His thesis is that a nonco2 emitting energy source must also be cheaper than coal, or will ultimately fail to displace fossil fuels as a means of energy production. The best source of that is the more than 72,000 tonnes of spent fuel. Thorium energy can help us check co2 and global warming, cut deadly air pollution, provide. Power from lftrs is expected to cost of the order of 3 cents per kwh all up. The thorium energy alliances kutsch adds that just pulling uranium and thorium from coal currently mined in the u. Requires no subsidies because its cheaper than coal. Energy cheaper than coal, recently traveled to shanghai to present a 30 minute talk summarizing the main points of. Nuclear energy promised to generate lowcost electricity safely, with fewer environmental and. Energy cheaper than coal by bob hargraves disclosure first of all, let me acknowledge that i know dr.
Using any type of nuclear energy is a bad idea because of the toxic waste that it makes. Our world is beset by global warming, pollution, resource conflicts, and energy poverty. I hope many politicians working with energy policy will read this book. Thorium based nuclear power generation is fueled primarily by the nuclear fission of the isotope uranium233 produced from the fertile element thorium. Thorium could refuel the future of nuclear energy the.
This january epa renews its radon scare campaign to frighten the public about harmless levels of natural radiation. Energy, which is cheaper than that generated from coal, is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition because theres much more in play here than just the cost of energy. No enrichment energy wasted 232 th is just a metal common in rareearth ores. Uranium fuel cost component is around 610th of a cent per kilowatthour.
Power cheaper than coal thorium and uranium make it. The cost is fully competitive with mining about 20 to 30 dollars per pound. As our van of thorium advocates discuss various energy options, we hear from prominent environmentalists and climatologists who support or who have recently come to support expansion of nuclear. Hydrogen, theres a thousand ways to make hydrogen and the iodinesulfur cycle does have an advantage of using a lot of heat vs.
The output was shipped to a processing plant for our nuclear fleet. Thorium, the green energy source for the future explores the history of the 90th element on the periodic table. Energy cheaper than coal by robert hargraves the halflife of th232, which comprises most of thorium ore, is 14 billion years, so it is not hazardous due to its extremely slow decay. Thorium based nuclear energy and liquid fluoride thorium reactors lftr are not a good idea. Thorium energy alliance tea is a nongovernmental, nonprofit 501c3, educational organization based in the united states, which seeks to promote energy security of the world through the use of thorium as a fuel source. Dont believe the spin on thorium being a greener nuclear. Floating nuke power plants get backing from quant investor. In comparison, th233 has 20 minute halflife, which makes it intensely radioactive, very shortlived and a fantastic power source. According to the nuclear energy institute, nuclear power became cheaper than coal in 1999 and currently is about 30% cheaper, around 3 cents and a fraction per kwhr. See for a power plant that uses both thorium and uranium.
This century, we face significant environmental challenges. His thesis is that a nonco2 emitting energy source must also be cheaper than coal, or will ultimately. This book presents a lucid explanation of the workings of thorium based reactors. The reason uranium won out over thorium at the dawn of the atomic age was its ability to undergo fission and provide material for atomic weapons. Innovative thorium energy uses economic persuasion to end the pollution, to provide energy and prosperity to developing nations, and to create energy security for all people for all time. There would also need to be an acceptance that nuclear power plants and chemical plants, or. Thorium was safer, cleaner and more abundant than uranium, but because nuclear weapons could not be built from it, it was relegated to a footnote in atomic energy journals for the past half century. The potential for the use of thorium was studied extensively during the 1950s and 60s, and now worldwide interest is being revived due to limitations and issues concerning. Power cheaper than coal thorium and uranium make it possible december 12, 2012 by rod adams bob hargraves, the author of thorium. Few realize that green energy depends upon rare earth elements.
This issue derives from a lack of research into nuclear energy and thorium in particular. The author provides a powerful case for using thorium as a superfuel. Abundant thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel mit. I just dont know if thorium msrs are the way to go. Thorium energy technology can free the world from nuclear. Energy cheaper than coal will dissuade all nations from burning coal. Is thorium the safer, cleaner, more powerful alternative. Thorcon can end energy poverty and global warming with cheap, nonstop power. Thorium energy cheaper than coal robert hargraves coauthor ralph moir robert hargraves has a phd physics and teaches energy policy at dartmouth an ivy league school, and coauthor ralph moir lawrence livermore national lab a phd in nuclear engineering and author of numerous papers on molten salt reactors. Enough thorium is thrown away mining for rees to power the world.
All thorium is consumed no spent fuel 90% of bwrpwr uranium is unused. Thorcon is a graphitemoderated thermal spectrum molten salt. Robert hargraves and have worked with him on various energy projects, such as coteaching t he energy safari course last fall, and founding the coalition for energy solutions. The pro thorium lobby claim a single tonne of thorium burned in a molten salt reactor msr typically a liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr which has liquid rather than solid fuel, can. Meet thorium, a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive metal, capable of producing immense amount of energy, in a safe, environmentally friendly and very economic manner.
Although thorium is more abundant than uranium, the cost of uranium is a small fraction of the overall cost of nuclear energy. Robert hargraves, institute for lifelong education at da. The key technology is the molten salt reactor, enabling a fluid fuel form, reducing costs and enabling energy cheaper than from coal. The thorium molten salt power plant can produce clean energy cheaper than coal, which could be reliable energy system toward a lowcarbon economy, pal said. The potential of thorium for safer, cleaner and cheaper energy. Thorium energy can help check co2 and global warming, cut deadly air pollution, provide inexhaustible energy, and increase human prosperity. Our demand for limited natural resources is rapidly increasing and much of humanity is concerned about the consequences. Dartmouths jones seminars on science, technology, and society. Safer, cleaner, sustainable and many times more effective than any other energy resource on earth.
It was amazing to read about how many times this resource has been overlooked by. According to proponents, a thorium fuel cycle offers several potential advantages over a uranium fuel cycleincluding much greater abundance of thorium on earth, superior physical and nuclear fuel properties, and reduced nuclear waste production. It is also unlimited and will be virtually forever, day and night, rain or shine. It is cheaper than coal, much cheaper when coals hidden external costs are calculated. Energy cheaper than coal is a fantastic fact based book on the problems surrounding our use of energy, and the alternatives that we can pursue. Pdf electricity generation and the case for thorium. The intriguing part to me is converting the coal, of which there apparently is a 1,500 year supply, into. Auditorium, campus center, university of massachusetts amherst. Nuclear energy economics are driven by the capital cost of the plant, and building a power plant with a thorium reactor is no cheaper than. If we want to have better energy resources, then we need to focus on renewable energy resources. That seems to be more or less in line with the oak ridge figures which show that the thorium is far more energy productive than the coal. The liquid fluoride thorium reactor lftr has the potential to undersell energy produced from coal. Electricity produced by the liquid fluoride thorium reactor, lftr lifter, is clean and safe.
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