Thorium
Thorium is usually associated with uranium or the rare-earth elements and yttrium ad is widely distributed in the Earth's crust. Its occurrence in the Earth's crust of 10 parts per million makes it more abundant than one-half the elements. France is the principal world supplier, deriving thorium compounds as a byproduct of processing imported monazite for the rare earths. Monazite is mined mainly in Australis, Brazil, India, Malaysia, and the United States as a byproduct of recovering titanium and zirconium minerals or tin minerals. About 90% of the thorium consumed in the United States is used in refractories, incandescent lamp mantles, aerospace alloys, nuclear fuel, and welding electrodes. Thorium-232 is transmuted under neutron bombardment into uranium-233, which is fissionable in a chain reaction. Therefore, thorium can be used as a fuel in the generation of nuclear energy. Construction of more nuclear reactors that use thorium as a fuel would create a substantial market for thorium compounds. The future use of thorium as a nuclear fuel is uncertain, and demand for thorium in nonenergy applications is expected to remain small. Existing facilities for mining and processing monazite and for producing thorium have the capacity to meet probable demand to 2000. Monazite is expected to remain the major source of thorium as a result of its cost advantages as a byproduct of processing the rare earths.
- Research Organization:
- Card Corp., Denver, CO (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6459266
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-158571/0/XAB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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