Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Fusion

Is Nuclear Fusion Safe and Should it be Used as a Main Energy Source?

Context

Nuclear fusion is the process which occurs inside the sun, stars and hydrogen bombs(Prieto, 2013). This process unleashes enormous amounts of energy through the binding together of light elements such as hydrogen and helium and their isotopes(Matthew Hole, 2015). If fusion power were harnessed on Earth, it could produce inexhaustible clean power, using seawater as the main fuel. Nuclear fusion will produce no greenhouse gas emissions, no proliferation risk, and no risk of catastrophic accidents due to the radioactive waste being very low and indirect(Matthew Hole, 2015).

Physics of Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear Fusion powers the sun and the stars as hydrogen atoms fuse

The D-T reaction produces a non-radioactive isotope of Helium and a Neutron as well as 17.6MeV(ITER, 2012). By harnessing this method of energy production, the Earth will see a fall in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This positive aspect indicates that nuclear fusion should be used as a main energy source.

The main fuel used in fusion is seawater as deuterium and tritium can be synthesised from it. Deuterium is found in seawater at about 33g per tonne of seawater. Tritium is made from Lithium, which is also found in seawater, but can also be found from ore in the earth, 4% of which is in Australia(ITER, 2012). This a vast improvement on unrenewable energy sources like coal, gas and oil, which are getting harder and harder to come by. This aspect, again, shows that nuclear fusion would be a more sustainable and efficient main power

This leads onto the problem of “the first wall”, which is the wall that faces the space where the reaction takes place. When exposed to neutron radiation, this wall becomes radioactive and begins to erode, thus needing replacement. However, where will the wall be discarded?(Prieto, 2013) While scientists claim the levels of radioactivity are low, the risk is still a problem, and will need research to develop a solution, which is said to be completed by 2030(Matthew Hole,