Pebble Bed Reactors or PBR’s; Coming to America Soon?
There is a race to find new and innovative means of energy production and it looks like the U.S. may be in line along with China to construct Pebble Bed Reactors. There are also Par’s that are modular in design called PBMR’s. I’m used to knowing the basics of the standard type of nuclear reactor in this country so this was an extremely interesting read of which I found several websites and articles.
I’m not so sure that this is a good idea, but hey we don’t ever seem to be in on the decision making in this country anymore. By time we find out about things, they are almost a done deal. I’m listing the websites that provided technical expertise on the subject that everyone should read because it looks like we are heading in this direction no matter what. There will be a need for thousands of construction workers across many states to build these facilities so we might as well get acquainted with this new technology early.
I’ve also included a website called “The Three Mile Island Alert” that brings up all the problems with PBR plants. So far what I’ve read, Par’s exist mainly on the continent of Africa. So settle in and put on your science cap, especially if you are not very well attuned to how a nuclear plant works to begin with. Maybe reading about Par’s will give you some idea about the cooling towers and that it’s not radioactive smoke of any kind that we see coming up out them but pure steam. They are what they claim to be, Water Cooling Towers. As with all nuclear power, the spent fuel is still the biggest problem, PBR or not.
There is also an article that compares coal fired facilities with the residual trapped CO2 and that by combining this CO2 with the spent fuel from one of these PBR plants, we might be able to create new types of biofuels not unlike ethanol or methane for use. Happy reading. Let me know what you think.
About PBR technology: http://www.eskom.co.za/nuclear_energy/pebble_bed/pebble_bed.html.
Don’t forget to click on “Future of Waste” on the same website.
The cons of PBR’s: http://www.tmia.com/industry/pebbles.html.
About coal vs. PBR’s: http://pebblebedreactor.blogspot.com/2007/03/compare-coal-power-to-pbr-nuclear-power.html.