Could nuclear fission help power our cities sustainably?

Thorium is an alternative to uranium for nuclear fission. It is more abundant and generates less long-lived waste. Some countries are investigating its potential for sustainable energy. Maybe it could be an alternative to nuclear fission to help power our city's sustainability. This article will examine thorium properties and viability as an energy source.


What is Thorium?

Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is light silver and tarnishes olive grey when exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high melting point.


Thorium fuel cycle

The thorium fuel cycle is the path that thorium transmutes through from fertile source fuel to uranium fuel ready for fission. Th-232 absorbs a neutron, transmuting it into Th-233. Th-233 beta decays to Pa-233 and finally undergoes a second beta minus decay to become U-233.



Safety and proliferation concerns

Thorium itself is not a good nuclear bomb material like plutonium or highly enriched uranium.

The thorium fuel cycle is considered more proliferation-resistant than uranium. This means that it is a bad nuclear bomb material. Molten salt reactors can operate at atmospheric pressure with passive safety systems. Molten salt reactors are nuclear reactors that use fluid form in very hot fluoride and also include chloride salt instead of the solid fuel that is commonly used in more reactors.




Economic feasibility

Thorium reserves could last much longer than uranium when it is sometimes at a high demand level. The fuel cycle is more fuel-efficient so that means the fuel cost may be lower or really cheap at some times. High upfront costs for a reactor and fuel cycle designs are a major challenge for this to work. Some countries like India and China are currently and constantly working on making thorium technology possible shortly.




Conclusion

Thorium has very significant potential as a sustainable nuclear fuel source due to its own given abundance and fuel efficiency. With its own constant continued research and development, thorium reactors could help meet future energy demands while also reducing nuclear waste



Citations

World Nuclear Association. "Thorium." www.world-nuclear.org. 2022.

Kotra, J. P., et al. "Thorium fuel cycle—A viable option." Annals of Nuclear Energy, vol. 23, no. 6, 1996, pp. 443-452.

Rodriguez, P. "Thorium: An alternative nuclear fuel." MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2019.