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RE: [cdn-nucl-l] Discovery
The author talks a good deal about "Burning thorium-232..... in a
neutronically efficient reactor," but fails to mention that operating with a
hot (graphite) moderator reduces that neutronic efficiency (not to mention
the production of radioactive Carbon-14, with a half-life of 5730 years).
While its impractical to cool a moderator made of solid bricks -- just as it
is difficult to shuffle solid fuel bundles using fuelling machines -- a
liquid heavy water moderator is well suited to efficient cooling, and only
produces tritium as byproduct, which has a half-life of only a dozen years.
The best combination, IMO, would be a CANDU-type reactor running on liquid
fluoride salt fuel.
Without a need for fuelling machines, the core can be turned from horizontal
to vertical, eliminating those pesky fuel channel sagging problems.
In any event, with a high-temperature fuel salt, you wouldn't need
high-strength pressure tubes to contain the coolant water in the fuel
channels.
Altogether a much neater design.
Thanks for posting the link Randal !
Jaro
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-----Original Message-----
From: cdn-nucl-l-admin@mailman1.cis.McMaster.CA
[mailto:cdn-nucl-l-admin@mailman1.cis.McMaster.CA]On Behalf Of Randal
Leavitt
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 12:04 AM
To: Nuclear
Subject: [cdn-nucl-l] Discovery
I just found out about this web site:
http://thoriumenergy.blogspot.com/
At first glance it looks really interesting.
--
Randal Leavitt ---------- gnupg public key: bbbad04d
http://positiveenergy.blogspot.com/
http://de.lirio.us/rubric/entries/user/RandalLeavitt
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