3 ms·
> and the only good solution (nuclear) has become politically untenable. Thorium reactors remain an insufficiently explored option here.
by ashtonkem 5y ago
> and the only good solution (nuclear) has become politically untenable.
Thorium reactors remain an insufficiently explored option here.
- nuerow 5y ago> Thorium reactors remain an insufficiently explored option here. I'm no expert in nuclear power, but it's my understanding that Thorium reactors aren't that much safer due to the higher gamma radiation emissions, and Thorium reactors are far more expensive to build and operate to the point that they are not cost-effective, let alone profitable.
- pfdietz 5y agoMolten salt reactors can be used as thermal breeders, but this is incidental to their safety properties. A MSR using 235U would have the same safety advantages. But there are many problems with MSRs, particularly the kind that dissolve the fuel in a salt. Materials issues have not been solved, despite internet claims to the contrary, and once you're no longer confining the fuel in fuel elements there's radioactivity spread all over your plant. Maintenance will be a bitch, especially (as needed if you're trying to breed w. thorium in a thermal reactor) if you're doing online chemistry on that salt.