1. Thorium Nuclear Reactors
Alexander Grover: BSNE/MBA

2. Overview Nuclear Power Key Concepts Thorium vs. Uranium Pros & Cons
Examples of Working Thorium Reactors
Designs
PWR vs. BWR
Pebble Bed
LFTR (Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor)
Portable and Compact Designs
Desalinization
Waste Management
Glass Vitrification
Long Term Storage
Politics & Organization
Conclusions
Another idea that just popped into my head was what kind of organization could or should we form to pursue this?
University? A corporation? A utility company? Who currently works on or produces this technology in the US.
I believe that where ever we settle I think an emboldened state government would give us a lot of leeway to pursue this.
What are the current restrictions to this technology?

3. Nuclear Power Key Concepts
Fission: Energy created by splitting atoms
Sub-Critical Reaction
Critical Reaction
Super Critical Reaction
Process: Splitting atoms creates heat which boils water which in turn creates steam to run a turbine which in turn creates electricity .
Contamination vs. Radiation:
Source of Radiation
Types of Radiation
Contamination
Exposure
Inverse Square Law I2 = I / d2
Shielding: Using materials to protect against radiation :
Water & Concrete
Lead
Iron

4. Thorium vs. Uranium Abundance Efficiency Comparison Thorium Uranium
U-238/U-235
Abundance
Occurs Everywhere
Rare as Gold
Efficiency
Ca. 99% of fuel consumed in LFTR (Liquid Fluoride Th Reactor)
> 1% fuel consumed
Working Examples
A few prototypes
Working examples are everywhere Military and Civilian
Weapons Proliferations No
Yes
Enrichment

5. Pros & Cons of MSR & LFTR PRO CON Significantly Higher Efficiency
Commercially unproven
Does not Operate under Pressure
Chemical intensive
Fuel can not be used for weapons
Molten salts pose corrosion issues

6. Working Examples of Th Reactors
Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Only in an Experimental State:
Molten Salt Test Reactor Experiment:
Nuclear Powered Aircraft Engine Experiment
India: R&D Efforts

7. Designs PWR vs. BWR Pebble Bed LFTR: GEN4 Energy
Single Loop vs. Double Loop
Most Common Designs in Use
Westinghouse, GE and US Navy
Pebble Bed
Allows for online refueling
Modular Design
LFTR:
GEN4 Energy

8. LFTR

9. Pebble Bed

10. Desalinization
783 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly 11% of the world's population. (WHO/UNICEF)
Excess Heat from Nuclear Power Generation Can Make Fresh Water
US Navy Already uses excess heat to desalinize water
Thorium Reactors could bring water to desserts

11. Waste Management French Model: Long Term Disposal Risk Management
Spent Fuel Reprocessing recovers 96% of the waste
Glass Vitrification
Long Term Disposal
Abondened
Risk Management
Creates Plutonium – This why we don’t do this in the USA
14 cu ft. of waste per Reactor per year
Trade-offs
Pellet of nuclear fuel vs. Trainloads of coal
Thorium Reactors can burn up current Nuclear Waste

12. Why Aren’t we doing this?
Politics:
U.S. policy: a state of perpetual indecision
Lack of Education:
Roots back to Politics & American inability to weigh decisions and evaluate trade-offs

13. Conclusions Thorium is viable R&D Needed Molten Salts in Reality
Pebble Bed Thorium Design is Ideal
Not only solves energy problem but also climate change and water problems