Op Ed: Thorium
Among these challenges is Thorium''s high melting point, which can make the raw fuel difficult to work with. Another hurdle is more specific to MSR''s, which is that salts often very corrosive, and at high
Read MoreThorium battery
Thorium-based nuclear power generation is fueled primarily by the nuclear fission of the isotope uranium-233 produced from the fertile element thorium. A thorium fuel cycle can offer several potential advantages over a uranium fuel cycle —including the much greater abundance of thorium found on Earth, superior physical and nuclear. • Significant and expensive testing, analysis and licensing work would be required, requiring business and government support. In water-cooled reactors, the input fuel which needs to be utilized are not thorium, but rather mixed oxide fuels ()or thorium plutonium oxide fuels (TOX fuel);These fuels can be. is three times as abundant asand nearly as abundant asandin the Earth's crust. Theestimates "there is enough thorium in the United States alone to power the country at its current energy level for over 1,000 years. According to Rubbia, "In order to be vigorously continued, nuclear power must be profoundly modified". Thorium is mostly found with thephosphate mineral, , which contains up to about 12% thorium phosphate, but 6–7% on average.
