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A sample of thorium. Thorium-based nuclear power generation is fueled primarily by the nuclear fission of the isotope uranium-233 produced from the fertile element thorium.A thorium fuel cycle can offer several potential advantages over a uranium fuel cycle [Note 1] —including the much greater abundance of thorium found on Earth, superior physical and nuclear fuel properties, and reduced ...
In the past, breeder-reactor development focused on reactors with low breeding ratios, from 1.01 for the Shippingport Reactor [44] [45] running on thorium fuel and cooled by conventional light water to over 1.2 for the Soviet BN-350 liquid-metal-cooled reactor. [46]
Much of their work culminated with the Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE). MSRE was a 7.4 MW th test reactor simulating the neutronic "kernel" of a type of epithermal thorium molten salt breeder reactor called the liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR). The large (expensive) breeding blanket of thorium salt was omitted in favor of neutron ...
A two fluid reactor that has thorium in the fuel salt is sometimes called a "one and a half fluid" reactor, or 1.5 fluid reactor. [26] This is a hybrid, with some of the advantages and disadvantages of both 1 fluid and 2 fluid reactors. Like the 1 fluid reactor, it has thorium in the fuel salt, which complicates the fuel processing.
As a breeder reactor, it converts thorium into the nuclear fuel uranium-233. To achieve reasonable neutron economy, the chosen single-salt design results in significantly larger feasible size [ clarification needed ] than a two-salt reactor (where blanket is separated from core, which involves graphite-tube manufacturing/sealing complications).
A reactor construction permit was issued by the Chinese National Nuclear Safety Administration in January 2020. [14] Construction was expected to finish in August 2021, with testing to follow. [ 15 ] [ 16 ] In August 2022, the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment informed SINAP that its commissioning plan for the LF1 had been approved. [ 7 ]
A sample of thorium. A Stage III reactor or an Advanced nuclear power system involves a self-sustaining series of thorium-232–uranium-233 fuelled reactors. This would be a thermal breeder reactor, which in principle can be refueled – after its initial fuel charge – using only naturally occurring thorium. According to the three-stage ...
At first, the reactor's construction was supposed to be completed in September 2010, but there were several delays. The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is scheduled to be put into service in December 2024, [7] which is more than 20 years after construction began and 14 years after the original commissioning date, as of December 2023. The project ...