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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Beryllium's role in nuclear energy With its unique properties, the applications for the metal appeared so vast and revolutionary that, at the time, they bordered science fiction: Half the weight of titanium and twice as stiff Transparent to X-rays Doesn't spark Non-magnetic Doesn't rust Extremely low neutron absorption rate Owning the atomic number 4, it's the lightest metal on the planet next to its unpredictable neighbor, lithium. These scientists knew combining it as an alloy wouldn't just make an extremely light material, but a phenomenally stiff one as well... lighter and stronger than anything they could imagine. The team also observed that beryllium is an excellent absorber and conductor of heat, and which could have huge benefits to the nuclear industry. In fact, if beryllium oxide were added to nuclear fuel it could even help prevent a nuclear meltdown. The Japanese meltdown, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island would've never happened! After the Fukushima Quake, Demand for Safe Nuclear Power has NEVER Been Greater In fact, in order to pick up the slack of expected shortfalls from other fossil fuels, nuclear power plants are expected to play a major role the world over... India just broke ground on its twenty-fifth nuclear plant, and plans to have 40 in the next two decades. China's pumping them out as though they were on an assembly line, and plans to increase its nuclear capacity 640% by 2020. The truth is – everywhere you look – the underlying demand for nuclear power isn't going anywhere. It can't, as more countries face tightening power demands due to growing populations. And with a recent meltdown on everyone's minds, imagine a nuclear fuel additive hitting the market that, when mixed with uranium: Instantly makes power plants operate up to 25% to 50% more efficiently, saving billions upon billions of dollars in operating costs, every year Helps prevents any Chernobyl-like meltdowns from ever happening again Drastically slashes the radioactive life of spent uranium Considering the stigma associated with nuclear power to begin with, using this additive wouldn't be an option... It would be a requirement for nuclear plants across the entire world. Solving the Nuclear Power Plant's Achilles Heel If you're not familiar with how most nuclear reactors work – and where severe weak points are – let me give you a quick crash course... how power plant works 1 Essentially, uranium fuel pellets are loaded up into a reactor (1). In the heart of the reactor (known as the core), the pellets split apart and release heat energy, producing neutrons and splitting other atoms in a chain reaction. That's where the problems start... You see, ironically, uranium is an absolutely terrible heat conductor. That is, the core of the pellets heat up far faster than their surface. The lopsided heat distribution forces those pellets to break apart long before all of the usable uranium is extracted, leading to less stable reactions and much more radioactive waste. In other words, companies are not only tossing out billions of dollars a year in perfectly good uranium, but the poor heat distribution makes for a far more dangerous reaction. To top it off, the unspent uranium carries an extremely long radioactive half-life. That first step alone – evenly dispersing the heat across the entire pellet – is perhaps the biggest problem facing nuclear industry today. And it's the reason several countries across the globe – including the United States – are slow to break ground on hundreds of new, shovel-ready reactors. Of course, that all changed the moment... Two Surprise Universities Cracked Nuclear Power's Greatest Challenge! The Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) workshop doesn't exactly draw the same followers as the Nobel Prize nominees... Funded by the Department of Energy, the LWRS is a unique workshop that gathers top university scientists and physicists from nuclear power plants around the country to meet in an effort to help solve our impending energy crisis. For the most part, the same universities and the same scientists propose the same unfeasible ideas. But in February 2009, that all changed. And surprisingly, this brilliant idea didn't come from the likes of MIT or Caltech... Rather, it formed as a joint project by two universities better known for their football teams than scientific prowess: Purdue and Texas A&M. Funded by the same company I've been telling you about, these two universities worked to create a hybrid fuel capable of extending the life of uranium while protecting plants from ever melting down. They knew after initial tests with their hybrid fuel that they were on to something big... But they had no idea that their discovery would potentially change the face of nuclear power forever. BeO: The Fuel the World's Energy Supply Will Depend On It's called Beryllium Oxide, or BeO. And next to uranium, it's about to become the most sought-after, highly-demanded resource for nuclear power plants across the world. Its characteristics include: a melting point of 4,500 degrees... thermal conductivity matched only by diamonds... the ability to dissipate heat and cool faster than any other metal... strength several times that of steel... and it's still the second lightest metal on earth. In other words, just knowing it properties and what is required for nuclear reactors, beryllium instantly becomes the most ideal fit. beryllium 1 But until now, its use has been reserved to special projects: in small doses for X-Ray windows, high-speed aircrafts, missiles, and communications satellites. In fact, it was only because this company funded a joint research venture with two universities that the scientific world was able find out how the right mixture of beryllium oxide with uranium could revolutionize the soon-to-skyrocket nuclear power industry. The rest of the world will find out shortly. You see, their mixture gives the uranium fuel pellets a "skeleton" of beryllium oxide. This "skeleton" sucks the heat from the uranium core, creating for the first time a much longer, smoother, and safer reaction. And now, thanks to the unique formula beryllium oxide enhanced nuclear fuel, power plants across the globe won't just save billions of dollars by making the uranium more efficient, but they can also... Put an End to Accidents Like Chernobyl and Fukushima – for Good! On Saturday, April 26, 1986, at 1:23 in the morning, the worst nuclear power disaster in history took place. Thanks to a mix of unstable pellets, inadequate graphite temperature control rods, and clumsy human decisions... a catastrophic chain reaction started in Reactor 4 of the Ukraine's Chernobyl power plant. A massive steam explosion ripped through the core of the reactor, followed by a second chemical explosion that launched highly radioactive particulate and gaseous waste into the air. Directly, the blast killed a few dozen people, and is credited for killing thousands more by way of the cancer they acquired from exposure to the highly radioactive material. It was an accident the world vowed to never let happen again. And yet, we still have to witness events like Three Mile Island and Fukushima, all while living with constant unease about the safety of nuclear energy. Fortunately, as you read this, the patented beryllium oxide fuel (which can help prevent meltdowns and reduce operational risk) is preparing for the final stages of testing before being unleashed onto the global energy market. The advancement is so monumental that a consortium of GE, Hitachi, and Toshiba has signed on to help develop it... They know how much it's worth. Imagine what this discovery will do for the tiny company I've been telling you about – and for its early shareholders. As I mentioned earlier, this unique mixture conducts heat far better than traditional uranium oxide alone, creating a much longer-lasting, more stable fission process. With less uranium needed at a time – 25% to 50% less! – the chances of any form of dangerous nuclear reaction are now virtually gone! It's a move that has all plant operators thrilled... Even staunch environmentalists are backing it! And the moment this little outfit completes this final phase of testing, you can bet their sales office will be swamped with orders. In the meantime, however, you won't have to wait another second for this company to hand investors handsome returns... What the CEO Was Really Excited About... The company's other use for beryllium is engineered materials and advanced alloys. I know what you're thinking... It doesn't sound very exciting. It might even sound boring. That's what I thought, too... Until I realized just how crucial this industry has been for every advancement since the Bronze Age: It's let us break the sound barrier It helped us land on the moon It's given us cars that travel 40 mpg It even put that smartphone in your pocket In fact, every time an item becomes stronger, lighter, smaller or faster, it's mainly because of an advancement in engineered materials. I'm sure you've heard these related buzz words over the decades: “Made From Stainless Steel” “100% Fiber Glass Body” “Aircraft-Grade Aluminum!” “Carbon Fiber Reinforced” “100% Titanium Alloy” You get the idea... And with each new material, items become lighter, faster, or stronger. So, what is it about this company that's so exciting?! As you might expect, the scientist in charge didn't merely invent the “next carbon fiber” out of beryllium. Not this group. In short, thanks to a very secret process – one they could only partially reveal to me – they created perhaps the lightest, strongest, most vibration-dampening super alloy humanly possible. As the CEO summed it up: “We created a material that scientists said couldn't be created and use it in a way that they said couldn't be used.” It's bold. It's ballsy... And It's So Cutting-Edge You Have to Build Atom by Atom to Beat It! In other words, using this one-of-a-kind material, engines could run hotter, cars would travel further, computers could process faster, satellites could aim straighter, and drones could carry heavier payloads than ever before... All while saving companies vast amounts of time and money. Sometimes saving them millions of dollars, and even human lives. And that has corporations from every industry lining up at the door of this currently tiny outfit... In the military... Laser guided systems: Until now, laser guided devices attached to the bottom of aircraft required the pilot to often fly dangerously close inside enemy territory... well within range of being shot down. The pilots had no choice; the housing – and therefore the laser or camera itself – shook violently as a result of turbulence. But with this unique metal and its ability to dampen vibrations, pilots can now safely engage their targets at distances twice what they could before, saving precious lives and taxpayer dollars. Drones: You might have thought they're not a big deal yet. But the fastest growing sector of the military isn't troops, tanks, fighters, subs, or even Humvees... It's drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Whether they're equipped with food, cameras, or bombs, their use in warfare is increasing daily. In fact, they're in such high demand that the DoD's budget for military drones has increased more than 300% over the past two years. And with this company's unique alloy, these unmanned aircraft can carry more, further, longer, and cheaper than ever before. They have a dedicated contract with the U.S. military to explore how to use this alloy in even more ways to help improve the operational efficiencies of a range of UAVs. During my tour of the facility, I was told about parts being made and researched for the likes of Raytheon, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin... and was often told to turn off the camera before they revealed any details. In the computer industry... In the computer industry, the metal's stiffness is about to be applied to take hard-drive speeds to levels only dreamed about. The beryllium part being made while I was at the factory is used to deposit gold ribbon on hi-tech circuit boards. And Ray, the lead engineer, said they were for one of the leaders of the industry... It could be Intel, National Semiconductor, or Cypress – who knows? Telling me who the pieces were for, I was told, would give away that company's competitive advantage; they don't want anyone else to know they're using beryllium parts to make circuit boards. That's how important this advancement is. Come to think of it, any time efficiency, weight, or stiffness needs to be improved – either through competition or government mandate – this company's latest beryllium alloy performs head and shoulders above the competition. And as I mentioned earlier, it can do it cheaper and faster as well. It's these unique features – and the orders that are now pouring in – that has the CEO convinced revenues will increase from $5 to $10 million a year to $200 to $500 million a year in short order. That implied (at a minimum ) a 1,900% increase in sales... at a maximum, it's closer to 10,000%. What do you think a 10,000% rise in revenue will to this tiny company's stock? How rich would that make its shareholders? And if you thought other companies might give them a run for their money, think again... This Metals and Engingeered Materials Outfit Already Holds a Significant Worldwide Beryllium Properties Portfolio That's right! Even before test phases are completed, this little-known outfit has already secured some of the world's largest potential deposits of beryllium ore. In other words, they're going to be among the largest suppliers, from the ground up, to the nuclear market from the moment their materials are operational. And to top it off, they own 100% of the intellectual property rights. And with 440 nuclear plants in operation today — and hundreds more on the board for the near future — this tiny metals company is about to launch to the top of the nuclear fuels industry! Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
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IBC Advanced Alloys Completes Initial Beryllium Oxide Nuclear Fuel Research email Email Print Print Reproduction Thu, Feb 3, 2011 Rare Earth Company News Post by Geetha Raghavan, Rare Earth Research Manager IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. (CVE:IB) reports it has successfully completed the current phase of its beryllium oxide nuclear fuels research and development project with Purdue University and Texas Engineering Experiment Station. The press release is quoted as saying: The R&D project was announced in August 2008 with the objective of advancing the universities’ existing nuclear fuels research program, and developing a beryllium oxide enhanced nuclear fuel, for commercial use in both current and future nuclear power reactors. IBC Advanced Alloys’ President and CEO, Anthony Dutton says: “This collaborative nuclear fuels R&D work with Purdue and TEES is developing technology that could positively affect both the nuclear industry and consumers of alternative energy.” “This most recent phase of the work confirms our belief that beryllium oxide enhanced fuel will advance global nuclear fuels technology and, as a result, considerably increase demand for beryllium as a rare metal commodity.” IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. (IBC), formerly International Beryllium Corporation, is engaged in the development and manufacturing of advanced alloys, in particular beryllium alloys and specialty copper alloys. It also focuses on beryllium mineral exploration. Beryllium is used as a shield and moderator in nuclear reactors. IBC can be used in its pure form or combined with other metals to form unique alloys for essential applications for the nuclear, aerospace, medical, automotive, electronic and defense industries. It operates in three aspects: manufacturing, research and mineral exploration. It provides manufacturing and support services, including casting and master alloy products, cast and forged billet products, semi-continuous cast input billets and wrought products. It operates in copper alloys division and beryllium aluminum division. IBC owns a 100% interest in the Boomer mine located in the Lake George beryllium district. In March 2010, it acquired Beralcast Corporation. Share price currently: 15.5 cents; year range: 11 - 32 cents s/o: 192-million. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Oct 27, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. CA:IB 0.00% (otcqx:IAALF)(pink sheets:IAALF) ("IBC" or the "Company") and Ceramic Tubular Products, LLC ("CTP") signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly advance and develop their respective nuclear fuel technologies to address operational and performance issues with light water reactor ("LWR") fuel systems. IBC and CTP's nuclear fuel technologies are very complementary and have the potential to deliver significant fuel performance improvements and operational safety benefits to the nuclear industry. CTP, based in Rockville, MD and Lynchburg, VA, has been developing an advanced nuclear fuel ceramic cladding, known as silicon carbide triplex cladding, primarily for existing Light Water Reactors (LWRs). This advanced technology aims to improve the economics of the nuclear industry by increasing safety margins and overall fuel performance. CTP has been awarded multiple grants, including one from the US Department of Energy, to further research, identify and evaluate complementary fuel forms, such as IBC's BeO enhanced fuel that could contribute by facilitating the cladding to achieve its full potential in commercial service. "We look forward to working with IBC and their advanced nuclear fuel R&D program," said Herb Feinroth, CEO of Ceramic Tubular Products. "Our respective technologies not only complement each other from a technological and commercial perspective, but are also very timely, given recent developments in the nuclear industry after the accident of the Fukushima LWR reactors in Japan. CTP's longstanding relationships with the Department of Energy, industry regulators and other industry partners," continued Feinroth, "reinforce our belief that a partnership with IBC offers great promise for our respective companies and the nuclear fuel industry." Pursuant to the MOU, IBC and CTP will collaborate to develop, test and potentially commercialize their combined respective technologies. IBC, with Purdue ("Purdue") and Texas A&M ("Texas A&M") universities, will assist in analyzing how IBC's beryllium oxide (BeO) enhanced UO2 fuel supports CTP's technology, and how it responds and performs in LWRs. IBC's BeO nuclear fuels project is focused on developing a high thermal conductivity BeO nuclear fuel for current and future nuclear power reactors that is more efficient and safer than existing nuclear fuels, which is complementary to CTP's cladding technology. "IBC is excited to develop and collaborate with CTP on alternative nuclear fuel technologies that directly address economic performance and industry safety," said Anthony Dutton, President and CEO of IBC Advanced Alloys. "IBC's objective is to commercialize its BeO enhanced fuel and to position itself as an essential part of the nuclear industry's supply chain. Our work with CTP will provide both parties with an opportunity to contribute to improved margins and cost efficiencies for the nuclear industry." About IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. IBC is an integrated manufacturer and distributor of rare metals (beryllium) based alloys and related products serving a variety of industries including nuclear energy, automotive, telecommunications and a range of industrial applications. IBC has 80 employees and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada with production facilities in Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Missouri. Additionally, IBC owns prospective beryllium properties in the Western US covering approximately 9,500 hectares. IBC is creating a dynamic global beryllium and advanced alloys company. IBC's common shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "IB" and on the OTCQX under the symbol "IAALF". This news release was prepared by management of IBC, which takes full responsibility for its contents. This disclosure contains certain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control including: the impact of general economic conditions in the areas in which the Company operates, industry conditions, changes in laws and regulations including the adoption of new environmental laws and regulations and changes in how they are interpreted and enforced, increased competition, the lack of availability of qualified personnel or management, fluctuations in commodity prices, foreign exchange or interest rates, stock market volatility and obtaining required approvals of regulatory authorities. In addition there are risks and uncertainties associated with manufacturing activities therefore the Company's future results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. All statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions made by the Company based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy of this news release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
When I was in high school, someone threw sodium metal in one of the urinals in the boys restroom and blew it up. Mighty white of them. ;) "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
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