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Construction:
- Reactor core contains "pebbles" about the size of tennis balls
- Within each pebble are thousands of microspheres which contain radioactive fuel
- Inert Gas is used instead of water as the coolant
- Heated gas runs through a turbine to generate power
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Safety and Efficiency:
- Gas is coolant so no intricate system of pipes is required
- Are designed with many protective walls that prevent meltdowns, spewage, or any other
contact between RA fuel and the biosphere
- tend to be able to use a wider variety of fuels than tradition NPPs
- Due to the lack of a complex steam system, pebble bed reactors are about 10-15% more
efficient
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