Thorium may sound like something out of a Marvel comic, but the radioactive metal could be a very real, renewable energy source.
Chinese scientists have been working on a thorium-based molten salt nuclear power plant for years. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, they even built a prototype reactor in 2021.
According to Interesting Engineering, the plan is to have a “safer, more environmentally friendly” power plant operational by 2025 in the Gobi Desert, where the small experimental reactor is located.
Thorium power plants are attractive because they do not require water for cooling. They transfer heat and generate electricity using liquid salt. Thorium is also more abundant than the commonly used uranium, which is not needed to operate, the South China Morning Post noted.
One of the biggest advantages is probably security.
“By moving away from the water-cooling model, this design significantly reduces the risk of core meltdowns,” wrote Kapil Kajal of IE.
Nuclear power is attractive because it can provide reliable energy without causing air pollution. There are around 440 reactors in more than 30 countries. These nuclear fission power plants produce around 9% of the world’s electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Nuclear fission produces nuclear waste that can last for decades. Meltdowns are rare but can have devastating consequences. Fusion reactors under development combine elements rather than splitting them to produce energy. They do not produce long-lived waste, according to the IAEA.
Experts are working on stabilizing a reliable fusion reactor, with breakthroughs being made in China, the United States and elsewhere.
Thorium offers another alternative. But there are hurdles to overcome. US experts researched it in the 1960s, but a costly project was abandoned after about a decade, according to a report from Stanford University.
The IAEA said dismantling would be difficult and expensive, but China’s prototype appears to give the country’s experts an incentive to continue.
The post offers a vivid visualization of how the process works: “Molten salt with thorium fuel enters the reactor core through pipes and undergoes a chain reaction. As the temperature rises, the gas flows out the other side and transfers the heat to the molten salt without thorium, which circulates in a separate circuit.
“The hot, but non-radioactive, molten salt then flows into the power plant next to the reactor” to drive a turbine. More than 80% of the spent fuel can be recycled, and the rest of the waste is “solidified into glass” and stored underground in the desert, according to the Post.
The report indicates that compact models could be used to power ships and military vehicles. This is part of an initiative that is to be intensified by 2035, when China plans to put 150 modern reactors into operation. The United States, by comparison, has 93 reactors.
A reliable and cost-effective innovation in nuclear energy could eliminate much of the greenhouse gases that medical experts say cause serious health problems such as asthma or even cancer.
“Thorium could become one of those technologies,” said Clément Hill, IAEA director general, in the agency’s report.
Meanwhile, modern technologies like heat pump water heaters can help you reduce pollution and save hundreds of dollars a year in energy costs. And you don’t have to travel all the way to the Gobi Desert to get them, because they’re available at local hardware stores. There are also tax breaks – and free online help with purchasing the equipment – to help cover some of the costs.
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