Thorium is a metal that could be used in molten salt reactors; one of the next generations of nuclear power in which the reactor coolant and the fuel itself are a mixture of hot molten salts. Th-232 is of interest for nuclear power generation because it can easily absorb neutrons and transform into Th-233. Th-233 can become protactinium-233 ...

Thorium fuel can be irradiated to higher burnup stages in conditions similar to light water reactors.Th-232 is a fertile material which converts to U-233 due to neutron absorption while other ...

The researchers point out that thorium's decay is a four-stage process: isotopically pure thorium-232 breaks down into thorium-233. After 22 minutes, this decays into protactinium-233.

If thorium is used in an open fuel cycle (i.e. utilizing 233U in situ), higher burnup is necessary to achieve a favourable neutron economy. If thorium is used in a closed

for thorium fuel cycles? • Challenge: Commercial thorium fuel cycles (Th/ 233 U) are evolving worldwide – Unirradiated, separated pure 233 U is a direct-use fissile material • Gap: Current detection technologies and methods in the safeguards and nonproliferation mission space are tailored for 235 U and plutonium isotopes • 233 U ...

Thorium fuel cycle. The thorium fuel cycle is the path that thorium transmutes through from fertile source fuel to uranium fuel ready for fission. Th-232 absorbs a neutron, transmuting it into Th-233. Th-233 beta …

Thorium (Th-232) is not itself fissile and so is not directly usable in a thermal neutron reactor. However, it is 'fertile' and upon absorbing a neutron will transmute to uranium-233 (U-233)a, which is an excellent fissile fuel materialb. In this regard it is similar to uranium-238 (which transmutes to plutonium-239). All …

If thorium is used in an open fuel cycle (i.e. utilizing 233U in situ), higher burnup is necessary to achieve a favourable neutron economy. If thorium is used in a closed fuel cycle in which 233U is recycled, remote handling is needed because of the high radiation dose resulting from the decay products of 232U.

thorium absorbs neutrons and transmutes into uranium-233, the uranium-233 produced is often contaminated with uranium-232. Uranium-232 is a highly radioactive isotope that emits intense

The Energy Act of 2020 directs the Department to provide a report describing the potential use of thorium fuel and U-233 in future Generation IV reactor designs, and in current …

Other articles where uranium-233 is discussed: fissile material: …naturally occurring uranium), plutonium-239, and uranium-233, the last two being artificially produced from the fertile materials uranium-238 and thorium-232, respectively. A fertile material, not itself capable of undergoing fission with low-energy neutrons, is one that decays into fissile …

The liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) is a heterogeneous MSR design which breeds its U-233 fuel from a fertile blanket of lithium-beryllium fluoride (FLiBe) salts with thorium fluoride. The thorium-232 captures neutrons …

amounts of U-233 are very long •Reprocessing thorium fuel is less straightforward than with the uranium-plutonium fuel cycle •The THOREX process has been demonstrated at small scale, but will require R&D to develop it to commercial readiness •U-233 recycle is complicated by presence of ppm quantities of U-232

These arguments are in reference to solid-fuel thorium reactors, when the design being most discussed for the past decade is a liquid-fueled thorium reactor (LFTR). ... the claim that thorium reactors are more proliferation resistant has to do with the fact that the process of converting thorium to uranium 233 also results in generating uranium ...

"Thorium fuel cycles produce weapons-usable U-233, so natural or depleted uranium (U-235 and U-238) could be added to "denature" the thorium fuel to make it difficult to separate out U-233 produced during irradiation from the other existing uranium isotopes during reprocessing."

Uranium-233 can be recovered and purified from neutron-irradiated thorium reactor fuels through the thorium extraction, or Thorex, process, which employs tributyl phosphate extraction chemistry. Irradiated fuel, containing either thorium metal or oxide, is dissolved in nitric acid containing a small amount of fluoride ion.

The first fuel cycle examined is a thorium fuel cycle in which a pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) is fueled with mixtures of plutonium/thorium and {sup 233}U/thorium. The used fuel is then reprocessed using the THOREX process and the actinides are recycled.

Protactinium-233 is a precursor to uranium-233, where uranium-233 is an accountable nuclear material under international nuclear safeguards. Currently, there are no conceptual approaches for monitoring and verifying protactinium-233 during thorium irradiation and spent fuel reprocessing.

All thorium fuel concepts therefore require that Th-232 is first irradiated in a reactor to provide the necessary neutron dosing to produce protactinium-233. The Pa-233 that is produced can either be chemically separated from the parent thorium fuel and the decay product U-233 then recycled into new fuel, or the U-233 may be usable 'in-situ ...

This natural thorium can then be placed in a reactor where it will be irradiated (by uranium fuel or thorium fuel) and transformed into U-233. So, when someone talks about "thorium fuel" they are typically …

Also, it is necessary to reprocess the used fuel to recover the U-233 and recycle it, but such reprocessing of thorium fuel has not yet been done on any scale. ... The onsite fuel-reprocessing unit using pyrochemistry allows breeding plutonium or uranium-233 from thorium. R&D progresses toward resolving feasibility issues and assessing safety ...

Over time, the role of protactinium in obtaining weaponizable uranium 233 from thorium was largely forgotten or dismissed by the thorium community. Thorium reactors born again. ... Protactinium in the …

Protactinium-233 is a precursor to uranium-233, where uranium-233 is an accountable nuclear material under international nuclear safeguards. Currently, there are …

A three-phase plan to use thorium in a nuclear reactor could produce energy with less waste and more efficiently use the fuel as well. Kirk Sorensen. (Image courtesy of Thinkstock) The short ...

Future Perspectives. Thorium as a complement to the uranium/plutonium cycle. Thorium minerals exploration activities need to be increased worldwide. Develop an industrial …

Thorium boasts several advantages over the conventional nuclear fuel, uranium-235. Thorium can generate more fissile material (uranium-233) than it consumes while fuelling a water-cooled or molten …

Thorium will be an attractive fuel in 3–4 decades for countries like the United States since it is abundant in both the raw material and the starter materials. The waste. Summary. Thorium has a long history of use as a nuclear fuel. Thorium-232 is a fertile material that can be transmuted into uranium-233 for production of fissile energy in ...

The pro-thorium lobby claim a single tonne of thorium burned in a molten salt reactor (MSR) – typically a liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) – which has liquid rather than solid fuel, can ...

This creates a uranium-233 isotope, as the thorium-232 takes on an additional neutron. The salt melts into a molten state, which runs a heat exchanger, heating an inert gas such as helium, which ...

U-233 was created as an alternative nuclear fuel source in the 1950s and 1960s. However, due to its trace amounts of U-232, a highly unstable radioactive isotope, it was too difficult to use. ... Isotek is …