Thorium oxide (ThO2) has one of the highest melting points of all oxides (3,300 degrees C) and has been used in light bulb elements, lantern mantles, arc-light lamps and welding electrodes as well as in heat-resistant ceramics. Thorium can be used as a nuclear fuel through breeding to 233U. There is no significant demand for thorium resources currently and any large-scale commercial demand is expected to be dependent on the future development of thorium-fuelled nuclear reactors. Several reactor concepts based on thorium fuel cycles are under consideration, but a considerable amount of development work is required before it can be commercialized in China, the U.S., India, etc. India has been developing a long-term three stage nuclear fuel cycle to utilize its abundant thorium resources.
The construction of a 500 megawatt electric (MWe) prototype fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam, near Madras, was about 94% complete in February 2013. It will have a blanket with thorium and uranium to breed fissile 233U and plutonium respectively. Six more such fast breeder reactors have been announced for construction and this project will take the Indian thorium program to stage 2. In stage 3, Advanced Heavy Water Reactors burn 233U and plutonium with thorium to derive about 75% of the power from thorium. For each unit of energy produced, the amount of long-lived minor actinides generated is nearly half of that produced in current generation Light Water Reactors. In mid-2010, a pre-licensing safety appraisal had been completed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and site selection was in progress. Construction of the AHWR is anticipated to commence in 2014, but full commercialization of thorium reactors is not expected before 2030. The AHWR can be configured to accept a range of fuel types, including enriched U, U-Pu MOX, Th-Pu MOX, and 233U-Th MOX in full core. High Temperature Reactor-Pebble Modules of 210 MWe (two reactor modules)are under development in China. Read on.
Original URL: http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/minerals-archive/mineral-resources/thorium#heading-1
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