The conceptual design of thorium‐based molten salt energy amplifier

Abstract

Summary Thorium is a possible nuclear fuel to achieve the sustainable development of nuclear energy. The molten salt reactor (MSR) has great potential and advantages in realizing the efficient utilization of thorium resources. However, there are still many challenging technologies to be developed, such as the graphite lifetime problem, the complex online processing of the fuel salt. Therefore, the actual deployment timelines of thorium‐based MSR are still unpredictable. In this research, a Thorium‐based Molten Salt Fast Energy Amplifier (TMSFEA), which is based on the subcritical chloride salt fast reactor, is proposed. It adopts a single‐fluid, moderator‐free simple core design. A ternary molten salt system containing sodium chloride (NaCl), thorium tetrachloride (ThCl4), and plutonium trichloride (PuCl3) serves as both the spallation target and the fuel. A 1 GeV proton accelerator with maximum beam current of 4 mA is introduced to compensate the neutrons absorbed by fission products during operation. By adopting an offline fuel cycle scenario based on the multi‐generation reactor evolution, the utilization efficiency of thorium fuel is greatly improved. After four generations of TMSFEA operation, the total net 233U production is 2774.6 kg, the fission rate fraction of 233U rises from 0% to 89.3%, the energy fraction of thorium (EFT) can achieve the value of 66.6%, and the utilization efficiency of thorium (UET) can reach 25.9%.

The theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) ‐based strategic mapping of green nuclear energy investments with spherical fuzzy group decision‐making approach

“…Moreover, obtaining nuclear energy with thorium element is not as easy as using uranium 42 . Since the thorium element does not enter a chain reaction, the proton accelerator system must be used 43 . This mentioned situation includes both complex processes and has very serious costs 44 .…”

Separation and Complexation of Lanthanides with an Acidic Phenanthroline Carboxamide Ligand: Extraction, Spectroscopy, and Crystallography

“…Thorium fuel is considered to be the potential alternative to uranium fuel used in current nuclear plants due to its distinct advantages such as abundant fuel supplement, less radiotoxic waste production, and higher political acceptance. − In the thorium-based fuel cycle, the fertile 232 Th undergoes a series of nuclear transmutations to produce fissile 233 U . The implementation of a closed fuel cycle is necessary to achieve the benefits of thorium’s fertile potential, through which 233 U and 232 Th are separated through chemical processes and reused as nuclear fuel, in fissioning, and in proliferating in the reactor again .…”

Selective Complexation and Separation of Uranium(VI) from Thorium(IV) with New Tetradentate N,O-Hybrid Diamide Ligands: Synthesis, Extraction, Spectroscopy, and Crystallographic Studies

“…Facing the ever-growing low-carbon energy demand and ensuring energy security, thorium-based molten salt reactors (TMSRs) for the Gen-IV nuclear reactor system have attracted escalating attention in recent years. , Compared to the well-known uranium-plutonium fuel cycle, the thorium-uranium fuel cycle offers several potential merits, such as high actinide burnup, less long-lived minor actinide production, intrinsic nuclear proliferation resistance, and so forth. , Thorium in the earth’s crust is 3–4 times more abundant than uranium (the worldwide thorium resources amount to 6.35–6.37 million tonnes) and naturally exists in a monoisotopic form of 232 Th, and thus the use of thorium could greatly reduce energy-intensive enrichment activities and mining operations. As the counterpart of 239 Pu in the uranium-plutonium fuel cycle, the fissile nucleus 233 U could be produced via neutron capture on the fertile material 232 Th in breeder reactors , and then separated and recovered during the reprocessing of irradiated thorium for ultimate use as a fuel.…”