Did you know that nuclear power is actually considered cleaner than traditional forms of energy based on fossil fuels? However, the horrific visions of nuclear meltdowns seem to cast a bad light on the energy source, but scientists in China are hoping that their plan to build a “clean” nuclear reactor could help change people’s minds.
The difference to this nuclear reactor is that thorium is used instead of uranium. They will also use molten salt reactors rather than fuel rods. How it works, the thorium is dissolved into the liquid fluoride salt before it is sent to the chamber. At extremely high temperatures of 60 ° C, thorium atoms transform into uranium-233, an isotope of uranium, which can then split and release energy and neutrons, causing nuclear fission.
The advantage over using uranium is that this process is safer than traditional nuclear reactors. This is because in the event of a leak, the molten salt is expected to have cooled sufficiently to seal the thorium and prevent significant leaks. The remnants of the reaction also have a relatively shorter half-life of 500 years compared to uranium reactors, the waste of which can remain radioactive for up to 10,000 years.
It also doesn’t require water, so these nuclear reactors can be installed in places like the desert, far from populous cities. Most importantly, it seems that this process makes nuclear weapons more difficult to manufacture, thus reducing concerns that it could increase a country’s nuclear weapons inventory.
A prototype reactor is scheduled to go into operation in August and testing will begin in September. Assuming things go well, a large commercial reactor could be ready by 2030.
Filed in . Read more about China and science. Source: life science
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