Critical assessment of thorium reactor technology
Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2012.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77064 |
| _version_ | 1826216313457999872 |
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| author | Drenkhahn, Robert (Robert A.) |
| author2 | Dennis Whyte. |
| author_facet | Dennis Whyte. Drenkhahn, Robert (Robert A.) |
| author_sort | Drenkhahn, Robert (Robert A.) |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2012. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:45:24Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/77064 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:45:24Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/770642019-04-10T09:10:33Z Critical assessment of thorium reactor technology Drenkhahn, Robert (Robert A.) Dennis Whyte. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering. Nuclear Science and Engineering. Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2012. "June 2012." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-32). Thorium-based fuels for nuclear reactors are being considered for use with current and future designs in both large and small-scale energy production. Thorium-232 is as abundant on Earth as lead, far more common than all isotopes of uranium, leading to its greatly reduced cost. Thorium itself offers a significantly greater neutron absorption cross-section than uranium at thermal energies, resulting in greater efficiency and smaller geometries. Certain thorium-based fuels can also significantly reduce proliferation by denaturing the thorium fuel cycle product U-233 (which is cause for proliferation concern) with U-236 and U-238. Several countries, including the USA, China, and India, are developing new conceptual designs which focus on the advantages offered by thorium. Thorium reactor technology today, as well as its practicality in the near-future, was surveyed to determine its potential for a major role in the nuclear power industry. Factors considered were economics, efficiency, waste, and proliferation. It is recommended that thorium-based fuels be further integrated in future reactor designs to take advantage of its numerous benefits in these areas. by Robert Drenkhahn. S.B. 2013-02-14T19:14:54Z 2013-02-14T19:14:54Z 2012 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77064 824454660 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 33 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Nuclear Science and Engineering. Drenkhahn, Robert (Robert A.) Critical assessment of thorium reactor technology |
| title | Critical assessment of thorium reactor technology |
| title_full | Critical assessment of thorium reactor technology |
| title_fullStr | Critical assessment of thorium reactor technology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Critical assessment of thorium reactor technology |
| title_short | Critical assessment of thorium reactor technology |
| title_sort | critical assessment of thorium reactor technology |
| topic | Nuclear Science and Engineering. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77064 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT drenkhahnrobertroberta criticalassessmentofthoriumreactortechnology |