China’s experimental thorium reactor is ready for testing

China has completed construction of an experimental thorium reactor that could greatly increase the number of people who can benefit from clean nuclear energy.

Basics of the split: Nuclear power plants split fuel atoms through a process called “fission”. This creates energy that can then be converted into electricity.

Nuclear power is more reliable than wind and solar power, and the fission process does not cause climate-damaging carbon emissions, making nuclear power a potentially key weapon in the fight against climate change.

The challenge: Today there are more than 400 nuclear power plants in operation worldwide, and the vast majority use uranium as fuel and water to cool and moderate the fission process – but the status quo also has its downsides.

While uranium is about as abundant as tin, less than 1% of the uranium mined is a specific species that can be fissioned (uranium-235). it is both complicated and expensive.

Thorium is more abundant than uranium, and its waste is less toxic and harder to arm.

After fission, uranium leaves behind a highly radioactive waste product that must be carefully stored and handled. This waste also includes a type of plutonium that can be used to make nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, the demand for water means that nuclear power plants are normally only built in areas with abundant supply, such as Energy sources.

The alternatives: Uranium powered and water cooled reactors may be the most common types, but there are other options with their own advantages and disadvantages.

The radioactive metal thorium can be used as nuclear fuel. It is more abundant than uranium, and its post-fission waste is less toxic and harder to arm.

“At the moment there is enough uranium to fire all the reactors in operation,” said nuclear reactor specialist Sylvain David to France 24 to drastically reduce the need for uranium. “

China is already planning to build a commercial version of the plant by 2030.

However, thorium is more radioactive than uranium in the short term, so working with a thorium reactor is more precarious. Thorium also doesn’t work as well as uranium in certain types of reactors.

Molten salt – salt heated to temperatures where it becomes liquid – is a viable alternative to water to cool and moderate the fission process within a reactor.

In addition to the expanded site options, smelting reactors are also more efficient and safer – but molten salt can corrode pipes, and experimental smelting reactors have been prone to technical problems.

China’s thorium reactor: Despite decades of research, scientists have never succeeded in overcoming these shortcomings. But now China is preparing to test a first of its kind thorium-powered molten salt reactor.

China built the thorium reactor in August in the Gobi Desert near the city of Wuwei, and when construction is complete, it expects to test the device before the end of September.

If the prototype works as hoped, China is already planning to build a commercial version of the plant by 2030. While the current thorium reactor could only produce enough electricity for fewer than 1,000 households, this one could be capable of supplying 100,000.

China does not want to stop here either. It plans to build the reactors across the country – potentially removing air pollution and providing clean energy to the people of the deserts and plains.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have a comment on this article or have a tip for some future Freethink story, please email us at [email protected].

Comments are closed.