China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
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China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
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Re: China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
#2Well, good. It's a shame nobody else has stepped up to do this first. Maybe China doing it first will help get the ball rolling.
Re: China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
#3Commence, maybe. Given their lead in pebble bed, I wonder why? Probably competing teams and competing funding and goals. Thorium was in test decades ago in the USA and its applicability to large scale power with lower proliferation risk is given. I think the article's pointing out how much usable thorium China has as a side effect of rare earth mining may get to the heart of things: people with giant trash piles look for ways to monetise.
Re: China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
#4Woah, looks like this article has a major error in it right up front:
"The project follows a 2-MW experimental version completed in 2021 and operated since then. "
They completed the TMSR-LF1 back then, and got authorization to turn it on, but have never announced startup or operation, as far as I'm aware. I've actually been bracing for the headline since 2021 because it would be the first time we operated a molten salt reactor since Oak Ridge's MSRE shut down in 1969.
For all its purported benefits, fluid nuclear fuel has major challenges because the extraordinarily radioactive fission products are no longer held up inside the fuel pins, but rather are flowing around the entire primary system, coming into intimate contact with (and plating out on) pumps, heat exchangers, the vessel wall, instruments, valves, etc. etc. My guess is that they ran into some trouble with containing this, or remotely maintaining the primary equipment.
FWIW, the US started up a commercial thorium-fueled reactor back in 1961 at Indian Point 1 [1] (previously known as the Consolidated Edison Thorium Reactor [2]). We replaced the thorium with enriched uranium in the second core, and all subsequent cores, because it was a lot more economical.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sWqmPyoYxw
[2] https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015086582338&se...
Re: China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
#5Commence, maybe. Given their lead in pebble bed, I wonder why? Probably competing teams and competing funding and goals. Thorium was in test decades ago in the USA and its applicability to large scale power with lower proliferation risk is given. I think the article's pointing out how much usable thorium China has as a side effect of rare earth mining may get to the heart of things: people with giant trash piles look…
> I wonder why?
To learn.
Do we need a better reason to try something new?
Re: China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
#6Commence, maybe. Given their lead in pebble bed, I wonder why? Probably competing teams and competing funding and goals. Thorium was in test decades ago in the USA and its applicability to large scale power with lower proliferation risk is given. I think the article's pointing out how much usable thorium China has as a side effect of rare earth mining may get to the heart of things: people with giant trash piles look…
> I wonder why? To learn. Do we need a better reason to try something new?
Nope. But I suspect it's beyond learning. The Chinese may understand nuclear power better than almost anyone else, France not withstanding. I could believe this is a strategic move, to diversify power input sources as well.
Look I am not knocking learning, but I don't think thats the key drive here.
Re: China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
#7Commence, maybe. Given their lead in pebble bed, I wonder why? Probably competing teams and competing funding and goals. Thorium was in test decades ago in the USA and its applicability to large scale power with lower proliferation risk is given. I think the article's pointing out how much usable thorium China has as a side effect of rare earth mining may get to the heart of things: people with giant trash piles look…
China has a portfolio strategy when it comes to nuclear technology (and energy systems in general).
Re: China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
#8Commence, maybe. Given their lead in pebble bed, I wonder why? Probably competing teams and competing funding and goals. Thorium was in test decades ago in the USA and its applicability to large scale power with lower proliferation risk is given. I think the article's pointing out how much usable thorium China has as a side effect of rare earth mining may get to the heart of things: people with giant trash piles look…
>its applicability to large scale power with lower proliferation risk is given
that would allow easier export of thorium power plant building thus dominating the nuclear power sector similarly to solar panels.
Re: China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I wonder why? To learn. Do we need a better reason to try something new?
Nope. But I suspect it's beyond learning. The Chinese may understand nuclear power better than almost anyone else, France not withstanding. I could believe this is a strategic move, to diversify power input sources as well. Look I am not knocking learning, but I don't think thats the key drive here.
yeah I think that hypothesis has legs. China has been trying to diversify their energy portfolio for a long time now. They're also going full steam ahead on wind and solar and is the world leader in battery storage (lithium ion and other types too). Fossil fuel, other than coal, has always been a major weakness for China that can be choked off via the Straits of Malacca.
I wonder if powering their reactor using thorium from their rare earth minerals mining is significantly cheaper than using uranium. Thorium also have the advantage of a very low weapons proliferation risk so it might be easier for China to export thorium reactors. This may play into China's long term plan to develop the global south as an alternative market (and counterweight) to the West.
Re: China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
#10But at what cost?