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
Oxy-fuel combustion process process. Oxy-fuel combustion may also be cost effective in the incineration of low BTU value hazardous waste fuels. It is often combined with staged combustion for nitrogen oxide reduction, since pure oxygen can stabilize combustion characteristics of a flame. There are pilot plants undergoing initial proof-of-concept testing to evaluate the technologies for scaling up to commercial plants, including One case study of oxy-fuel combustion is the attempted White Rose plant in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The planned project was an oxy-fuel power plant coupled with air separation to capture two million tons of carbon dioxide per year. The carbon dioxide