Design of World's first Thorium based nuclear reactor is ready

LABTECH767
reply to post by xuenchen

 

Early atomic bomb research was based on the use of Thoreum but the more unstable and potentially more explosive Plutonium became the element of choice once it became obtainable.
So there may be some truth but it would still be radioactive waste and likely requiere far larger ammount's of whatever thorium isotope they used than the equivelent uranium based reactor and more material means more waste.
That waste may be less radioactive but in far higher quantity's meaning larger waste disposal and more isotope based radio active decay, so at first glance I do not see the benefit.

Thing with Thorium (232) appart from being named after the Norse God of Thunder and Lightning (quite fitting), is that it's itself a byproduct of natural occuring Uranium-235. My theory is that once upon a time in Earth history uranium reactors were used to produce O3 and other powerhungry processes needed for life to emerge and be sustained here, and these relatively high deposits of natural Thorium-232 around the globe are to my belief ancient deponies of nuclear waste. Atleast some of them, for there seems to be far more Thorium around than what is natural. On Earth there is also quite vast amounts of natural Deuterium (D or H-2, the D in D2O, heavywater, used in several kinds of reactors) compared to the universe surrounding us. In seawater there is one D atom per 6,400 H atoms (1:6,400), while in the Milky Way the abundance is only about 23:1,000,000 (or about 1:43,500), the Sun and Jupiter at about 26:1 million (almost 1:38,500).

Sort of makes me think of there being some kind of intelligent force behind Earth abundance of heavy water Deuterium and Uranium-depleted Thorium. Hey there are even more than a dozen natural fission reactors in Gabon, West-Central-Africa that were active at the same time the Ozon-layer was formed and land life emerged from the ocean. Coincidence? I don't think so, my inquisitive mind finds need for this someone, not something-- to "blame and fame" for life on Earth.

reply to post by ErosA433


All matter is radioactive. Some sorts just more than other. There is no thing like non-radioactive substances. Had Grand Central Station been a nuclear power-plant it would have been shut down due to too high radiation levels, since it's built mainly of granite, veeeery radioactive stuff. Radiation is everywhere, it's the distribution and concentration that is worrying concerning "human made" fission products and by-products.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


indeed, and thats the very point I was making. That even in concentrated areas, it isn't typically THAT bad. I mean walking around fukashima for a day is the same dose as a 13 hour flight. (obviously it depends where you go on the site, but im talking taking a tour around a very good proportion of the facility.

People are just not educated very well on Radiation, the dangers and concerns and how to prevent exposure.

In most cases radiation doesn't make it through clothing, or even a few inches through the air.

reply to post by ErosA433


As long as it's mainly H-core radiation it's relatively safe but I would wear a gasmask and not go too close and have abc patches on and pack a scintillation counter. A few years back I used to check out weekly videos from this young lady who travelled, and for all I know still do-- a lot to Chornobyl and posted new videos from around the areas around the plant and wildlife there is thriving, with catfish the size of cows and lots of deer and other animals. The scenery is post apocalyptic, with deserted towns where people have left everything in an instant and never come back. It's surreal.

originally posted by: chr0naut
reply to post by xuenchen

 

The Moltern Salt Reactor at Oak Ridge used moltern Thorium salts as fuel and operated for four years from 1965 to 1969.

I think it gets the official 'first' Thorium reactor designation.

IIRC the MSR at Oak Ridge was developed for use in an aircraft. It used a Flouride salt in a compound with Beryllium and Lithium and I am guessing here that the Beryllium was used to generate slow neutrons. Thorium by itself will not fission without some external source so the Beryllium would have done that but not precisely sure how except that Beryllium was used by the Nazis in experiments* to give off slow neutrons under particle bombardment.

The MSR is not the answer for really safe Thorium reactors.

Immersing a Thorium pile in lead which turns molten when the process is turned on is a really safe method.

* (Nazi experiments by Dr Henry Albers at Danzig in co-operation with the Breslau project under Prof Walther Gerlach c.Nov 1943)

originally posted by: LABTECH767
reply to post by xuenchen

 

Early atomic bomb research was based on the use of Thoreum but the more unstable and potentially more explosive Plutonium became the element of choice once it became obtainable.
So there may be some truth but it would still be radioactive waste and likely requiere far larger ammount's of whatever thorium isotope they used than the equivelent uranium based reactor and more material means more waste.
That waste may be less radioactive but in far higher quantity's meaning larger waste disposal and more isotope based radio active decay, so at first glance I do not see the benefit.

Chief radionuclides from a Thorium reactor would be U233 and U232. The high instability of U232 means it would be impractical to use byproducts for any type of weapon. That is an attractive reason alone.

the non ability to breed weapons grade might be why we have had to wait so long for thorium reactors

India isn't the only nation to develop a thorium reactor. Canada has modified the CANDU heavy water reactor (which india has based all of their indigenous technology off of) to utilize thorium based fuel.

www.candu.com...

"The AFCR has been uniquely designed
with fuel flexibility at its very heart. The
proven “classic” CANDU core is optimized,
through very few design enhancements,
to operate using recycled uranium (RU)
and thorium fuel. Both of these fuel types
use our patented CANFLEX® fuel bundle
for enhanced reactor performance and
increased operating margin."