During the early 20th Century radium held the promise of being the energy of the future. After almost 70 years of fission reactors and more than four decades chasing the elusive promise of nuclear fusion power, the element thorium has risen to the top of the list.
Uranium reactors have downsides, not the least of which is dangerously high radiation and significant loss of energy in the conversion process of heat to electrical power.
Thorium proponents, like Microsoft founder Bill Gates and others, see the element as one avenue toward solving future energy needs.
Cleaner, more powerful fuel
Known for some time as a cleaner, potentially better reactor fuel than uranium, thorium has several other appealing advantages: geologists believe it’s more plentiful than uranium; nuclear engineers say much more power can be created from it; physicists contend the element cannot experience a meltdown; and the waste product produced can be re-cycled as a usable fuel.
Now, Westinghouse Corporation working with the Norwegian government through a grant to Thor Energy is testing a trial reactor to determine if all the positives about thorium versus uranium are true.
Norway is a proponent of using thorium in reactors because the element was discovered by Norwegian Morten Thrane Esmark in 1828 and named after the mighty Thor—Norse god of thunder. Norway also has huge deposits of the element, listed as atomic number 90 on the periodic table.
Other than Norway, China and India are also researching the use of thorium to generate power.
According to businessinsider.com, “Norway’s test is designed to be compatible with existing infrastructure, and thus will not exhibit the optimal form of thorium energy. The trial will use a heavy-water nuclear reactor, while experts have insisted that molten salt or pebble bed reactors maximize the benefits of this energy source.”
Future use of thorium in America
Despite all its advantages over uranium, the USA is not likely to jump aboard the thorium bandwagon any time soon. The reason is simple: America has a huge supply of natural gas that may dwarf the known reserves of every other country on earth, combined.
Thanks to fracking technology, the energy needs of the U.S. can be met easily and cleanly with natural gas. The reserves may last more than 100 years.
Gary Krellenstein, a former JP Morgan Energy and Environment Director, is quoted by businessinsider.com as concluding: “Thorium power technology cannot economically compete with electricity generated by gas so long as NG prices remain in the $3-$6 per mmbtu price range.”
Despite that, however, because of the vagaries of the market, unknown energy demands in the future and shifting political winds, Krellenstein still advocates research into thorium reactors. In a special report he gave at the 2011 Thorium Energy Conference, he emphasized: “Unpredictable changes in natural gas availability and price, potential climate change issues, uncertainty in future electrical demand, and the need for a sustainable long-term environmentally acceptable energy source make this technology too important to be abandoned at this time.”
So thorium may be critical in the long run to the future of America and the world.
