Identify which of the following represents a secondary fuel source ?
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Answer: B. U233andPu239
Explanation
U-233 and Pu-239 are fissile isotopes produced from fertile materials and serve as secondary or manufactured nuclear fuels. These secondary fuels do not occur in significant quantities naturally and must be artificially bred inside nuclear reactors. Thorium-232 and Uranium-238 absorb neutrons to transmute into U-233 and Pu-239 respectively for advanced fuel cycles. Primary nuclear fuels consist of naturally occurring fissile isotopes such as Uranium-235 found in mined uranium ore. Secondary or artificial fuels expand global energy resources by converting non-fissile fertile elements into usable reactor fuel. Chemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel allows extraction of Plutonium-239 for recycling into mixed oxide fuel assemblies.
Option A lists thorium and uranium isotopes which represent primary fertile source materials rather than manufactured secondary fuels. Option C incorrectly pairs isotopes where Plutonium-238 is primarily used for radioisotope thermoelectric generators rather than reactor fuel. Option D is incorrect because specific secondary manufactured fuels are accurately identified among the provided choices.
- Subject
- Engineering
- Category
- Mechanical Engineering
- Topic
- —
- Difficulty
- medium
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