NUCLEAR POWER

HOW IS NUCLEAR ENERGY GENERATED?

There are currently 98 power plants throughout 30 states in the US, with only 60 of them being open commercially. A large number of these power plants are what's called “light water” reactors, meaning that they use normal water in the cores of these reactors.

A nuclear power plant is actually quite similar to any other steam-electric power plant, whether it's powered by coal or natural gas. The extreme amount of heat created from the fission of uranium is used to heat water up to 520 degrees fahrenheit, or about 270 degrees celsius. The steam created from the boiling water is then pushed out at high pressure to turn a turbine that spins a generator, creating electricity.
Although atoms are tiny, they hold a massive amount of energy between the bonds of their nuclei. This energy can be harvested through what is called nuclear fission, or the splitting of bonds between atoms. By splitting apart chemical bonds holding the atoms together chemical energy is released in the form of thermermal energy or heat. The heat energy released can then be used to generate electricity throughout the power plant.

Certain isotopes (different forms of an element) of certain elements can be more easily fissioned and harvested. For example, Uranium-235, or U-235, is the most common isotope used in nuclear power plants. Since the uranium atom is quite big in comparison to others it is relatively easier to go though the process of Fission.

During fission, the U-235 atom will absorb loose neutrons causing the U-235 to become unstable and split apart into two lighter atoms called fission products, energy in the form of heat, as well as two to three more neutrons at high velocity. These new neutrons will proceed to crash into more atoms causing a chain reaction.

THORIUM

Most of the bad reputation that nuclear energy gets is directed towards uranium power generation. Fortunately, there is a much safer and efficient element that can be used to generate electricity, that being thorium.

What are the Benefits?

Thorium is classified as fertile whereas uranium is fissile, meaning uranium can undergo fission without the help of a seperate element while thorium requires help from a fissile material, usually plutonium, to start a sustainable chain reaction. Although this sounds like uranium is a better and more efficient option, thorium would be much safer because it is unable to meltdown without being in contact with the fissile helper material.
There is also the nuclear waste that is produced through this type of energy production that is taken into consideration. Because the thorium fuel cycle doesn’t produce transuranic atoms, its waste is less toxic in the long run compared to uranium.
Thorium has much more concentration in its ore, up to three times as much, meaning that it would take less effort to gain a concentrated form of the material. The amount of thorium in the Earth’s crust is also nearly three times more than uranium, making it more abundant than other commonly known metals, such as silver and tin.
1 ton of thorium = 100 ton of uranium in comparison to energy generation (about 4 billion Kw of electricity) when used in a reactor built to use thorium.