FEATURE ARTICLE
Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors
An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined
Robert Hargraves, Ralph Moir
When the United States committed decades ago to uranium fuel and pressurized-water reactors for its nuclear program, other viable technologies were set aside. One, the liquid thorium fuel reactor with molten salt coolant, is re-emerging as potentially the safest, most cost-effective solution to future energy needs in the carbon-containment era. Thorium is abundant, produces far less toxic fission products than uranium and may soon compete with coal for cost per kilowatt-hour. The chemistry of thorium fission is compelling, and the engineering of thorium reactors, with a longer history than most people realize, appears to be seductively manageable.
Go to Article