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Another challenge associated with the thorium fuel cycle is the comparatively long interval over which 232 Th breeds to 233 U. The half-life of 233 Pa is about 27 days, which is an order of magnitude longer than the half-life of 239 Np. As a result, substantial 233 Pa develops in thorium-based fuels. 233 Pa
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 ...
The fertile material in the thorium fuel cycle has an atomic weight of 232, while the fertile material in the uranium fuel cycle has an atomic weight of 238. That mass difference means that thorium-232 requires six more neutron capture events per nucleus before the transuranic elements can be produced.
It has a half life of 14.05 billion years, which makes it the longest-lived isotope of thorium. It decays by alpha decay to radium-228 ; its decay chain terminates at stable lead-208 . Thorium-232 is a fertile material ; it can capture a neutron to form thorium-233, which subsequently undergoes two successive beta decays to uranium-233 , which ...
For instance, the use of MOX fuel (239 Pu in a 238 U matrix) is likely to lead to the production of more 241 Am and heavier nuclides than a uranium/thorium based fuel (233 U in a 232 Th matrix). For highly enriched fuels used in marine reactors and research reactors , the isotope inventory will vary based on in-core fuel management and reactor ...
Caesium-134 is found in spent nuclear fuel but is not produced by nuclear weapon explosions, as it is only formed by neutron capture on stable Cs-133, which is only produced by beta decay of Xe-133 with a half-life of 3 days. Cs-134 has a half-life of 2 years and may be a major source of gamma radiation in the first 20 years after discharge.
A massive fire broke out on an oil pipeline in India after thieves accidentally ignited the oil floating on the river surface. Skip to main content. 24/7 Help. For premium support please call: 800 ...
or U-233) is a fissile isotope of uranium that is bred from thorium-232 as part of the thorium fuel cycle. Uranium-233 was investigated for use in nuclear weapons and as a reactor fuel. [2] It has been used successfully in experimental nuclear reactors and has been proposed for much wider use as a nuclear fuel. It has a half-life of 160,000 years.