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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-28/china-thorium-molten-salt-nuclear-reactor-energy/100351932
Scientists in China are about to turn on for the first time an experimental reactor that's believed by some to be the Holy Grail of nuclear energy — safer, cheaper and with less potential for weaponisation.
Construction on the thorium-based molten salt reactor was expected to be finished this month with the first tests to begin as early as September, according to a statement from the Gansu provincial government.
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China Set to Begin First Trials of Thorium Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor
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There is no act of treachery or mean-ness of which a political party
is not capable; for in politics there is no honour.
-- Benjamin Disraeli, "Vivian Grey"
(Score: 4, Interesting) by driverless on Sunday August 29 2021, @05:31AM (3 children)
It's also not nearly as peaceful as advocates make out: India's three-stage nuclear power program is built around the fact that (a) the country has huge supplies of thorium and not much uranium but also (b) the fact that to use thorium you need to convert it into fissile U233. For that they use their PHWRs to produce plutonium which they can then use in fast breeder reactors to produce even more plutonium, and then finally produce U233 from thorium in thermal breeders. So they end up with an awful lot of fissile uranium and plutonium from this carefully-chosen thorium process.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by sjames on Sunday August 29 2021, @05:53PM (2 children)
That's not a problem of thorium reactor, that a problem of making weapons material on purpose and then using a tiny fraction of that to kickstart thorium reactors as an excuse.
India was already producing fissile plutonium before thorium reactors were even considered.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Sunday August 29 2021, @11:52PM (1 child)
Sure, I was more pointing out that if you're intent on warmongering then you can get there just as easily via an appropriately chosen thorium route.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday August 30 2021, @01:39AM
Actually, that will be quite hard. India did NOT do that. They did it with PHWRs. The only part thorium played was a thin excuse tacked on at the end. Note that the U.S. went with enriched uranium over thorium in order to make sure it had enough weapons grade material.
Separating U232 from U233 is harder than separating u235 from U238.