Tag: Thorcon

There Is Already So Much Good Information on the Web

I have been having so much trouble writing this blog. There are so many people out there who can communicate in a clearer fashion than I can. Why would my blog make any difference to a world that needs so much help? Both you dear reader, and I need to remember that if we even educate or influence one other person, we have helped to change the world for the better.

It is impossible to share with others everything that I have learnt on this nuclear journey of mine, but I must try. Without nuclear power, we will find ourselves going back to the dark ages which was such a cruel world.

Renewable energy technologies can only take us so far. There are three major reasons for this. The first is energy density. Wind and solar power cannot provide enough energy to both manufacture themselves, mine the materials they require, recycle some of their components and still produce electricity for other purposes.  Nuclear can. Secondly, the resources to make enough wind and solar for both the developed and the developing world don’t seem to exist. Basic physics ensures that the energy required to completely recycle components is enormous.

Finally, the land requirements for wind and solar are huge but not impossible. Unfortunately, to find enough land, we destroy or badly harm biodiversity of all types including forests, wetlands, mangroves and our precious and diminishing arable soils. Nuclear power requires less space despite the stupidity about radiation caused by fear.

Nuclear Now is a 2022 American documentary film, directed and co-written by Oliver Stone. It is a film that I would like everybody to watch. It is very long film and really has too much information for one sitting. I have provided a link to the film below. Do make use of the link while it still works.

There is also a book that I would love everybody to read. Jack Devaney makes some points that I believe should be considered by regulators in every country. The book is finally available as a paperback from a number of sources. It is a big book but even reading the beginning chapters and the final chapters is more than worthwhile.

The book is not as negative as the title “Why Nuclear Power has been a Flop”suggests. The book supplies many fascinating insights.

“Jack Devanney is the principal engineer and architect of the ThorCon molten salt reactor power plant. Since 2011 he has pursued his idea of using shipyard construction technology to mass-produce safe, inexpensive power plants that can bring the benefits of electricity to all the world, with no CO2 emissions. He married the advanced nuclear technology developed and demonstrated by Oak Ridge Laboratory with his own engineering experiences with ships, power plants, and energy.” – Amazon.com

Jack also speaks on Decouple and has lots of information and fascinating ideas on his Geordian Knot News.  http://jackdevanney.substack.com

4c Modern Nuclear Power

I have not been able to insert some of the videos I used in my talks but links are given. There are now dozens of new designs around the world and it will be a race to see who dominates the market in various categories. In my talks I just gave an overview to provide a picture of the range of technologies and sizes on the drawing board.

https://www.rolls-royce.com/innovation/small-modular-reactors.aspx#section-smr-build for the UK.

Nuscale SMR has been fully licensed in the US and can now start manufacturing its units. It is now listed on the US stock exchange. This is an advanced Gen 3 design. If you are interested in more detail, there is a lot of information on the web.

Some of the front running companies are multi nationals such as GE Hitachi. This is their video on the very small SMR or microreactor, Evinci.

The next slide shows another current product that is too big to be called an SMR. Most of the text in slides is taken from company literature as I am not qualified to make comments on the technology.

The next product is very innovative and known as PRISM

The next video is about the BWRX-300, a design that has been used in some of Nuclear for Climate Australia models.

Other interesting technologies include those of Terra Power.

I note that the first benefit listed above applies to many or perhaps most new designs.

Molten salt reactors

A number of companies are designing and about to build molten salt reactors such as Thorcon in Indonesia, (https://thorconpower.com/0, TerraPower, Natrium, Samsung in South Korea, and in India. Experimental testing of containment materials continues at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US and research even happens in Australia with ANSTO (https://www.ansto.gov.au/our-science/nuclear-technologies/reactor-systems/advanced-reactors/anstos-contribution-to). One of the issues experienced withe design of molten salt reactors related to chemical corrosion of the vessels containing the molten salt. I was not surprised that fluoride salts might be very corrosive nut the salt mixtures have evolved, chloride salts would be far less challenging. I get the impression that this issue has been resolved but of course it is under wraps now to preserve various companies’ competitive advantages.

China is producing a number of designs of many types including molten salt reactors and plans a massive building program for nuclear power. Russia’s Rosatom was also interesting but has had a number of contracts cancelled second quarter of 2022. One of China’s designs is shown below. China is currently building a molten salt reactor.

The fuels for Gen 4 reactors can be very different to current fuel pellets. Some of the newer fuels are more like those that have been used in nuclear submarines for many years. Others are completely different like Triso balls or fuels dissolved in molten salt. TRISO particles cannot melt in a reactor and can withstand extreme temperatures that are well beyond the threshold of current nuclear fuels. For more see https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/triso-particles-most-robust-nuclear-fuel-earth. New designs can make use of so called waste fuel or thorium or a mix.

Some Gen 4 designs use HALEU fuel which has been used by the US military for decades.

In May 2022, Norway-based marine group Ulstein has launched the Ulstein Thor, its concept design for a 149-m (489-ft) replenishment, research, and rescue (3R) ship that will feature a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) to generate large amounts of clean and safe electricity. This allows the vessel to operate as a mobile power and charging station for a new generation of battery-powered cruise ships at sea.

These are all fission based reactors but research on fusion based reactors continues and will be viable eventually but not in this decade or two. Fusion happens at extreme temperatures.

Australian Ben Heard has produced a number of detailed videos describing SMRs in more technical detail than I can such as:

Suddenly, after a long hiatus, so much is happening.