ABSTRACT
WALLACE W.SCHULZ Consultant, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A.
JAN-OLOV LILJENZIN* Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden
12.1INTRODUCTION
In the year 2000, 15% of the world’s electric power was produced by 433 nuclear power reactors: 169 located in Europe, 120 in the United States, and 90 in the Far East. These reactors consumed 6,400 tons of fresh enriched uranium that was obtained through the production of 35,000 tons of pure natural uranium in 23 different nations; the main purification step was solvent extraction. In the reactors, the nuclear transmutation process yielded fission products and actinides (about 1000 tons of Pu) equivalent to the amount of uranium consumed, and heat that powered steam-driven turbines to produce 2,400 TWh of electricity in 2000.
