Thorium – A Prospective Source of Energy
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Abstract
Abstract
The rising problem of fossil fuel reserve limitation along with environmental constraints connected with climate change and the necessity to reduce CO2 emissions led to the recognition of nuclear energy as green energy. Currently, nuclear energy amounts to ~10% of the global generating electricity of ~4300 GW. Of the three known nuclear fuel elements: thorium, uranium, and plutonium, most of the operating nuclear reactors use uranium or a mix of uranium-plutonium as their fuel. As a result of using such a fuel for more than 50 years, a huge amount of long-lived hazardous radioactive waste has been accumulated. On the other hand, thorium as a nuclear material has several advantages over uranium. Among others, the advantages include favorable nuclear properties, along with much reduced nuclear waste. The article includes an overview of thorium as a prospective natural source of future energy. It deals with world thorium reserves (including in Egypt), the rationale of the thorium-based fuel cycle, the reasons behind the selection of thorium fuel, and issues to be considered while dealing with the thorium nuclear fuel cycle.
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