How is Nuclear Energy Generated?

Power Plant

There is only one major difference between operating a Thermal Power Plant and Nuclear Power Plant, the single difference lies in the type of fuel.

Both the types of power plants heat water to produce pressurized steam which turns turbines that generates electricity. A Thermal Power Plant uses coal as the fuel, while a Nuclear reactor uses Uranium.

Coal is ready for use immediately after mining. in contrast, Uranium has to undergo a further step for it to become a suitable fuel.

Naturally mined Uranium has 99.3% of U-238, 0.7% of U-235 and than 0.01% of U-234, all of these being isotopes of Uranium.

U-235 is unstable and decays to gain stability. In the process it releases energy and also undergoes induced fission, which is done firing free neutrons at the nucleus, which is what most reactors do to generate energy.

But to start a nuclear reaction the proportion of U-235 should be higher than its natural form. Reactors fuel has about 4-5% of U-235.

The process of increasing the proportion of fissionable Uranium in the sample is called enrichment.

This can be done in a Gaseous Diffusion, Gas Centrifuge and Laser Separation.

Of these first two are generally used by reactors.

U-238 can also be used as a fuel in breeder reactors.

However, the process of using U-238 is more advanced and hence it is less prepared as fuel compared to the other two.