The figure provides an elaborate breakdown of the procedure employed to generate nuclear power from uranium. Upon cursory examination of the diagram, it can be discerned that a number of steps are involved in the process of generation of usable means of power as well as the repeated usage of “spent” fuel.
At first, the elemental uranium is extracted from mines. This is followed by the enrichment of the substance to produce the U-235 fuel. Once this is accomplished, the newly produced substance operates generators to yield electrical energy.
However, the fuel does not serve as a source of power for unlimited time; in fact, it often runs out in approximately four years. Nonetheless, the depleted fuel that remains after this period is not entirely useless. It will undergo one of these two processes: storage in underground containers or recycling. Fuel that passes through recycling can be used a second time to produce electric current.