What are the four generations of reactors? Describe the advantages of Generations III and IV

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Generation I was the earliest reactors "developed in the 1950s and 1960s; few are still in operation. The majority of today's reactors are Generation II vintage, the large baseline power plants, of several designs. Generation III refers to new designs with passive safety features and much simpler, smaller power plants; among them the so-called advanced light-water reactors (ALWRs)." The Generation III designs are also smaller so that heat is conducted "outward into the soil; in this manner, the reactors could not incur a core meltdown. Generation IV plants, initiated by the U.S. Department of Energy, are now being designed and will likely be built within the next 20 years. One example of a Generation IV reactor is the pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR), which will feed spherical carbon-coated uranium fuel pebbles gradually through the reactor vessel, like a gum-ball machine. The PBMR will be cooled with fluidized helium, an inert gas, which will also spin the turbines. These reactors will be small, will produce about 160 MW of power, and are expected to be cheap to build, passively safe, and inexpensive to operate. The modules can be built in a factory and shipped to the location of the power plant."