Re:The world needs nuclear power and we shouldn’t be afraid ...
by pfdietz on Saturday October 24, 2020 @07:24AM
(#24878491)
Centrifuge enrichment is actually quite energy efficient, using just 2% of the energy of enrichment by gaseous diffusion.
Re:The world needs nuclear power and we shouldn’t be afraid ...
by jnxx on Saturday October 24, 2020 @10:58AM
(#24879588)
That diffusion isn't efficient is not surprising as it's an almost purely entropy-generating process.
But does centrifuge enrichment not use still, in absolute terms, a large amount of energy?
Looking at the EROEI numbers of different enrichment levels:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EROEI#EROEI_and_payback_period...
That's not exactly true, apart from mining for example the construction of a reactor building requires huge amounts of concrete. Also, mined uranium needs to enriched by centrifuges before it becomes usable, which is a process that requires a lot of energy.