What Is the Nuclear Industry?

The nuclear industry is a comprehensive emerging industrial sector for the development and utilization of nuclear energy. Including radioactive geological exploration, uranium mining, hydrometallurgy, uranium refining, uranium isotope separation, nuclear fuel element manufacturing, various types of reactors, nuclear power plants, spent fuel reprocessing, radioactive waste treatment and disposal, lithium isotope separation, radioisotope production , Nuclear weapon production and other production enterprises and scientific research and design units. It plays an important role in the national economy: using nuclear energy to transform it into electrical energy, thermal energy, and mechanical power, it can obtain safe, clean, and high-calorie energy; provide a variety of radioisotope products, isotope instruments and radiation technology, and process radiation Special effects in food preservation, medical diagnosis, etc .; greatly promote the development of metallurgy, chemical industry, machinery manufacturing, electronics, radiation chemistry, nuclear medicine, nuclear electronics and other fields. ^[1]

Nuclear Industry

The nuclear industry is a comprehensive emerging industrial sector for the development and utilization of nuclear energy. Including radioactive geological exploration, uranium mining, hydrometallurgy, uranium refining, uranium isotope separation, nuclear fuel element manufacturing, various types of reactors, nuclear power plants, spent fuel reprocessing, radioactive waste treatment and disposal, lithium isotope separation, radioisotope production , Nuclear weapon production and other production enterprises and scientific research and design units. It plays an important role in the national economy: using nuclear energy to transform it into electrical energy, thermal energy, and mechanical power, it can obtain safe, clean, and high-calorie energy; provide a variety of radioisotope products, isotope instruments and radiation technology, and process radiation Special effects in food preservation, medical diagnosis, etc .; greatly promote the development of metallurgy, chemical industry, machinery manufacturing, electronics, radiation chemistry, nuclear medicine, nuclear electronics and other fields. ^[1]

The nuclear industry is engaged in nuclear fuel research, production, and processing.

The nuclear industry is a comprehensive one with a wide range of disciplines, a wide range of pioneering fields, and a high degree of technology intensity.

The nuclear industry system mainly includes the production and processing of nuclear fuel (such as

After going through Fukushima, Japan

The nuclear industry can use nuclear energy to transform it into electrical energy, thermal energy and mechanical power. Compared with organic fuels, nuclear fuels have abnormally high heating values, and the amount of heat produced per unit mass of nuclear fuel is 2.8 trillion times that of organic fuels. Using it as energy, the cost of storage and transportation of the finished fuel is very small, so it is not restricted by the area of fuel mining and processing when selecting the site of the nuclear power plant. Power of the ocean-going ship. Under normal operating conditions, nuclear power plants release much less harmful substances than thermal power plants, which is conducive to environmental protection and is a clean energy source. Nuclear power technology has matured. In some countries, nuclear power has been able to compete economically with thermal power. Due to the limited reserves of coal and oil, the time available for exploitation is also limited, and the use of hydroelectric power is subject to geographical restrictions on water resources. Therefore, the use of nuclear power to generate electricity has been recognized as an alternative energy source. By the end of 1985, there were 374 nuclear power plants in operation in 26 countries and regions around the world, with a total installed capacity of 249,754 MW (megawatts), accounting for about 15% of the world's total installed capacity. Vigorous development of nuclear energy has become the general trend of world energy development. However, the thermal neutron reactor nuclear power plant, which has been widely developed so far, only uses about 0.7% of uranium-235 in natural uranium. In order to meet the energy needs for a longer period of time in the future, the development of fast neutron reactor nuclear power plants must be developed. In this kind of reactor, uranium-238 can be converted to artificial fissile nuclide plutonium-239 on an industrial scale, which can increase the utilization of uranium resources by about 60 times. France and the Soviet Union have successfully built and operated fast neutron reactor nuclear power plants. It is expected that by the beginning of the 21st century, this type of reactor will enter the commercial stage. Fast neutron reactor nuclear power plants and their fuel cycle systems will be an important part of the nuclear industry. In the long run, nuclear fusion reactors that use deuterium and tritium fusion to produce energy are developed.

To provide various sectors of the national economy with a variety of radioisotope products, isotope instruments, and nuclear technology such as radiation technology, in radiation processing, food preservation, radiation breeding, sterilization, medical diagnosis, tracer detection, analysis and measurement, and scientific and technological production. Play an increasingly important role. The application of radioisotopes and nuclear technology has low investment, quick results, large benefits, low energy consumption, low pollution, and significant economic and social benefits. It has rapidly developed into an emerging industry internationally and is widely used in various fields such as national economics, industry, agriculture, medicine, science and technology.

The development of the nuclear industry needs the support of metallurgical, chemical, mechanical manufacturing, electronics and other industries, which has also promoted their development. The radiation resistance, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and superconductor materials required by the nuclear industry will open up the development of new materials. Activation analysis and tracer technology in nuclear technology provide research and analysis methods that cannot be solved by other methods. The development of the nuclear industry has also promoted the development of many new scientific fields, such as radiation chemistry, radiochemistry, radiation dosimetry, nuclear medicine, and nuclear electronics. The nuclear industry is closely related to and promotes each sector of the national economy.