Nuclear Energy

Site Map
Site Articles
Credits
Home Page

Will thorium ever replace uranium?

In the public mind, the future of nuclear power is immutably linked to uranium. But in fact, nuclear energy can also be produced through another element: thorium, which could be used for example in molten salt reactors (MSR). This technology means that the fuel is liquid, instead of being solid as in a “traditional” nuclear reactor. This makes it easier to adapt the quantity of fissile material in the core as necessary, and in compliance with safety requirements. In the case of an emergency, a thorium reactor can be drained very quickly.
Besides thorium, a molten salt reactor could possibly run on plutonium and natural uranium, but calculations indicate that it would be difficult to breed the fuel, and there is doubt as to the solubility of plutonium.
Although no energy-producing thorium reactor has yet been built, the concept was seriously considered by the specialists at the Generation IV International Forum: thorium was included in the list of six possible solutions for the fourth generation of nuclear reactors, one of which could succeed the EPR generation.
Another advantage of a thorium reactor is that it burns everything. Unlike the other fourth-generation reactors, it could be used to incinerate the transuranic wastes of existing nuclear facilities. Similarly, it could incinerate its own wastes at the end of its service life, along with those of the other generation IV reactors. Besides, abundant quantities of thorium can be found in nature.
China has taken a particular interest in this technology and intends to build on thorium reactor research, much of which was pioneered by French teams. Meanwhile, with less than a dozen specialists still investigating the subject, France seems to have abandoned this solution, at least for the time being.