Thorium nuclear reactor trial begins

[jcoady]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1601 ... ree-energy

[JoeP]

OK, I like the periodic table element graphic made to look as the god of thunder in the article

So I read the article as well (hah). They are mixing thorium with plutonium as "thorium-MOX rods" and using them in conventional fission reactors. The article states that this technology is so great since it reduces the stockpile of plutonium...I suppose no more is made in this fuel cycle. (What other nastiness is a by-product though? Article doesn't specify and makes everything sound wonderful.)

Not only does this mean that we can do away with uranium, which is expensive to enrich, dangerous, and leads to nuclear proliferation, but it also means that we finally have an easy way of recycling plutonium. Furthermore, the thorium-MOX fuel cycle produces no new plutonium; it actually reduces the world’s stock of plutonium. Oh, thorium-MOX makes for safer nuclear reactors, too, due to a higher melting point and thermal conductivity.

So what happens when we run out of plutonium if "we can do away with uranium. . .?" Does the author think radioactive fairies show up and deliver some?

[Skipjack]

I think the point is that we can introduce thorium to the nuclear industry through the backdoor without requiring massive changes to current reactors. Once thorium is established as a fuel and an infrastructure is in place, a pure thorium reactor would be easier to sell.
Until then, there is plenty of plutonium. Later we can use other neutron sources, such as TD nuclear reactors.