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Cheaper Nuclear Fuel

We're just throwing this stuff away!
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Why not use Thorium fuel pellets? Thorium has been shown to be fissile under bombardment, and is actually more efficient than Uranium, while just as abundant. A lot of Thorium is unearthed in Uranium mining operations, but is usually just sealed and thrown away, as if it had no value. Couldn't we process it into fuel, instead of junking it?

I just can't understand why none of the nuclear fuel manufacturers are doing this, it seems like such a big waste.

clothist, Jun 03 2003

(?) All about Thorium http://www.thorium666.dk/
[snarfyguy, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

(??) Thor, I, um... http://www.excalibu...ms/posters/thor.jpg
give - Uncle! Uncle! [thumbwax, Oct 04 2004]


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Annotation:







       Some website I found says: " There is probably more energy available for use from thorium in the minerals of the earth's crust than from both uranium and fossil fuels. Any sizable demand from thorium as a nuclear fuel is still several years in the future. Work has been done in developing thorium cycle converter-reactor systems. Several prototypes, including the HTGR (high-temperature gas-cooled reactor) and MSRE (molten salt converter reactor experiment), have operated. While the HTGR reactors are efficient, they are not expected to become important commercially for many years because of certain operating difficulties."   

       Doesn't say why...
snarfyguy, Jun 03 2003
  

       might be feasable in a while
dickity, Jun 03 2003
  

       theoretically nothing in physics and engineering is preventing widescale thorium use
vmaldia, Jul 30 2014
  


 

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