Research into the use of thorium as a nuclear fuel has been taking place for over 40 years, though with much less intensity than that for uranium or uranium-plutonium fuels[h]. 232Th is ‘fertile’ and upon absorbing a neutron will transmute to 233U, which is an excellent fissile fuel material. This thorium fuel cycle carries with it a number of important natural properties some of which contrast sharply with the uranium fuel cycle like:
· At no point in the thorium cycle – from mining to waste – can fuel or waste products be used as bomb material in any way
· The thorium fuel cycle is inherently incapable of causing a meltdown, the fuel is said to contain passive safety features
· Thorium-based fuels do not require conversion or enrichment
· Thorium fuel cycle waste material consists mostly of 233-uranium, which can be recycled as fuel (with minor actinide content decreased 90-100%, and with plutonium content eliminated entirely)
· Thorium-based fuels are significantly energy efficient
· Thorium fuel cycle waste material is radiotoxic for tens of years, as opposed to the thousands of years with today’s standard radioactive waste
· Thorium fuel designs exist today that can be used in all existing nuclear reactors
· Thorium exists in greater abundance and higher concentrations than uranium making it much less expensive and environmentally-unobtrusive to mine
These facts have many serious implications for the efficiency and security of energy delivery to the world[i].
Besides that, the nuclear fusion technology is currently been tested and analysis for the future power source. In a fusion reactor, the concept is that neutrons generated from the D-T fusion reaction will be absorbed in a blanket containing lithium which surrounds the core. The lithium is then transformed into tritium (which is used to fuel the reactor) and helium. The kinetic energy of the neutrons is absorbed by the blanket, causing it to heat up. The heat energy is collected by the coolant flowing through the blanket and, in a fusion power plant, this energy will be used to generate electricity by conventional methods. The difficulty has been to develop a device that can heat the D-T fuel to a high enough temperature and confine it long enough so that more energy is released through fusion reactions than is used to get the reaction going. At present, two main experimental approaches are being studied: magnetic confinement and inertial confinement[j].
Fusion fuels are abundantly available and inherently safe. Only tiny amounts of Deuterium and Tritium are necessary to fuel the fusion reaction: just a few grams are present in the plasma at any one time. Besides that, fusion emits no pollution or greenhouse gases. Its major by-product is Helium: an inert, non-toxic gas. There is no possibility of a 'run-away' reaction because the conditions for fusion are precise—any alteration in these conditions and the plasma cools within seconds and the reaction stops. Fusion has the capacity to furnish large-scale quantities of energy, with a low burden of waste for future generations[k].
Those are some from my short report about the nuclear fuel. Why i put these things up, well...
the uranium price has rise up, therefore we need to find a new source fuel if we do want to generate electricity. thus this may be taken in our consideration.
ok, that for now. see you guys later....
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