Economics of nuclear power plants to the extent of 3.4 billion pounds. In general, coal and nuclear plants have the same types of operating costs (operations and maintenance plus fuel costs). However, nuclear has lower fuel costs but higher operating and maintenance costs. Nuclear plants require fissile fuel. Generally, the fuel used is uranium, although other materials may be used (See MOX fuel). In 2005, prices on the world market for uranium averaged US$20/lb (US$44.09/kg). On 2007-04-19, prices reached US$113/lb (US$249.12/kg). On 2008-07-02, the price had dropped to $59/lb. Fuel costs account for about 28% of a nuclear plant's operating expenses. As of 2013, half
Fuel viscosity control Fuel viscosity control Fuel viscosity control is a technique to control viscosity and temperature of fuel oil (FO) for efficient combustion in diesel engines of motor vessels and generators of oil-fired power plants. Fuel oil's viscosity strongly depends on the temperature, the higher is the temperature the lower is the viscosity. For optimal combustion the viscosity of the fuel should be in the range of 10–20cSt. To maintain this value a combination of viscometer, PID controller and heater is used. Viscometer measures the actual viscosity of the fuel, this value is compared with the set point in the controller and