Life cycle resource use of nuclear power generation considering total material requirement

The use of life cycle assessments to estimate the environmental impact of nuclear power generation has become increasingly common. Despite this, the volume of resource extraction in the lithosphere has not been sufficiently considered. In this study, the total material requirement (TMR) was used as an indicator in an analysis of the life cycle resource use of nuclear power generation, and the uncertainty associated with the grade of the uranium ore was evaluated. It was found that the resource use of the closed cycle in reprocessing spent fuel using MOX fuel is approximately 26% lower than that of the open (once-through) cycle. According to the representative data employed in this study, the TMR of nuclear power generation varied depending on mining methods, increasing in the following order: in-situ leaching, underground mining, and open-pit mining. Note that results for specific mine sites differ significantly depending on the ore grade and strip ratio. The results also show that the global warming potential (GWP) and TMR of nuclear power generation differ considerably and that greenhouse gas emissions are less affected than resource use by the mining method. Furthermore, the TMR of nuclear power generation is considerably lower than that of thermal power generation and is similar to that of renewables. It can be concluded that nuclear power generation is not only favorable from the perspective of global warming, as widely acknowledged, but also from the perspective of natural resource use in the narrative of life cycle analysis.

Automated summary

The utilization of life cycle assessments in estimating the environmental impact of nuclear power generation has increased. However, the extraction of resources in the lithosphere has been insufficiently considered. This study uses total material requirement (TMR) as an indicator to analyze the resource use of nuclear power generation, accounting for the uncertainty associated with uranium ore grade. The research demonstrates that closed cycle reprocessing with MOX fuel has approximately a 26% lower resource use compared to the open cycle. The TMR of nuclear power generation varies depending on mining methods, with in-situ leaching having the lowest TMR and the greenhouse gas emissions are less affected by mining than resource use.