An article claims: “Nuclear power stations are only about efficient
PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Thermal, Statistical & Complex Systems · Earth, Climate & Energy Physics · The laws of thermodynamics
Energy from Physics, Ch Heat engines on fuel: exergy, real cycles, biomass and the nuclear heat source
Problem
An article claims: “Nuclear power stations are only about 33% efficient, well below a coal station's 38-40%, because nuclear fission is a less efficient way of releasing energy than burning coal.” Fission converts about 93% of the energy released per event directly into heat in the fuel and coolant (most of the rest escapes as neutrinos); combustion converts essentially all of its chemical energy into heat. Using the entropic mean temperature Tm, with a coal cycle at Tm=545K and a pressurised-water reactor cycle at Tm=492K, both rejecting heat to a condenser at T0=306K, evaluate the claim.