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manasecret · 02-17-2010, 03:30 PM

Yeah I just read about this. It reminds me of a Wired article on Thorium.

Uranium-Fueled Light-Water Reactor
Fuel Uranium fuel rods
Fuel input per gigawatt output 250 tons raw uranium
Annual fuel cost for 1-GW reactor $50-60 million
Coolant Water
Proliferation potential Medium
Footprint 200,000-300,000 square feet, surrounded by a low-density population zone

Seed-and-Blanket Reactor
Fuel Thorium oxide and uranium oxide rods
Fuel input per gigawatt output 4.6 tons raw thorium, 177 tons raw uranium
Annual fuel cost for 1-GW reactor $50-60 million
Coolant Water
Proliferation potential None
Footprint 200,000-300,000 square feet, surrounded by a low-density population zone

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor
Fuel Thorium and uranium fluoride solution
Fuel input per gigawatt output 1 ton raw thorium
Annual fuel cost for 1-GW reactor $10,000 (estimated)
Coolant Self-regulating
Proliferation potential None
Footprint 2,000-3,000 square feet, with no need for a buffer zone

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/1...ew_nukes/all/1

And the upside is, thorium reactors are being made right now. In fact, they were first made some four decades ago. The only reason the U.S. went with uranium over thorium is because you need the enriched by-products of uranium reactors to create nuclear bombs, and the U.S. at the time was very interested in making such bombs.

02-17-2010, 03:30 PM	#3
manasecret aka George Washington manasecret is offline Location: New Orleans, LA/Houston, TX Now Playing: CSS Posts: 2,670	Re: Nuclear Renaissance?? Yeah I just read about this. It reminds me of a Wired article on Thorium. Uranium-Fueled Light-Water Reactor Fuel Uranium fuel rods Fuel input per gigawatt output 250 tons raw uranium Annual fuel cost for 1-GW reactor $50-60 million Coolant Water Proliferation potential Medium Footprint 200,000-300,000 square feet, surrounded by a low-density population zone Seed-and-Blanket Reactor Fuel Thorium oxide and uranium oxide rods Fuel input per gigawatt output 4.6 tons raw thorium, 177 tons raw uranium Annual fuel cost for 1-GW reactor $50-60 million Coolant Water Proliferation potential None Footprint 200,000-300,000 square feet, surrounded by a low-density population zone Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor Fuel Thorium and uranium fluoride solution Fuel input per gigawatt output 1 ton raw thorium Annual fuel cost for 1-GW reactor $10,000 (estimated) Coolant Self-regulating Proliferation potential None Footprint 2,000-3,000 square feet, with no need for a buffer zone http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/1...ew_nukes/all/1 And the upside is, thorium reactors are being made right now. In fact, they were first made some four decades ago. The only reason the U.S. went with uranium over thorium is because you need the enriched by-products of uranium reactors to create nuclear bombs, and the U.S. at the time was very interested in making such bombs. __________________ d^_^b