Does Thorium Play a Role in the Future of Nuclear Energy? A 3rd Look

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 05/16/16

As the world nuclear energy consumption increases and future supply of uranium remains uncertain, thorium continues to one day be a possible alternative to uranium to provide safe and abundant nuclear power at a reasonable cost, not to say that uranium is already safe and economic but maybe by some degree. Thorium has been reported on for years to offer an addition or alternative to uranium. This article goes one step further beyond what is already known. Thorium, a slightly radioactive metal that occurs in rocks and soils. It is more abundant in nature than uranium and is fertile rather than fissile. When placed into nuclear applications, thorium can be used in conjunction with a fissile material like recycled plutonium. But, the use of thorium as a primary source of energy is still under development. Extracting the latent energy value of thorium in a cost-effective manner has been challenging. This means that before the energy sector can turn to thorium as a viable option, there is still much development that needs to go into refining the technology. But, unlike uranium, thorium can split to make a nuclear-chain reaction, in scientific terms, it is not fissile. However, if it is bombarded by neutrons from a fuel that is fissile, like uranium-235 or plutonium-239, it is converted to uranium-233, itself an excellent nuclear fuel. After the process begins, it is self-sustaining, fission of uranium-233 turns more thorium nearby into the same nuclear fuel. So uranium is still the central player. WNA highlights that an important principle in the design of thorium fuel systems is that of heterogeneous fuel arrangement in which a high fissile (and therefore high power) fuel zone called the seed region is physically separated from the fertile (low or zero power) thorium part of the fuel, often called a blanket. This serves to better supply extra neutrons with thorium nuclei, enabling them to convert to fissile U-233. Read on for thorium sources in U.S. and world...