The Use of Thorium within the Nuclear Power Industry - 13472

Conference · Mon Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2013

OSTI ID:22221435

Miller, Keith ^[1]

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1. The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Birchwood Park, Warrington WA3 6AE (United Kingdom)

Thorium is 3 to 4 times more abundant than uranium and is widely distributed in nature as an easily exploitable resource in many countries. Unlike natural uranium, which contains ∼0.7% fissile {sup 235}U isotope, natural thorium does not contain any fissile material and is made up of the fertile {sup 232}Th isotope only. Therefore thorium and thorium-based fuel as metal, oxide or carbide, has been utilized in combination with fissile {sup 235}U or {sup 239}Pu in nuclear research and power reactors for conversion to fissile {sup 233}U, thereby enlarging fissile material resources. During the pioneering years of nuclear energy, from the mid 1950's to mid 1970's, there was considerable interest worldwide to develop thorium fuels and fuel cycles in order to supplement uranium reserves. Thorium fuels and fuel cycles are particularly relevant to countries having large thorium deposits but very limited uranium reserves for their long term nuclear power programme. The feasibility of thorium utilization in high temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGR), light water reactors (LWR), pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactors (LMFBR) and molten salt breeder reactors (MSBR) were demonstrated. The initial enthusiasm for thorium fuels and fuel cycles was not sustained among the developing countries later, due to new discovery of uranium deposits and their improved availability. However, in recent times, the need for proliferation-resistance, longer fuel cycles, higher burnup, and improved waste form characteristics, reduction of plutonium inventories and in situ use of bred-in fissile material has led to renewed interest in thorium-based fuels and fuel cycles. (authors)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9-332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22221435
• Report Number(s): INIS-US--13-WM-13472
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
FISSILE MATERIALS
FUEL CYCLE
HTGR TYPE REACTORS
LIQUID METALS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
MOLTEN SALTS
NATURAL URANIUM
PHWR TYPE REACTORS
PLUTONIUM
PLUTONIUM 239
THORIUM
THORIUM 232
THORIUM DEPOSITS
URANIUM 233
URANIUM 235
URANIUM DEPOSITS
URANIUM RESERVES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS