Chapter 18, Problem 80GP

Nuclear Versus Natural Gas Energy Because of safety concerns and other constraints, nuclear power plants must be run at lower efficiencies than natural gas-fired power plants. The efficiency of a particular gas-fired power plant is 44.8% and that of a nuclear plant is 32.6%. (a) For every 1.00 kJ of mechanical work (to generate electricity) produced by the gas-fired power plant, how much energy is exhausted as waste heat? (b) How much waste heat is generated for every 1.00 kJ of work produced by the nuclear power plant? (c) What is the percentage increase of waste heat generated by the nuclear plant over the natural gas plant as a result of the lower efficiency?