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Estimates to complete a reactor were originally set at ten years in 2006 (with a proposed operational date of 2015). On the research potential of thorium-based nuclear power, Richard L.
Why don’t we build thorium reactors?
Although in many ways thorium would be a better radioactive element to use for nuclear power, it's also more difficult to weaponise than uranium. Uranium and plutonium have long been at the heart of nuclear power, but many experts see thorium as a better option.
How long does it take to build a reactor?
Nuclear power plants are more complex than other large-scale power generation plants, and so are more capital-intensive and may take longer to construct. Typically a nuclear power plant will take over five years to construct whereas natural gas-fired plants are frequently built in about two years.
What is wrong with thorium reactors?
Irradiated Thorium is more dangerously radioactive in the short term. The Th-U cycle invariably produces some U-232, which decays to Tl-208, which has a 2.6 MeV gamma ray decay mode. Bi-212 also causes problems. These gamma rays are very hard to shield, requiring more expensive spent fuel handling and/or reprocessing.
How much does it cost to build a thorium reactor?
The capital costs of thorium reactors would be lower than conventional nuclear reactors; a 1 gigawatt (GW) thorium power plant would cost at most an estimated $780 million in comparison to capital costs currently of $1.1 billion per GW for a uranium-fueled reactor.
Is anyone building a thorium reactor?
At least one of the 2MW thorium prototypes, either a molten salt reactor, or a molten salt-cooled reactor, is nearing completion, with startup in September 2021.
Will thorium reactors work?
Thorium cannot in itself power a reactor; unlike natural uranium, it does not contain enough fissile material to initiate a nuclear chain reaction. As a result it must first be bombarded with neutrons to produce the highly radioactive isotope uranium-233 – 'so these are really U-233 reactors,' says Karamoskos.
How long does it take to construct a nuke?
Global nuclear reactor construction time 1981-2020 Median construction time required for nuclear reactors worldwide oscillated from around 83 months to 84 months, from 1981 to 2020 respectively.
How many years does it take to build a power plant?
Construction and Running (See Fig. 2). According to the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), it takes about five to seven years to build a large nuclear unit. Once the nuclear power plant is built, it is tested by the electric company to see if it properly runs, and if the power plant passes that test, it is ready to be used.
Will we run out of thorium?
This means that even in our extreme scenario, the combined uranium and thorium of the United States would be enough to power the world for about 100.000 years.
