Thorium Molten Salt Reactors TMSR

Availability of Thorium

➢  4 Times More Abundant than Uranium
➢  Thorium is a By-Product of Rare Earths

If a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor is So Great, Why Now and Not Earlier?

Thorium Molten Salt Reactors TMSR
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory explored and developed a Molten Salt Reactor in the 1960s.
  • The project was abandoned primarily due to the pressures of the Cold War for Plutonium (residue from Uranium) for nuclear bombs
  • China is building upon the ORNL research and developing TMSRs to meet their country’s growing energy demand.
Thorium Molten Salt Reactors TMSR

Thorium versus Uranium

BENEFITS:

  • Safety – No meltdown risk
  • Waste – Decays in 200 years vs current decay rate of Uranium; Requires smaller quantities of material vs requirements of Uranium
  • Not able to be weaponized

China will be building TMSRs over the next 20 years.

  • The Nuclear Spring generated by the meltdown of Fukushima in 2011 was a direct result of a failed cooling mechanics TMSRs are cooled by Molten Salt, not by water. Cooling failures arenot possible.
  • US Nuclear Corp has received its first order for radiation detection and monitoring instrumentation for a TMSR from China

Demand for power in China, India, and South Korea is stimulating the construction of new Nuclear Power plants. TMSR is recognized as safer, cleaner, and more cost-effective than Uranium driven nuclear power.

Thorium Molten Salt Reactors TMSR
Thorium Molten Salt Reactors TMSR

Benefits of Thorium Molten Salt Reactors TMSR 

  • Thorium Molten Salt Reactors (TMSR) do not require the intricate containment infrastructure currently in use today with Uranium fueled Nuclear Power Plants.
  • TMSRs eliminate some key issues such as corrosion caused by fluoride as seen in research with Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor research (LFTR).
  • TMSRs can be smaller facilities. In some cases, TMSRs can be manufactured off-site and transported.
  • Energy output is dictated by the size of the facility.
  • The abundance of Thorium provides an inexpensive fuel source.
  • Thorium is not a material suitable for weapons and limits the proliferation risk