Thorium fueled car needs refueling once a 100 years.

[AirRodgers]

Which approach is better ??

The way India is doing it is not cost effective, or safe or efficient. Using the solid fuel method mean its less than 1% efficient and the rest (99%) is wastes that need to be reprocess. Reprocessing fuel rod/pin is expensive and dangerous. Solid fuel reactor work under extreme pressure and you have to build a costly containment structure, you need backup system after backup system to ensure that water is available to control the heat/pressure. Without this and the whole thing pop like a high pressure soda can ie what happen in Japan.

The MSTR(TMSR) or LFTR is the exact opposite it work at atmospheric pressure, so don't need costly containment structure. That mean constructing a MSTR will take a lot less time and money than constructing a solid fuel reactor. The safety feature of a MSTR is gravity, if gravity is working than MSTR can operate safely. Efficiency, MSTR is 95%+ efficient, produce 200% less waste by products. No need to reprocess the fuel like solid fuel reactor using thorium.

 

[AirRodgers]

Actually we are going both ways. We are investigating MSR technology too and we have molten salt loops operational at BARC. While we have small test reactor(30 MW) which is first in the world, using Thorium as solid fuel since 1996 and first commercial reactor(500 MW) is almost ready. Though Its challenging but our scientists are confident enough to make it possible asap.

molten salt loops operational at BARC

This molten salt loop any more information on it, I saw a video of an Indian scientist said something about it but never really got into.. the jest of what he said was we are also working on a molten salt loop that about it...While he spent like 99% of the interview talking about using thorium in a solid fuel reactor.

 

[kaykay]

This molten salt loop any more information on it, I saw a video of an Indian scientist said something about it but never really got into.. the jest of what he said was we are also working on a molten salt loop that about it...While he spent like 99% of the interview talking about using thorium in a solid fuel reactor.

Actually He said that Molten salt loop is 'operational' in BARC(Bhabha Atomic Research Center) while Our scientists are investigating about MSR tech. I'll try to find more info on that though.

 

[kaykay]

This molten salt loop any more information on it, I saw a video of an Indian scientist said something about it but never really got into.. the jest of what he said was we are also working on a molten salt loop that about it...While he spent like 99% of the interview talking about using thorium in a solid fuel reactor.

Here is an interesting read.
India: A hotbed of molten salt - The Weinberg Foundation

 

[AirRodgers]

Actually He said that Molten salt loop is 'operational' in BARC(Bhabha Atomic Research Center) while Our scientists are investigating about MSR tech. I'll try to find more info on that though.

Molten salt loop is 'operational' someone should have ask him to clarify what a molten salt loop is.. To assume that a molten salt loop is a fully functioning molten salt reactor would be a mistake.. If India have a functioning (MSTR)molten salt thorium reactor than why not state it.

Here is an interesting read.
India: A hotbed of molten salt - The Weinberg Foundation

I'm encourage that India is also researching MSTR and not just throwing money at solid fuel reactor. IMO money thrown at solid thorium fuel reactor will only be feasible if we ran out of uranium.

 

[kaykay]

Molten salt loop is 'operational' someone should have ask him to clarify what a molten salt loop is.. To assume that a molten salt loop is a fully functioning molten salt reactor would be a mistake.. If India have a functioning (MSTR)molten salt thorium reactor than why not state it.


I'm encourage that India is also researching MSTR and not just throwing money at solid fuel reactor. IMO money thrown at solid thorium fuel reactor will only be feasible if we ran out of uranium.

I personally don't think that 'Molten salt loop' is a full functioning reactor. May be some critical component releated to that or test bed or could be anything, but surely releated to MSR. I'll try to gather whatever li'l info I can about that.

 

[AirRodgers]

I personally don't think that 'Molten salt loop' is a full functioning reactor. May be some critical component releated to that or test bed or could be anything, but surely releated to MSR. I'll try to gather whatever li'l info I can about that.

you might be right, the molten salt might be a coolant, in some kind of a loop use to cool solid fuel reactor instead of water.

 

[W.11]

Good we have more than half of world's reserves.This could save our dependance on oil imports and energy needs in long run.

and you also have half of world's population

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

and you also have half of world's population

1/6 th actually.All the more reason for us to invest in energy security for our people.

 

[kurup]

you might be right, the molten salt might be a coolant in some kind of a loop use to cool solid fuel reactor instead of water.

Then he must be talking about the FBTR .

FBTR - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[AirRodgers]

Then he must be talking about the FBTR .

FBTR - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The reactor uses a plutonium-uranium mixed carbide fuel and liquid sodium as a coolant

so instead of using liquid sodium they use molten salt, molten salt is a lot more stable than liquid sodium, so you don't have to worry about molten salt burst into flames. So the molten salt loop the scientist talk about might be a cooling loop that use molten salt instead of liquid sodium.

This video explains it all about using thorium in a MSTR or LFTR.