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Nuclear power is considered one of the ways to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but how to deal with it Nuclear waste The product is one of the problems surrounding it. Radioactive waste products can be converted into more stable elements, but this process is not yet feasible at scale. New research led by physicists at the University of Tokyo describes how to more accurately measure, predict and model a key part of the process of making nuclear waste more stable. This could lead to improvements in nuclear waste treatment facilities and new ideas about how some of the heavier elements in the universe came to be.
Neutron star collision simulation. The detection of gravitational waves from merging neutron stars has told researchers here on Earth that it is possible to predict how neutrons interact with nuclear nuclei. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab CC-BY-ND
The very word “nuclear” can be a bit of a trigger for some, understandably so in Japan, where the atomic bomb and the Fukushima disaster are some of the defining moments in its modern history. Still, given Japan’s relative lack of suitable space for renewable energy such as solar or wind, nuclear power is considered an important part of the effort to decarbonize the energy sector. Because of this, researchers are working hard to improve safety, efficiency and other issues related to nuclear power. Associate Professor Nobuki Ami from the Center for Nuclear Studies at the University of Tokyo and his colleagues believe they can improve a key aspect of nuclear power, waste processing.
“Broadly speaking, nuclear power works by boiling water using a self-sustaining nuclear decay reaction. The unstable elements break down and decay, releasing heat, which boils the water. are, run turbines. But this process ultimately leaves behind unusable waste that is still radioactive,” Amy said. “This waste can remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years and is usually buried underground. . However, there is a growing desire to find another way to stabilize unstable radioactive waste, avoid its radioactive decay and make it safer to handle. This is called transmutation.”
Transmutation is the opposite of nuclear decay. Instead of breaking up an element and releasing radiation, a neutron can be added to an unstable element that turns it into a slightly heavier version of itself. Depending on the starting material, this new form may be stable enough to be considered safe. The problem is that although the process has been generally known for some time, it has been impossible to quantify it accurately enough to take the idea to the next stage and ideally develop a new generation of waste management facilities. Is.
“The idea actually came from a surprising source: colliding stars, specifically neutron stars,” Amy said. “Following recent observations of gravitational waves generated by neutron star mergers, researchers have been able to better understand the interaction modes of neutrons and their ability to transform other elements. Based on this, We used several tools to narrow down our focus on how the element selenium, a common nuclear waste product, behaves when bombarded by neutrons. Our technique allows us to predict that How materials absorb neutrons and undergo transformation.This knowledge can contribute to the design of nuclear waste transfer facilities.
It is difficult for researchers to make these kinds of observations. In fact, they are not able to directly observe the conversion processes. Rather, the team can observe how much of the sample is not transmuted, and by taking readings to determine whether transmutation actually occurred, they can estimate, albeit very precisely, how much of the sample has transmuted. .
“We believe our measurements reflect the true conversion rate of unstable selenium to a more stable form,” said Amy. “We are now planning to measure this for other nuclear waste products. Hopefully, this knowledge will be combined with other areas needed to realize nuclear waste treatment facilities, and we will may see in the coming decades. Although our goal is to improve nuclear safety, I find it interesting that there is a bidirectional relationship between this research and astrophysics. We were affected by neutron star collisions, and our The research could influence how astrophysicists look at nuclear fusion, the signatures of the creation of elements in stars, to better understand how iron-heavy elements were formed, including elements essential for life. .
Source: University of Tokyo
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