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WHYdidntEYEtakeTHEbluePILL's avatar

what do you make of China's advancements w/ thorium reactors? much-ado-about-nothing, game changer?

https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/China-Unveils-Worlds-1st-Meltdown-Proof-Thorium-Reactor.html

Chinese scientists achieved a breakthrough in clean energy technology by adding fresh fuel to an operational thorium reactor.

The 2-megawatt experimental reactor is located in the Gobi Desert.

benefits: "producing less waste and more energy than uranium, is meltdown-proof, has no weapons-grade by-products and can even consume legacy plutonium stockpiles."

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"much higher fuel burn-up reduces plutonium waste by more than 80%. Plutonium has a shorter half-life of about 24,000 years compared to Uranium-235’s half-life of just over 700 million years. Plutonium is highly toxic even in small doses, leading to radiation illness, cancer and often to death. Further, thorium has a lower operating temperature and a higher melting point than natural uranium, making it inherently safer and more resistant to core meltdowns. "

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"more than twice thorium in the Earth’s crust as uranium"

next project: "already building a much larger 10-megawatt thorium reactor, scheduled to reach criticality by 2030."

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