ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of Thorium Reactors

413 Words2 Pages

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors: A Thing of the Future? Since the inception of nuclear power plants over half a century ago, numerous disasters have taken place which shocked the world at large. Many from amongst activists and the public questioned the effectiveness and about the danger of this source of energy. One of the top economist, Jeremy Rifkin, said regarding conventional nuclear power plant that “it’s over” from a business point of view (“Jeremy Rifkin: Five (actually 6)..”, 2014). Yet, little is known about a similar nuclear power lurking in the background; a thorium based, instead of traditional uranium, nuclear reactor. Several experts have explained that thorium based nuclear reactor is significantly better than uranium based ones to the extent that it is “touted as The Answer to our energy needs.”( Zerbisias, A., 2011) But with a thorough analysis of how thorium reactors work, would this be a positive endeavour for investors? …show more content…

Compared with uranium based nuclear reactor, thorium based nuclear reactors is deemed as a safer, cheaper, and a cleaner alternative. Antonia Zerbisias of The Stars, inserts that it is “almost as common as dirt” and that there is “enough easily mined thorium in the ground to power the world for a thousand years.” (www.thestar.com, 2011) Additionally, thorium reactors can’t melt down like uranium reactors, its toxic waste degrades faster than uranium’s and “is hard to weaponize” says The Week magazine (“Could thorium make..”,

Show More
Related
288 Words | 2 Pages

I chose to show the book, “Dark Places” in a simple shadow box. The book is a non fiction about a tragic life story of a girl named Libby Day. When she was only seven years old when her mother and two sisters were murdered by her brother. But… is he really the killer? That's the question Libby Day hunts to find.

Read More
939 Words | 4 Pages

In “Nuclear Power is Not the Answer,” Helen Caldicott argues that pursuing nuclear energy would be a detriment to the United States. According to Caldicott, nuclear power, contrary to what the industry claims, is not clean and green, but rather a pollutant and a strong contributor to the destruction of the ozone layer. Because of the availability of uranium ore steadily decreasing, the process is requiring more and more fossil fuels to extract the ore. Caldicott projects that within ten to twenty years, nuclear reactors will be counterproductive because of the amount of fossil fuel it will take to mine the remaining uranium. In addition to air pollution, nuclear power plants also emit radioactive gases and materials that have the potential

Read More
1492 Words | 6 Pages

The first advantage of using nuclear power to produce our electricity is that it costs only 1.92 cents per kilowatt hour to produce electricity from nuclear power. Furthermore, nuclear power is a more efficient source of energy than other sources such as coal or natural gas (Figure 5). The two biggest advantages in terms of the wellbeing of planet earth of using nuclear power are that it creates very little to no greenhouse gases, such as CO2, and also it does not use our non-renewable resources. A typical nuclear reactor utilizes uranium-235 as its source of energy, but unfortunately, uranium-235 only makes up 0.72% of all of the uranium on earth. With that being said, the fact that nuclear power does not use un-renewable resources might be being questioned at the moment, but the truth is that even though uranium-235 is a non-renewable resource, a new form of reactor called a breeder reactor, makes this a harmless process in regard to our valuable resources.

Read More
1167 Words | 5 Pages

Thorium is a common radioactive element that can be used as nuclear fuel. Little is known about thorium except that it can be used as a salt, and it is four times more common than uranium (“Sorensen, Thorium, an alternative nuclear fuel”). Kirk Sorensen, states that the United States has over 32 metric tons of thorium and that it reduces nuclear waste tenfold (“Thorium, an alternative nuclear fuel”). The most common idea of how to use thorium is as a replacement for uranium. As established British editor, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard describes thorium “It promises to be safer, cleaner, and ultimately cheaper than uranium.

Read More
1090 Words | 5 Pages

Nuclear Technology Nuclear technology is a widely used field of science in many aspects of the world today. The study on how nuclear energy could be used catalyzed during World War II, mostly in Germany and The United States. Since then, scientists started to use nuclear energy in technology because it doesn’t give off greenhouse gases, the reactions in weaponry can create mass destruction, and can be used in radiation in terms of medical needs. Studies have proved that nuclear energy offers a numerous amount of warfare, medicinal, and electrical advantages. All over the world energy is being used more frequently than the past because of all the new technology offered, from this nuclear scientists founded a way to efficiently

Read More
3793 Words | 16 Pages

Introduction Could thorium, as a nuclear fuel, be an alternative to fossil fuels as a sustainable energy source? The world’s supply of fossil fuels is rapidly decreasing and it is imperative that new, sustainable sources of energy are utilised. Furthermore, the burning of fossil fuels releases gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. An excess of these gases in the atmosphere has a negative impact on the environment and are possible contributors to climate change.

Read More
576 Words | 3 Pages

Despite the negative publicity of incidents such as the reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island and the Chernobyl disaster, nuclear power remains a viable source of energy. Nuclear power produces large amounts of energy without damaging the environment with large amounts of carbon dioxide. In addition, nuclear power is more economical than traditional energy sources. Not only does it cost less to produce, it benefits the economy by creating new employment positions. Finally, nuclear energy results in fewer deaths each year than traditional fossil fuel sources.

Read More
948 Words | 4 Pages

As we argue for the construction of Nuclear fission reactor, I will recall our statement how nuclear fission reactor is beneficial than coal for both in an economical and environmental way. Constructing a Nuclear fission reactor is advantages on the point of, releases no greenhouse gasses, uses renewable sources, and provides jobs; though, coal-fired power station contributes to the greenhouse effect, uses limited resources, and destroys the beautiful scenery in Thunderdome. no greenhouses gas released. Nuclear fission reactor does not release any greenhouse gasses because they generate heat from fission rather than burning fuels, they produce no greenhouse gasses or emission associated with acid rain or urban smog.

Read More
236 Words | 1 Pages

According to Grant Mincy in the article "what I Have Learned from nature ". I think he is making his way to show us the need of Freedom! he get focused on this word so much, and he does show how freedom mean to him in many parts. Like: "We cannot truly know freedom, nor understand absolute liberty, without wilderness.

Read More
2144 Words | 9 Pages

Despite the dangers of radiation and meltdowns, nuclear reactors continue to advance and improve the safety and quality of the reactors. Fusion reactors are currently under construction and will be ready to use in several years. As a developed country, Australia should participate in the development of future technology that is nuclear

Read More
1085 Words | 5 Pages

The concerns of radioactive isotope production isn’t limited to just cost however. A single radioisotope has the capacity to harm millions of people through contamination or radiation exposure(2), and they have potentially hazardous effects, particularly significant harm on the environment, if they inadvertently escape into the surrounding area of the nuclear reactor. Further concerns with

Read More
971 Words | 4 Pages

Compared to the energy released by uranium-233 in fission (0.0753231185857987 PJ/kg), the uranium-233 is much more efficient and effective. “Australian energy consumption rose … in 2014-15 to around 5920 petajoules” (Australian Government, 2016). Therefore, if TMSRs were in use in Australia in 2014-15, the amount of uranium-233 needed to power it would be: 5920PJ ÷ 0.0753231185857987 PJ/kg = 78594.72776949184kg “At the end of December 2012, Geoscience Australia estimated that Australia’s … thorium amounted to about 595 000 tonnes … assuming an arbitrary figure of 10% for mining and processing losses in the extraction of thorium, the recoverable resources of Australia’s thorium could amount to about 535 500 tonnes”("Thorium", 2013). Assuming that the energy consumption in Australia in future years is the same as Australia’s energy consumption in 2014-2015, thorium would be able to power Australia for: 535 500 000 kg ÷ 78594.72776949184kg / year = 6813.43 years Being able to power Australia for about 6813.43 years at the current rate of energy consumption, switching to TMSR is a clear option to ensure a stable future in terms of

Read More
487 Words | 2 Pages

The use of technology and electricity has upgraded evidently in today’s time, “The Chernobyl plant lacked a fundamental safety structure found in western plants, a steel-reinforced concrete shell completely encapsulates the nuclear reactor vessel”(Brandly). In 2018, many things have been renewed and upgraded which then makes the nuclear power plant a lot safer and more of an essential than it used to be in 1986. The nuclear power plant will not be used until it has been tested and checked for any objects that may be in the wrong position and may cause a problem. In addition, Nuclear Power is much safer and is something that should be

Read More
3678 Words | 15 Pages

“Nuclear power will help provide the electricity that our growing economy needs without increasing emissions. This is truly an environmentally responsible source of energy.” Michael Burgess Prior to the introduction of nuclear energy, fossil fuel was thought to be the only available source in producing energy. Although fossil fuel, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, contains high energy value, it produces too many harmful byproducts that ultimately pollute our environment. With the rising concerns over global warming as more and more greenhouse gases accumulate in our Earth’s atmosphere, many voice such opinions that new alternative, yet sustainable method must be adopted to produce energy.

Read More
944 Words | 4 Pages

It is true that there have been major accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. However those are the only accidents that have occurred in a total of 16,000 cumulative reactor years (“Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors”). The actual amount of accidents that happens are quite low. Moreover, even when those accidents happen, the radiation that you would receive would (normally) be the same or less than what you would receive from natural sources (Lynas). Thus, if those accidents happen, and it is very unlikely that they will, they will not give you any adverse effects when handled

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Thorium Reactors

Related Topics

Open Document