In general, the nuclear fission results in the release of enormous quantities of energy. Abundant thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel important waste disposal and weapon proliferation advantages marvin baker schaffern rand corporation, 1776 main street, santa monica, ca 90407, united states highlights thorium is an abundant nuclear fuel that is well suited to three advanced reactor con. Thorium fuel cycle potential benefits and challenges iaea. Thorium fuel no panacea for nuclear power institute. Viability of thoriumbased nuclear fuel cycle for the next. Because of its abundant resources of thorium and domestic lack of uranium, india has been the only country with a sustained effort to use thorium in largescale nuclear power generation. In the reactor, 232 th is transmuted into the fissile artificial uranium isotope 233 u which is the nuclear fuel.
Thorium is absolutely a viable and capable fuel, and some advanced nuclear reactors that use it are among the most exciting designs out there. It isnt really fuel, because it cant be split like uranium can. Other reactor and fuel cycle concepts may offer much more efficient utilisation of fuel, enable the exploitation of alternative fuel resources such as thorium and the utilisation of nuclear energy. Thorium bred uranium233 can be used to make atomic bombs, despite what proponents may claim.
The demand for energy is increasing so rapidly, however, that we cant use uranium235 indefinitely as our only fuel in nuclear power plants. During the fuel burning, thorium 232 transforms into a fissile uranium 233. Thorium can be used in most advanced nuclear fuel cycle systems including the newest generation iv reactors. Democratic presidential candidate andrew yang revealed his climate plan, which includes an endorsement for a nuclear power called thorium. Like uranium, its properties allow it to be used to fuel a nuclear chain reaction that can run a power plant and make electricity among other things. It is also found in large amoungs in norway, the united states, canada, and south africa. Thorium fuel utilization, technical status and development needs were considered in detail by the infce working group 8 19771980. The use of thorium as nuclear fuel the american nuclear society endorses continued research and development of the use of thorium as a fertilea fuel material for nuclear reactors. Fuel cycles based on thorium 232th are the options that may provide an opportunity to use vast deposits of this nuclear material to supply future large scale deployment of nuclear energy. Its already produced by mining companies as a byproduct, and it has a variety of nonnuclear uses. Nuclear alternative through a partnership with dbi, the companys thorium reactor design provides a nuclear alternative to fossil fuel consumption, taking advantage of abundant and widely available thorium. However, thorium has been suggested as an alternative fuel because it is more abundant than uranium and has some advantages regarding safety. Thorium ore, or monazite, exists in vast amounts in the dark beach sand of india, australia, and brazil. So, even for a reactor that would use thorium within its fuel cycle, most energy produced would actually come from uranium fissions.
Proponents believe that this element could be used in a new generation of nuclear power plants to produce relatively safe, lowcarbon energy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the developments in thorium fuel cycle, looking at the prospects and drawbacks on the possibility of thorium based nuclear fuel for commercial reactors. Isotope 232 th is key material in the thorium fuel cycle. Thorium has been widely considered an alternative to uranium fuel because of its relatively large natural abundance and its ability to breed fissile fuel 233 u from natural thorium 232 th.
Therefore the call for thorium based nuclear energy is rising. Mit energy initiative, the future of the nuclear fuel cycle appendix a starts on page 181 of the appendices pdf. Unlike natural uranium, natural thorium contains only trace amounts of fissile material, which are insufficient to initiate a nuclear chain. According to proponents, a thorium fuel cycle offers several potential advantages over a uranium fuel cycleincluding much greater abundance of thorium on earth, superior physical and nuclear fuel properties, and reduced nuclear waste production. Dont believe the spin on thorium being a greener nuclear. Thorium and nuclear weapons by gordon edwards there are many exaggerated claims made by promoters of thorium based nuclear reactor technology as an alternative to the present generation of uraniumbased reactors.
Thorium based fuel as an emerging and promising nuclear fuel would be used in reactor mostly on closed cycle, and the fissile 233 u bred from thorium is the needed fuel. The use of thorium dioxide as a nuclear fuel has other interesting implications as waste management and operating conditions can be improved compared to other actinidedioxidebased fuel. Thorium can be used as a nuclear fuel through breeding to uranium233 u233. Test reactor irradiation of thorium fuel to high burnups has also been conducted and. Posted august 22, 2017 nuclear power plants generate large amounts of reliable energy and dont release. Dec 18, 2019 so thorium is not usable as a fuel directly, but is instead a fertile nucleus that can be converted to uranium in a reactor. The thorium fuel cycle is a nuclear fuel cycle that uses an isotope of thorium, 232 th, as the fertile material. Abundant thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel important waste disposal and weapon proliferation advantages marvin baker schaffern rand corporation, 1776 main street, santa monica, ca 90407, united states highlights thorium is an abundant nuclear fuel. Thorium reactors are based on the thorium fuel cycle and use thorium 232 as a fertile material.
Some aspects of the thorium fuel cycle were considered at the. Thorium reactors are a different way to generate electricity that could benefit the world. High efficiency nuclear power plants using liquid fluoride thorium reactor technology albert j. Only after conversion to uranium does thorium become useful as a nuclear fuel. According to proponents, a thorium fuel cycle offers several potential advantages over a uranium fuel cycleincluding much greater abundance of thorium on earth, superior physical and nuclear fuel properties, and reduced nuclear. Msrs offer multiple advantages over conventional nuclear power plants, although for historical reasons further explanation needed, they have not been deployed. That means thorium energy has the potential to produce more energy than any current traditional fossil fuel based option, current nuclear technologies, and renewable power resources. Pdf thorium fuel for nuclear energy sait kursunoglu. You dont have to trust me on this, see what the experts at various institutions have to say below.
Lets bring back the debate to the scientific industrial arena. A thorium reactor is a form of nuclear energy, proposed for use as a molten salt reactor. Mit energy initiative, the future of the nuclear fuel cycle appendix a starts on page 181 of the appendices pdf file. However, thorium cannot be used by itself to sustain a nuclear. Thorium based nuclear fuels produce substantially less plutonium, and the isotopic. The amount of energy depends strongly on the nucleus to be fissioned and also depends strongly on the kinetic energy. Juhaszl nasa glenn research center, cleveland, ohio 445 richard a. The future of thorium as nuclear fuel streetwise reports.
Thorium fuel has been proposed as an alternative to uranium fuel in nuclear reactors. It is fueled by the uranium233 isotope that is taken from the element thorium. Thorium is a very wellrecognized fertile material in the thoriumuranium fuel cycle in which 232th absorbs thermal neutrons in a nuclear reactor to become 233th, which then transmutes by two stages of negative. Potential of thorium based fuel cycles to constrain.
Michelsendis coordinated the 2015 nea report introduction of thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle. Thorium as a nuclear fuel has important advantages relative to weapon. Thorium is an abundant, lightly radioactive metalnamed by its swedish discoverer after the norse god, thorthat can be used in certain types of nuclear reactors. Radiative capture of a neutron leads to the formation of fissile 233 u. Nuclear power corporation of india the kalpakkam fast breeder reactor, near tamil nadu. Thorium based nuclear power has yet to be fully commercialized despite numerous projects and pilot test reactors designed to evaluate thorium as a viable reactor fuel. Rather, when it is exposed to neutrons, it will undergo a series of nuclear. In the past 50 years basic research and development on the use of thorium based fuel. It is said that the global reserves of thorium are considerably larger than natural uranium. If this fertile material is loaded in the nuclear reactor, the nuclei of 232 th absorb a neutron and become nuclei of 233 th. So thorium is not usable as a fuel directly, but is instead a fertile nucleus that can be converted to uranium in a reactor. Sep 12, 2019 so, a reactor can cook thorium into reactor fuel, and then consume the fuel to make electricity. The reactor may comprise a pressure vessel for housing a nuclear reactor core, the vessel. These advantages are specific to molten salt reactors, and not to thorium fuel.
Unlike natural uranium, natural thorium contains only trace amounts of fissile material such as 231. The thorium uranium nuclear fuel cycle, in which the main fissile nucleus is uranium 233 and fuel regeneration is ensured through neutron capture on thorium 232 offers many potential. Thorium fuel for nuclear energy american scientist. Nawada of the division of nuclear fuel cycle and waste technology. So, even for a reactor that would use thorium within its fuel cycle. Thorium based nuclear fuels produce substantially less plutonium, and the isotopic composition of the plutonium that they do create is unsuitable for bomb making. May 07, 2012 thorium bred uranium233 can be used to make atomic bombs, despite what proponents may claim. Thorium fuel no panacea for nuclear power institute for. Thoriumbased nuclear power generation is fueled primarily by the nuclear fission of the isotope uranium233 produced from the fertile element thorium. Nuclear fuel cycle science and engineering 1st edition. Power conferences in salzburg 1977 and vienna 1982, as well as, the. October 8, 2018, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the operation of the moltensalt reactor experiment msre using uranium233 as a fuel. Thorium could be used in a variety of different types of reactors, including conventional lightwater reactors, which are the type used in the united states. Thorium is being touted as a potential wonder fuel.
In fact, a 2010 national nuclear laboratory nnl report pdf concluded the thorium fuel cycle does not currently have a role to play in the uk context and is likely to have. Introduction of thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle nuclear energy. Fertile conversion occurs with thermal neutron captures. The impact of nuclear reactor design and operation on fuel. Thorium is the fuel we need for wastefree, safe nuclear energy, say proponents. Hype about thorium and advanced nuclear in general is quite justified. One of those claims is that the use of thorium fuel instead of uranium fuel eliminates. Thorium is about three times more abundant than uranium. The nuclear fuel isnt what caused the chernobyl disaster, it was the reactor, and huge amounts of research has been invested into new uranium based reactors with all sorts of properties making them safer and. Nuclear power corporation of india the kalpakkam fast breeder reactor, near.
Safety and regulatory issues of the thorium fuel cycle. A molten salt reactor msr is a class of nuclear fission reactor in which the primary nuclear reactor coolant andor the fuel is a molten salt mixture. Nuclear science introduction of thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle short to longterm considerations oecd 2015 nea no. Is thorium the fuel of the future to revitalize nuclear. Plus, used fuel from thorium reactors contains minimal amounts of very longlived. Thorium is promising, but theres no need for an alternative nuclear fuel at the moment and probably wont be for a very long time. Thorium fission and fissionfusion fuel cycle 385 thorium is the second member of the actinides series in the periodic table of the elements. A liquid fuel is inherently easier and cheaper to chemically process, thereby creating a pathway for total nuclear waste elimination. Thorium is a potentially valuable energy source since it is about three to four times as abundant in the earths. Interest in using thorium as a nuclear fuel remerged during the first part of the 21st century. Andrew yang loves thorium nuclear reactors, but what are they. To learn more about thorium, we feature a page about thorium as nuclear fuel, as well as a big page about the fluid fueled molten salt reactors msrs that are good at using it. The two main international projects, namely innovative nuclear reactors and fuel cycles programme inpro initiated by the iaea and the usled generation iv international forum gif, are also considering thorium fuels and fuel cycles. Part two goes on to explore materials mining, enrichment, fuel element design and fabrication for the uranium and thorium nuclear fuel cycle.
A nuclear reactor and method for generating energy from fertile and fissile nuclear fuel material. Several thorium fuelled reactor concepts are under consideration. So far, the course has considered only uranium and plutonium as nuclear fuels. Thorium based nuclear power generation is fueled primarily by the nuclear fission of the isotope uranium233 produced from the fertile element thorium. Possible scenarios for using thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle include use in different nuclear. Us2067644a1 thoriumbased nuclear reactor and method. Introduction of thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle nuclear science 2015 232 90 nea short to longterm considerations introduction of thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle. More efficient than their fossil fuel counterparts, safer than a conventional nuclear plant, and. Thorium vs uranium fuel breeding 232 th is the predominant isotope of natural thorium. One of those claims is that the use of thorium fuel instead of uranium fuel. Some elements are given in this webinar, albeit non exhaustively.
Abundant thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel mit. The fact that thorium reactors could not produce fuel for nuclear weapons meant the better reactor fuel got short shrift, yet today we would love to be able to clearly differentiate. The thorium fuel cycle is a nuclear fuel cycle that uses an isotope of thorium, 232. Thorium is a basic element of nature, like iron and uranium. However, thorium cannot be used by itself to sustain a nuclear chain reaction. Perspectives on the use of thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle. Thorium as a nuclear fuel request pdf researchgate. Mar 03, 2020 the primary objectives of this report are to summarize historical, current, and proposed uses of thorium in nuclear reactors. Using thorium as well as uranium in the fuel can diminish that threat. Myths and misconceptions about thorium nuclear fuel. The future of thorium as nuclear fuel gold geologist. A thorium reactor can produce efficiency levels as high as 98%. High efficiency nuclear power plants using liquid fluoride. Iaeatecdoc1155, entitled thorium based fuel options for the generation of electricity.
This page does not debunk thorium as a good energy system, it simply debunks a small fraction of the hype from a nuclear. Current nuclear technologies can achieve an efficiency rate of about 5% with its fuel. In the framework of iaea activities on the use of thorium as nuclear fuel, a report on the performance of the thorium cycle, entitled a fresh look at the thorium fuel cycle was drafted in 1991 and distributed as working material. Thorium is much more abundant in nature than uranium. Thorium fuel cycle potential benefits and challenges. Due to the united states government opting for uranium over thorium as a nuclear fuel due to the cold war and weapons grade plutonium waste, many thorium based projects were halted. Unlike natural uranium, natural thorium contains only trace amounts of fissile material such as thorium 231, which are insufficient to initiate and sustain nuclear. Nuclear report 21st century fall 2005 45 t horium is an abundant element in nature with multiple advantages as a nuclear fuel for future reactors of all types.