Can we react better with THORIUM?

There have been few significant changes in the cleanliness of nuclear reactors since the first electricity generating reactor was brought onto the power grid in Obninsk, USSR, in 1954.  The low carbon emissions from nuclear reactors make them one of the greener methods for generating electricity, and a good fit with the “green” initiatives envisioned for addressing climate change.  Reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases are important parts of many comprehensive plans to mitigate human-caused climate change. Such plans include a broad range of “green” ways to generate electricity, such as solar panels, wind turbines, hydro electric dams, underwater tidal kites, ocean wave generators, and several other innovative ideas.

Today, nuclear reactors use Uranium as the fuel of choice, but there are downsides to using Uranium, and there are developments well underway to move away from Uranium, in favour of Thorium.  The pros and cons of Thorium are many and can be explored in these main categories:

Efficiency: As a mineral, Thorium is far more plentiful than Uranium, therefore less expensive to locate and mine. However, the cost of the fuel is only a small portion of the overall cost of designing, building, and operating a nuclear reactor.

Effectiveness: In order to be effective in a nuclear reaction, Thorium must be converted to an isotope of Uranium (U233).  This can be done fairly easily in a number of steps, and the reactor itself can assist in this conversion. The U233 fuel can be used successfully in most of the existing types of nuclear reactors, but reactors built specifically for Thorium are the more effective.

Safety: There have been three very serious nuclear accidents, 3-Mile Island, Chernobyl, & Fukushima.  It is imperative to improve the safety record of nuclear reactors, as a small number of disasters can instill a high level of fear and trepidation that is hard to overcome.  Next generation Thorium reactors are designed to be melt-down proof, with many safety improvements. The increased safety would be more a function of improved design over just switching to Thorium as the fuel.

Waste Management: There have been claims that Thorium waste is “better” than Uranium waste.  While Thorium reactors produce a significantly smaller volume of waste, it is still dangerously radioactive for a long time. If storage space cost is an issue, the smaller volume of Thorium waste product may contribute to increased efficiency.

Nuclear Arms Proliferation: There are claims that U233 cannot be used to produce nuclear weapons, however, from a technical perspective it could be done.

Need for more reactors: In the USA, nuclear power is already the primary low carbon energy source for base-load electricity generation.  Solar and wind power have an increasing place in the energy mix, as the transition away from fossil fuels accelerates.  Unlike many other “green” sources, nuclear power is not intermittent, so it is available all the time without the need for energy storage (batteries).

In many countries, the updating and replacing of older nuclear reactors will be necessary in order to meet  impending net-zero carbon emission targets  Time will tell if all the factors discussed above prove to be enough of a benefit to switch from Uranium to Thorium as the fuel of choice for nuclear reactors. Already, the exploration of new fuels has sparked better design ideas for nuclear reactors, and this may be exactly what is needed to restore confidence in the technology, especially when it comes to safety.

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