For decades, scientists have been working on methods to improve efficiency and safety of nuclear power plants. While nuclear power plants are more efficient than coal-burning power plants, they do have their inherent problems. Now, scientists have discovered how diamonds may reduce and even eliminate some of those problems.The advantages of diamonds have been known by scientists for decades, although only in recent years has it been possible to integrate them into technological advances. Common diamond applications include coating machine parts and tools with a strong diamond coating to reduce wear and extend the life of machinery and tools. Now it seems that diamonds may also benefit nuclear power plants as well.
While there are advantages of nuclear power plants over older, coal-burning power plants, nuclear processes bring inherent dangers as well. One of those dangers is overheating and this is exactly what happened with Chernobyl in 1986. The nuclear process creates an immense amount of heat and reactor cores are typically submersed in cold water to manage the core’s temperature. While somewhat effective, it is in a sense just a patch to the problem.
The solution that diamonds offer for nuclear power plants is a solution that reduces the amount of heat in the cooling systems, allowing the reactor to remain at a safe operating temperature. The cooling system of a nuclear power plant is actually a two-step process.
The water immediately surrounding the reactor’s core is called the primary system that takes heat directly away from the reactor. It is kept at extremely high pressure to prevent it from boiling, while it quickly conducts heat to a secondary cooling system.
With the extreme heat created from the reactor, even the secondary cooling system is susceptible to overheating because it is not pressurized like the primary cooling system. It is in this secondary cooling system where scientists want to place diamond nanoparticles that will further improve heat conduction and reduce the temperature of the cooling system; thus, reducing the risk of overheating and the risk of meltdown.
Diamonds are excellent heat conductors and will capture the heat trapped in the water. The diamonds would then carry that heat more efficiently away from the reactor and improving safety. The role that diamonds could play in future nuclear power plants might be more involved.
The United States has historically been opposed to the expansion of nuclear power plants on native land for a few major concerns, one of them being safety. However, diamonds would reduce some of the risks involved with nuclear power plants and possibly sway the government to approve expansion with improved safety measures.
Other countries will benefit as well as diamonds are implemented. Nuclear power plants provide about 17 percent of the world’s electricity, while some countries like France depend on them for about 75 percent of the electricity generated in the country, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. In contrast, the United States, nuclear power plants supply about 15 percent of the country’s electricity overall, but some states rely more heavily on nuclear power plant generated electricity.
In total there are more than 400 nuclear power plants around the globe, with more than 100 operating in the United States. With over 500 plants worldwide, it is easy to see the advantages of reducing the risk of meltdown.
When the Chernobyl plant experienced a meltdown, it sent radioactive dust into the atmosphere which spread from the Soviet Union and Western Europe to eastern North America. Expansive areas in the Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, and about 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus. The radioactive contamination caused wide-spread death, health complications and birth-defects.
Ronald Baney and his colleagues at the University of Florida in Gainesville believe they can solve this devastating problem by using the natural heat conducting properties of diamonds. While they will not solve all the inherent problems of nuclear power plants, reducing the risk of meltdown is of major concern across the globe.
Not only will diamonds improve heat dispersion away from the reactor, the diamond nanoparticles are chemically inert and are not susceptible to radioactivity. This means that diamond nanoparticles will not be “attracted” to each other, and are unlikely to clump together, creating additional drawbacks.
The research team also confirms that almost any carbon allotrope and carbon related material could theoretically be used, but diamond nanoparticles are the ideal choice. Other possible particles could be used from molecules such as graphite, amorphous carbon, black carbon or carbon nanotubes – just to name a few.
It is not known whether synthetic diamonds (man-made diamonds that are produced in a lab) would offer the same benefits, although theoretically, they could. Baney and his team are now in the process of patenting this new age solution and hope to implement it in nuclear power plants around the world.
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