Table of Contents
- 1 How are thorium reactors different?
- 2 How is the Natrium reactor different?
- 3 How does Natrium nuclear reactor work?
- 4 Does a Natrium reactor use uranium?
- 5 How do Natrium nuclear reactors work?
- 6 What is the difference between uranium and thorium nuclear reactors?
- 7 Is a thorium reactor a breeder reactor?
- 8 What are the pros and cons of thorium nuclear power?
How are thorium reactors different?
Thorium-based reactors are safer because the reaction can easily be stopped and because the operation does not have to take place under extreme pressures. Compared to uranium reactors, thorium reactors produce far less waste and the waste that is generated is much less radioactive and much shorter-lived.
How is the Natrium reactor different?
The Natrium technology has been designed to reduce cost and construction schedule. The key innovation relative to past reactors is the novel architecture, which separates and simplifies major structures. In fact, on a per MWe basis, it uses 80\% less nuclear-grade concrete compared to today’s large reactors.
How do thorium reactors work?
Types of thorium-based reactors Instead of using fuel rods, molten salt reactors use compounds of fissile materials, in the form of molten salts that cycle through the core to undergo fission. The molten salt then carries the heat produced by the reactions away from the core, and exchanges it with a secondary medium.
How does Natrium nuclear reactor work?
The Natrium plant uses a sodium-cooled fast reactor as a heat source. This heat from the reactor is carried by molten salt from inside the nuclear island to heat storage tanks outside the reactor building, where it is utilized as needed for generating electricity or industrial processes.
Does a Natrium reactor use uranium?
The Natrium reactor uses high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) metallic fuel. HALEU is a new class of nuclear fuel where the uranium-235 isotope content is above 5\% but less than 20\%.
How does a liquid fluoride thorium reactor work?
The liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR; often pronounced lifter) is a type of molten salt reactor. LFTRs use the thorium fuel cycle with a fluoride-based, molten, liquid salt for fuel. The secondary salt then transfers its heat to a steam turbine or closed-cycle gas turbine.
How do Natrium nuclear reactors work?
What is the difference between uranium and thorium nuclear reactors?
The short answer to the question asked above is that uranium-fueled reactors can be built right away, but they use fuel inefficiently. Thorium-fueled reactors, on the other hand, are fuel-efficient, almost perfectly so, but that comes at the end of a three-phase process, with the first phase shared by thorium and uranium fuel.
Is a thorium reactor a molten salt reactor?
Plans for thorium reactors often depict them as molten salt reactors (only the plans exist, since no commercial thorium reactors have been built).
Is a thorium reactor a breeder reactor?
[2,4] This production of fissile fuel from non-fissile but fertile fuel is called breeding, so the thorium reactor is a type of breeder reactor, with the same risks of instability that are found in uranium-based breeder reactors.
What are the pros and cons of thorium nuclear power?
It eliminates the safety concerns of traditional nuclear power. Thorium reactors have a unique ability to self-regulate their temperature levels. Should the reactor overheat for some reason, then the reaction that is generated begins to slow down on its own.