot of fuel pellets , many tonnes.
Whats reator will use this? There are only 2 projects(under construction) in Russia: BREST-300 and BN-1200. I mean it's useful only for the big fast reactors or maybe lead(+bismuth) reactors.
I work with natural uranium, therefore 0.7% of U235. The commercial nitride fuel will have an enrichment around 10% for fast reactors compared to 3-5% enrichment in UO2 for water reactors
I understand the thermal properties argument for UN, but core loading isn't really about trying to cram as much Uranium into a space as possible for typical reactors so I'm guessing this has small reactors or modular or micro reactors in mind?
*A Day in the Life of a Nuclear Physicist: Developing Advanced Nuclear Fuel* * *0:00** Introduction:* The video focuses on the research and daily work involved in developing a new type of nuclear fuel: uranium nitride. * *0:35** Advanced Nuclear Fuel:* The presenter works on the development and testing of advanced nuclear fuels, with a focus on uranium nitride as an alternative to the commonly used uranium dioxide. * *1:12** Uranium Nitride vs. Uranium Dioxide:* Uranium nitride is highlighted for its superior properties, including a higher density of uranium atoms (50/50 split compared to 33% in uranium dioxide). * *1:56** Advantages of Uranium Nitride:* * Higher uranium content allows for longer fuel residence time in the reactor. * Efficient heat transfer reduces the risk of fuel melting in accident scenarios. * High density makes it suitable for fast reactors. * Easier to reprocess and recycle. * *3:32** Fuel Fabrication Process:* The process starts with uranium metal, which is converted into uranium hydride powder for increased reactivity. * *4:29** Conversion to Uranium Nitride:* The uranium hydride powder is reacted with nitrogen gas to form uranium nitride (U2N3), which is then treated to achieve the desired UN composition. * *5:22** Sintering:* The uranium nitride powder is turned into a solid pellet through sintering, a process involving temperature, pressure, and electrical current. * *5:43** Characterization:* The resulting fuel pellet is analyzed under a microscope to study its morphology. * *6:23** Testing and Simulation:* The researchers design experiments to simulate reactor conditions and study the fuel's performance under various stresses. * *7:00** Industrial Process:* The current research process starts with uranium metal for simplicity, while the industrial process will use gaseous uranium (uranium hexafluoride) after enrichment. * *7:46** Parallel Development:* The research with uranium metal allows for testing and understanding the fuel's behavior while the industrial process using gaseous uranium is being developed. * *8:37** Timeline:* The goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the fuel and have a viable industrial process for commercial licensing and use. * *8:48** Conclusion:* The video provides a detailed overview of the fabrication and testing of uranium nitride fuel, offering insights into the complexities of nuclear fuel development. I used gemini-1.5-pro-exp-0827 on rocketrecap dot com to summarize the transcript. Cost (if I didn't use the free tier): $0.02 Input tokens: 16142 Output tokens: 542
The pellets your holding in your hand. How dangerous is 1 of thoes? And how many of them do you need to make a neuclear powerplant running? Do you speak swedish or english in the lab? Love your videos. Easy explanation of the sceines behind it.
I suspect that the uranium nitride will reduce the cost of reactors and their maintenance in a number of ways. Will it also help to close the fuel Loop
I just put away all my notes until next semester starts but... if a greater density increases stability, it is more likely to capture a fast neutron. If that isn't the case, then I would guess that because there is more nuclei along the neutron's vector there are simply more opportunities to create capture events. How'd this aerospace student do? I'd love to hear anything more on research in this space. NE was always neck and neck with AE and I've been too tempted to switch majors recently
Does this replace the future of thorium? What about a liquid fuel? I enjoy watching your videos. Very informative and positive for the nuclear energy industry.
Im going to guess here, in a fast reactor the probability of neutron capture is lower so a higher percentage of Uranium is needed for low enriched fuel.
Do to take steps to make the fuel, spent fuel, or byproducts, less likely to be used in weapons. Or does a more efficient fuel always equal more efficient potential weapons?
Am I to assume that in reactors where the process needs to yield much less energy at much much longer times, one could possibly use UH4 … ? And perhaps store uranium by pairing it with a carbon atom … ?
Would I be correct in presuming the black thing you have clipped onto your clothing is a form of Rad Triage card? (To show the personal cumulative level of ionising radiation). I bought one a couple of years ago, out of interest. Mine's expired now, though, because it only has two years duration before it has to be changed for a new one.
Im no Scientist but seams like higher fuel density of the UN pellets would work better in the no moderator type of reaction ya got going on in the fast reactor. Better heat transfer from core to outer surface would lend better in a liquid metal environment. These reactors breed more fuel then they consume. just some thoughts, and you asked.
It's beyond me, I got a degree in fields that don't have to rely on nuclear training. Sounds like a better fuel for reactors like the development of high octane gasoline so that we can use higher compression engines or something like that.
I read that uranium ore is pulverized and then dissolved in sulfuric acid to produce 'yellow cake, and from there it is usually processed into UF6. Here you give us the impression that you use pure uranium metal, but then say you end up with a powder. Which is true?
What kind of moderator is envisaged to control the UN fuel in a working reactor? The conventional Boron or you will develop a new one to go with this new fuel. The total mass of the Uranium will be high and controlling it safely will be challenging.☢
Okay - I didn't hear you explain why not just use pure Uranium and why it is profitable to use a lot of resources to transform the Uranium metal to something different.
My guess is that in breeder reactors you need better neutron economy beacuse we wnat to loose some neutrons for breeding purposes. Ok... But you asked about fast reactors so my guess is that slow neutrons have higher propability of causing fission so if you loose some crossection in neutrons you need to compensate in more crossection of uranium atoms 😜 Idk just guessing
Easy: Put 1 rocket fuel + one uranium 238 in a centrifuge. Crafting time 90 seconds. Not really viable before you researche covarex process though. Make sure to use productivity modules in your assemblers to maximise your yield.
No, no form of nuclear fission is considered a "renewable" energy source. But it is considered a "clean" energy source, so much better than burning fossil fuels. If I recall correctly, any element heavier than iron is believed to only be naturally created by a supernova. So the energy source will eventually get depleted.
The burn up of fuel in today's PWR is very low. As she mentioned, nitride is potentially safer, easier to reprocess (recycle) and possibly allow more of U-235 to be burned before refueling.
UN not to be confused with United Nations or the most common fertilizer Urea Nitrate. Might work in fast reactors due to high thermal conductivity allowing for a more reliable thermal control of the fuel source. Opening up possibilities for high temperatures operations and quick thermal cycling to meet the plants fluctuating demands. But I’m not a nuclear engineer and am only guessing. Pizza at the wall did it stick!?
Yes, a characterization lab video please. I really liked this one!
You got it!☢️👩🏽🔬⚛️
@YourFriendlyNuclearPhysicist 😎
@@YourFriendlyNuclearPhysicist
Greetings Madam Elina. Congrats for your well done video. If we stack UN pellets in a lead pipe, to contain the radiation, would the pipe be a permanent heat source?
My daughter dopes Uranium with different compounds to increase the life of the pellets in a reactor. Really cool stuff!
@@SteinsReality genial
I'm sure you are proud!
@ i am, just graduated! Sume kum laude!
That's dope ;-)
@@SteinsRealityIndeed.
🤣
Jokes aside, congrats and congrats by proxy. It's a fascinating field... I am too far in the "ifyaskeerd" crowd to want to play with it directly... but over the years I've realized I could have handled it... if it weren't for the pesky visibility problem. Opened up a smoke detector once and willied myself out, knowing (and learning even more insight later) that it couldn't do anything to me unless I *really* wanted it to... But big props to the people that get in there with it and work on figuring it out. It's the way... the only practical large scale base load way. We need this stuff.
Yes, more lab videos please! I really enjoyed this.
More to come!👩🏽🔬☢️⚛️
@YourFriendlyNuclearPhysicist yaaaaaaas! Being able to see what the labs and equipment look like helps me better understand.
I noticed the "No stupid people beyond this point" sign on your thumbnail. How do you expect to get more government funding when you won't let 90% of them into your lab? ;-) In all seriousness though, it's so good to see ongoing practical research and development into nuclear fission going on. Really enjoyed this video.
"Those" people are taken in to the break room kitchen where the toaster, espresso maker, etc. are all re-labeled. Some sugar cubes and aquarium charcoal are waved around and the Funding People are led out to have dairy free doughnuts and gluten free almond "milk".
OweEyeSea, you are generous. It is more like 99.9999 %
@@Nonama-w4x I had similar thoughts, which government has such intelligence?
Carbon 14 is produced by fast neutrons and cosmic rays impacting nitrogen atoms. It's also known as "bomb carbon." Would C-14 be an issue for reprocessing UN type reactor fuel?
Thanks, Elina, I got it. To the workshop!
☢️⚛️👩🏽🔬
I'm so glad you guys are creating a much more safer place to work if there is a melt down always stay safe, amazing video by the way love it thank you for sharing🙏
I never considered all the chemistry involved in nuclear physics. I assume there's a lot more chemistry and material science involved in reactor design that I had also never thought about. Thanks for the lesson!
Thanks so much for pointing this out, it is indeed the case
And it's inorganic chemistry, which is easier on my brain.
This was awesome!!!
As always, thank you for the video. I don't know anything about nuclear fission, so I appreciate you sharing your expertise with us.
Yes, please make more videos on the work you do there in the lab.
I hope you have a wonderful New Year!
Thanks!
9:32 Stop dropping Uranium metal, Elina! Don't throw it at your friends even if they're being mean either!
Happy new year!
Christmas cooking with Elina. Cooking my turkey was almost as complicated.
Φαίνεται ο άνθρωπος που αγαπάει αυτό που κάνει!
Όπως παντα πολύ ευχαριστο, ενημερωτικό και με καλή αίσθηση του χιούμορ.
Καλη χρονια!
Υγεία, ευτυχία
Elina do you know about Silex approach to uranium enrichment using lasers there is a lot of talk but no concrete results like the separation factor . The Americans used AVLIS and it had promising results the issue of using metallic uranium meaning very high temperatures used and the AVLIS unit breaking down after 400 hours of usage and constantly replacing components. The separation factor for AVLIS was around 6 to 10 were as centrifuges only has 1.5 .
Woooow it's so cool that we can take a look inside the lab😮😮😮can we please have ml ore of these videos?😁😁😁
basically in case of UN the fuel density is 17% more than that of UO2
Awesome! Very interesting. Waiting for more videos about lab and your work
Awesome, thank you!☢️⚛️👩🏽🔬
More lab videos, please! I work with Experimental High Energy Physics and I love to hear you talking about your research area
I consume one 20mg Uranium pill with breakfast each day. It keeps me warm in the Northern winters and cool during the summers.
In that case, you should try the Cobalt 60 glove warmers.
You must be a fairly low northern lattitude, mine is 30mg
2:53 Shorter mean free path meaning smaller cross-section and higher probability for fission with fast neutrons.
Such a cool inside look at fuel fabrication! I was wondering if the same process can be used to produce thorium nitride? Or plutonium nitride in the case of recycled fuel?
You can use a similar setup for both thorium and plutonium. For the latter one would need to install it inside a hot call due to increased radiation. I have worked with nitriding thorium before and it works even though thermodynamically one would need to adjust the temperature reactions and holding time.
@YourFriendlyNuclearPhysicist For plutonium you really don't need much of a hot cell, actual 4.5kg chunks of metal are machined in ordinary polycarbonate glove boxes. Mostly the metal is stupidly reactive, similar to cerium used in cigarette lighter flints to make it give hot sparks. Also it's a lot more toxic due to its strong alpha emissions. A trivalant nitride fuel of U, Th and just enough Pu to make it spicy would have a very long plateau region in its burnup curve. The Pu would be a start up aid, and the U abd Th would react in both the fast spectrum and transmute in the slow spectrum to more fissile isotopes. Add a little berylliumto it and it would be self starting operate well in very small reactors for space probes and such..A lot of nath would be needed to find the sweet spot though.❤
It's easy to see you were boiling over with anticipation to finally talk about your own research! You clearly enjoyed it, and so did I. Thanks for again enlightening us. It was very clear and easy to follow, and to understand why you do and research the things you do.
Also, I think your step counter will show you have reached your goal of 10k steps today, you were practically dancing of joy! 😊
Also a but surprised you are allowed to go in to so much detail. Then again, I guess the challenge is not so much in the theory, but more in how the sauce is made.
Also, how much energy does it take to convert the start products into the end pellet, and how does that relate to the energy efficiency you get in return? Do you get more net energy out of the initial resources? Or is the benefit more about safety and logistics etc. ?
This video made my year, thank you so much!
If you're making a reduced moderation water reactor, you would have a better fuel to moderator ratio with the improved density. Likewise, an increased fuel heat conductivity would allow you make wider fuel elements, providing you with an opportunity to make a fuel bundle consisting of fuel rods with different diameters, reducing the amount of water further.
Great fun as always Elina. Happy new year!
Thank you for the video, Elina. Have a nice 2025!
2:32 I always wondered what happens in a nuclear plant when there is a problem. Now I know.
I thank you for sharing your passion with the world. Believe me it is contagious lol. I hope many young persons will see this and get the itch.
Im amazed how smart people in the nuclear energy industry are
I was just yesterday wondering when we would hear from you again!
This video is a useful addition lesson after watching @ChemicalForce basic experiments with Uranium compounds.
My guess with UN in fast reactors is has to do with the release of nitrogen and reaction into n2 an inert gas, rather than off-gasing 02, which might mean significantly less risk of flames or more extreme unwanted reactions, giving the ability to hold the uranium at a higher temperature.
It's more a factor of as mentioned the higher uranium density/ molecule, also the somewhat higher density/ cm^3. Because neutron leakage is a big problem in fast reactors due to fast neutrons having low chances to interact.
@@fred101j7 thanks!
I appreciate seeing such advances in energy production. We are getting closer to consumer-level Mr. Fusion introduction.
My guess on why UN is better for fast reactors is: Since there is no moderator in a fast spectrum reactor, you want a larger percentage of uranium in the reactor to increase fission probability.
@@yooper8778 I thought Fast neutron reactors were to make plutonium?
@@Angl0sax0nknight they _can_ be used for that purpose if designed and operated to do so and combined with a suitable purification process, but fast reactors have many advantages in terms of safety, efficiency, waste reduction, and fuel flexibility (including being able to consume the "spent" fuel of conventional reactors).
@@Angl0sax0nknight Any type of reactor can make Pu239 or any other type of transuranic elements. They are called fast because the neutrons are not slowed down (moderated) with water, heavy water, or graphite. When you slow neutrons down, believe it or not it results in more collisions (fissions). Fast reactors require more highly enriched U (higher % of U235) to compensate for no moderator.
Do the by-products make a difference?
@@soundsoflife9549 That is really more of an Elina question, but I assume you mean the nitrogen vs oxygen atoms in each compound. She said UN allows the entire pellet to heat equally. If the inside of the pellet does not heat equally, it will crack sooner, become inefficient, and have to be removed. In moderated (thermal) reactors, this happens about every 1.5 years. Evidentially, UN can stay in the reactor longer which decreases the frequency of downtime for refueling (less electricity equals less money). Also, by being only 50% U and 50% N, there is more fissionable U235 in each pellet. She uses natural uranium which consists of .7% U235 and 98.3% U238. You want more U235 in each pellet because that is the fissionable isotope of uranium. And fast spectrum reactors need more highly enriched uranium than thermal reactors to work effectively since they have no moderator to slow down the neutrons to increase the probability of collisions (fissions). In U02, the extra oxygen atoms take up space that uranium can be occupying.
Why don't you do a video on pasta and anti pasta can the combination of both blow up a kitchen ??
What morphological characteristics are you looking for? which ones do you want or don't want & why?
What are the properties of uranium carbide are they comparable to the nitride? Which one would you get with pyrolysis of uranium cyanide if either? How do you make the hydride?
And how many of these pellets would I need if I wanted to make my own RTG? Or do I have to go get plutonium or strontium?
Very interesting to see a video about your research. Hoping to see more.
With regards, to your question, and this is just a wild guess. Could it be that the O isotopes absorb some of the free protons and the N isotopes don’t perhaps?
I also suspect that UN is less corrosive since it does not contain oxygen.
This is useful information! The reaction is so cute😍
I guess fuel density in a FNR helps with neutron economy (absorption).
Great video!
Elina the Wholesome Nuclear Physicist 😊
More details on the sintering process please. Also how to you capture the powder UN after the process of nitrating? is this done in a crucible?
O2 provides less moderation than N ?
Thank you, from Iran
That’s a pretty clean & organized lab. Never seen one like it 😅 Hmm …
Thanks we do great effort! 👩🏽🔬☢️⚛️
Great video. For fast reactor do you need to capture as many neutrons as possible?
My guess for why the higher density works better for fast reactors: it slows the neutrons down more efficiently and there is a higher chance of fission in the fuel.
When you were talking about the thermal properties of the fuel, I got to wondering how the optimal diameter of the fuel pellets is determined? You didn't elaborate much on it but I assume that UN has a higher thermal conductivity than UO2. If more heat transfer is needed to keep the pellets from melting, wouldn't it be better to make the diameter smaller so that the ratio of surface area to volume is larger for more heat transfer? Or is there a manufacturing limit on the size of the pellets?
UN is about 30% denser than UO2, which means for fast neutrons a shorter mean free path in UN than UO2. The fast or faster neutron fission capability in the same volume means reducing the necessity for moderators, which thermalize fast neutrons to the lower energies where fission is more probable. Higher density UN also means better thermal conductivity so easier to cool down, and less core melt-down probabilities, meaning lower risks. All in all, quite a few advantages but a smaller core redesign necessity, different moderator thermodynamics, different pressure gradients in the cooling fluid, different cooling speeds, reaction cycles, reactor vessel redesign, pumping redesign, etc, etc. Huge effort but likely worth the effort if, as we see today, lots of countries will adopt nuclear power solutions. Needless to say, weapons production and design will also benefit from higher percentages of U available in UN for Pu production. All this has probably already been simulated, but the higher availability of UN fuel is a new info, which renders a new energy production alternative viable and… enviable.
So, you have the final unenriched form to play with, but currently no way to get enriched uranium into the final form? I would be curious how the waste products behave in the N pellets.
It should be chemically identical. The only difference is all of this would need to be done in facilities that handle the hot materials. She's not concerned with radiation here.
As for product behavior, who knows. I've always wondered what exactly happens to a molecule when one element within it suddenly becomes something else... I think that's the reason they use these oxides and nitride etc is because the bonds are very strong with these... oxygen and nitrogen are quite reactive and they probably are going on the idea that everything that forms has an oxide, nitride... fluoride... see the pattern here?
@@MadScientist267 Over time the pellets crack I believe. This is interesting though. The neutron cross section for Nitrogen is about 10 barns for thermal neutrons, and only 0.0002 barns for Oxygen. This makes me wonder how the fuel will behave in a reactor.
@@putinscat1208Yeah I was thinking about that more and didn't account for gas formation, thinking "a textbook spent rod should have dust inside it when it's done"... I know it doesn't otherwise "swell" (mass is lost after all)... the whatever-ide involved is intended I suppose as simply a "practical stable carrier", an immobilizer. In theory you could get all of this to happen with the metals but it's much harder to control, not to mention extract heat from. The more compact result means more heat in a smaller space... she's saying this has higher heat resistance and nitrides check out there lol... but the entire time I'm still sorta left wondering why would we actually need to compact this more... fuel rods are already these scrawny things that pale in comparison to everything else happening around the actual reaction... and thermal runaways have a bit of propensity here... there's a need to shrink this down further and push margins?
I'm not saying an RBMK was the best design or anything... but the idea of "just throw a whole bunch of Uranium in there" is... the way to go. At those scales, built maintained and operated correctly of course, does it really matter how dense your fuel rods are?
Edit: I know little on things like cross section and all of that... I'm aware of glossary level definitions and have all the basic ideas more or less understood, but in depth... not so much lol
My replies keep getting deleted. I must know too much lol
Do you envision UN as a direct replacement for UO2, regardless of the type of PWR?
It is about time, young lady :)
Very good video... Absolutely, please show us more. Since this is out of my field, it will be very informational anuthing you can show. I would love to see it all. And one personal request if I may, your lab coat with the purpule gloves suits you very well, you look lovely in it. Could you do the evil scientist laugh for us please? Maybe also with the protective glases...
Can you make videos of all the nuclear power things? Like, all the different reactor types, Their different Pros and Cons, safety, what happens in an emergency.
I feel like the fact we clicked on this might just of put us all on terror watch lists 🤣🤣
Thanks 👍. I'm hardly smart enough to understand these concepts fully. However, I really do appreciate your bringing this information to the ytube world. I appreciate your energy, smarts and joy. I hope that before too long small nuclear reactors are rather common. Installed in rural areas and so on. Would definitely steer us away from current destructive energy production and allow us to concentrate on solving the most basic human problems in earnest (like lack of real education, hunger, access to clean water, irresponsible parenting...)
Would you not be better creating the nitride from hex? At some point there will need to be an enrichment process and we have to turn the natural yellowcake first into the oxide and then fluorinate with anhydrous HF. Hex is the traded form of U which is then turned into uranyl nitrate liquor before re oxidation to produce the pellets. Also, sintered UO2 pellets have to be sintered molybdenum or tungsten furnace boats. Don't forget we will be making a lot of fuel pellets , many tonnes.
Oh this is promising work. HAHAHA you dropped it like I feared you would.
Whats reator will use this? There are only 2 projects(under construction) in Russia: BREST-300 and BN-1200. I mean it's useful only for the big fast reactors or maybe lead(+bismuth) reactors.
Excellent video. We were looking forward to the new release., Super information and explanation.👍👍👍👏👏👏
How high is the concentration of U235 in your Uranium nitride pellets? Is it different compared to normal Uranium dioxide pellets? Thank you Elina!!!
I work with natural uranium, therefore 0.7% of U235. The commercial nitride fuel will have an enrichment around 10% for fast reactors compared to 3-5% enrichment in UO2 for water reactors
I understand the thermal properties argument for UN, but core loading isn't really about trying to cram as much Uranium into a space as possible for typical reactors so I'm guessing this has small reactors or modular or micro reactors in mind?
*A Day in the Life of a Nuclear Physicist: Developing Advanced Nuclear Fuel*
* *0:00** Introduction:* The video focuses on the research and daily work involved in developing a new type of nuclear fuel: uranium nitride.
* *0:35** Advanced Nuclear Fuel:* The presenter works on the development and testing of advanced nuclear fuels, with a focus on uranium nitride as an alternative to the commonly used uranium dioxide.
* *1:12** Uranium Nitride vs. Uranium Dioxide:* Uranium nitride is highlighted for its superior properties, including a higher density of uranium atoms (50/50 split compared to 33% in uranium dioxide).
* *1:56** Advantages of Uranium Nitride:*
* Higher uranium content allows for longer fuel residence time in the reactor.
* Efficient heat transfer reduces the risk of fuel melting in accident scenarios.
* High density makes it suitable for fast reactors.
* Easier to reprocess and recycle.
* *3:32** Fuel Fabrication Process:* The process starts with uranium metal, which is converted into uranium hydride powder for increased reactivity.
* *4:29** Conversion to Uranium Nitride:* The uranium hydride powder is reacted with nitrogen gas to form uranium nitride (U2N3), which is then treated to achieve the desired UN composition.
* *5:22** Sintering:* The uranium nitride powder is turned into a solid pellet through sintering, a process involving temperature, pressure, and electrical current.
* *5:43** Characterization:* The resulting fuel pellet is analyzed under a microscope to study its morphology.
* *6:23** Testing and Simulation:* The researchers design experiments to simulate reactor conditions and study the fuel's performance under various stresses.
* *7:00** Industrial Process:* The current research process starts with uranium metal for simplicity, while the industrial process will use gaseous uranium (uranium hexafluoride) after enrichment.
* *7:46** Parallel Development:* The research with uranium metal allows for testing and understanding the fuel's behavior while the industrial process using gaseous uranium is being developed.
* *8:37** Timeline:* The goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the fuel and have a viable industrial process for commercial licensing and use.
* *8:48** Conclusion:* The video provides a detailed overview of the fabrication and testing of uranium nitride fuel, offering insights into the complexities of nuclear fuel development.
I used gemini-1.5-pro-exp-0827 on rocketrecap dot com to summarize the transcript.
Cost (if I didn't use the free tier): $0.02
Input tokens: 16142
Output tokens: 542
The pellets your holding in your hand.
How dangerous is 1 of thoes?
And how many of them do you need to make a neuclear powerplant running?
Do you speak swedish or english in the lab?
Love your videos. Easy explanation of the sceines behind it.
I suspect that the uranium nitride will reduce the cost of reactors and their maintenance in a number of ways. Will it also help to close the fuel Loop
Is there any possibilty for nitric acid formation from the fuel during the reactor operating?
I just put away all my notes until next semester starts but... if a greater density increases stability, it is more likely to capture a fast neutron. If that isn't the case, then I would guess that because there is more nuclei along the neutron's vector there are simply more opportunities to create capture events. How'd this aerospace student do? I'd love to hear anything more on research in this space. NE was always neck and neck with AE and I've been too tempted to switch majors recently
How do you turn uf6 into solid?
You find something that wants to be with fluorine more than the Uranium. Anything in group 1 or 2 will definitely do it, but there are other options.
Hello Elina!👋 I believe I can pass the No stupid people people beyond this point requirement. May I visit sometime in the far future?😃
Does this replace the future of thorium? What about a liquid fuel?
I enjoy watching your videos. Very informative and positive for the nuclear energy industry.
Im going to guess here, in a fast reactor the probability of neutron capture is lower so a higher percentage of Uranium is needed for low enriched fuel.
Do to take steps to make the fuel, spent fuel, or byproducts, less likely to be used in weapons. Or does a more efficient fuel always equal more efficient potential weapons?
Am I to assume that in reactors where the process needs to yield much less energy at much much longer times, one could possibly use UH4 … ? And perhaps store uranium by pairing it with a carbon atom … ?
How do you characterize them?
What would happen if you put pure uranium metal in the reactor? Why does it have to be "diluted" with nitrogen?
How many pellets would i need to replace my wood burning stove?
Finally a UN that's actually useful 😮
Would I be correct in presuming the black thing you have clipped onto your clothing is a form of Rad Triage card? (To show the personal cumulative level of ionising radiation). I bought one a couple of years ago, out of interest. Mine's expired now, though, because it only has two years duration before it has to be changed for a new one.
Ok, you made it look easy, I'll start to make some home cooked UN pallets in my basement! 😅
Elina, Can UN be put into TRISO? I am thinking there may be advantages to that as well. I assume TRISO contains UO2.
Show us more of the lab.
I thought nitrogen only bonded to form nitrides at high temperatures. Learn something new everyday!
The nitriding process occurs at 500C
Im no Scientist but seams like higher fuel density of the UN pellets would work better in the no moderator type of reaction ya got going on in the fast reactor. Better heat transfer from core to outer surface would lend better in a liquid metal environment. These reactors breed more fuel then they consume. just some thoughts, and you asked.
It's beyond me, I got a degree in fields that don't have to rely on nuclear training. Sounds like a better fuel for reactors like the development of high octane gasoline so that we can use higher compression engines or something like that.
I read that uranium ore is pulverized and then dissolved in sulfuric acid to produce 'yellow cake, and from there it is usually processed into UF6. Here you give us the impression that you use pure uranium metal, but then say you end up with a powder. Which is true?
you missed quite a few steps
What kind of moderator is envisaged to control the UN fuel in a working reactor? The conventional Boron or you will develop a new one to go with this new fuel. The total mass of the Uranium will be high and controlling it safely will be challenging.☢
Okay - I didn't hear you explain why not just use pure Uranium and why it is profitable to use a lot of resources to transform the Uranium metal to something different.
I'm biased here*, but I'd love more chemistry and material science vids around the labs. :D * I'm a chemical scienist.
😮🎉🎉❤❤ let's go
Thank you,from North Korea
Gaseous Uranium sounds super dangerous. How is it handled safely?
Uranium hexafluoride is very dangerous, it's poisonous chemically and it's radiotoxic as well.
My guess is that in breeder reactors you need better neutron economy beacuse we wnat to loose some neutrons for breeding purposes.
Ok... But you asked about fast reactors so my guess is that slow neutrons have higher propability of causing fission so if you loose some crossection in neutrons you need to compensate in more crossection of uranium atoms 😜
Idk just guessing
Easy: Put 1 rocket fuel + one uranium 238 in a centrifuge. Crafting time 90 seconds. Not really viable before you researche covarex process though. Make sure to use productivity modules in your assemblers to maximise your yield.
Team up with Elon. When can we have a nuclear generator for our homes? You will change the world, well done!
cool!
I am a bit tired and distracted, so perhaps this is a dumb question, but is this form of nuclear energy renewable?
No, no form of nuclear fission is considered a "renewable" energy source. But it is considered a "clean" energy source, so much better than burning fossil fuels. If I recall correctly, any element heavier than iron is believed to only be naturally created by a supernova. So the energy source will eventually get depleted.
The burn up of fuel in today's PWR is very low. As she mentioned, nitride is potentially safer, easier to reprocess (recycle) and possibly allow more of U-235 to be burned before refueling.
UN not to be confused with United Nations or the most common fertilizer Urea Nitrate. Might work in fast reactors due to high thermal conductivity allowing for a more reliable thermal control of the fuel source. Opening up possibilities for high temperatures operations and quick thermal cycling to meet the plants fluctuating demands. But I’m not a nuclear engineer and am only guessing. Pizza at the wall did it stick!?
😍😍
Why don’t we use pure uranium for nuclear plants?
Am I on a list for watching this video now?
Yay!!!