| dc.contributor.author | Hoberg, Luke | |
| dc.description.abstract | The natural world is being destroyed and needs to be protected. To do that
we need low polluting and efficient forms of energy production. The fossil
fuel industry is one of the main sources of harmful pollutants that are
damaging our environment and contributing to multiple health, social, and
environmental crises. The need to transition to clean reliable energy has
never been greater. Nuclear power is the only method that has comparable,
if not less, carbon emissions rates than green energy and is able to be sited
in a variety of geographies and climates. After decades of innovation the
latest Gen IV nuclear reactors are safer and more efficient. One reactor that
is in development by General Electric is a sodium-cooled fast reactor called
PRISM. These fast reactors convert unusable isotopes into more fuel during
the fission process. Fast reactors can reuse spent fuel from older Gen II and
III reactors that are currently in operation. This reduces the radioactivity
lifespan of the fuel from thousands of years to hundreds. This thesis proposes
a contemporary plant design with fast reactor technology to recycle spent
fuel while generating electricity and lowering the fuel’s radioactivity lifespan.
Recycled fuel will then be stored in an underground repository until its
radioactive lifespan has ended. This facility will clean up current high level
spent fuel waste sites, reduce utilization of polluting fossil fuels, and educate
the public through the incorporation of a visitor center where people can
learn about the process and safety features in hopes that through education
and architecture the public can accept and support the widespread adoption. | en_US |
| dc.publisher | North Dakota State University | en_US |
| dc.rights | NDSU policy 190.6.2 | en_US |
| dc.title | Re-Imagining the Nuclear Power Industry Through Innovation, Architecture, and Education for a More Sustainable Dynamic Between the Built and Natural Environment | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-05-22T20:57:19Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-05-22T20:57:19Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10365/33148 | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf | en_US |
| ndsu.degree | Master of Architecture (MArch) | en_US |
| ndsu.college | Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences | en_US |
| ndsu.department | Architecture | en_US |
| ndsu.program | Architecture | en_US |
| ndsu.advisor | Ramsay, Ronald | en_US |
