Are You Concerned About Global Warming? Start Using Thorium As A Green Fuel

Thorium (Th)-Introdution of thorium (Th) as green fuel

Thorium (Th) is an extremely radioactive natural chemical element, having the symbol Ti and atomic number ninety-eight. Thorium consists of two protons and two neutrons, making it slightly less abundant than uranium. Thorium has a soft silvery-white color and becomes greyish black when exposed to air, thus forming thorium oxide; it is very malleable, has a high melting point, and is resistant to corrosion.

As thorium oxides have high heat capacities, they can be used for nuclear energy and as a breeding medium for producing fuel for nuclear power plants. Thorium also plays an important role in the Earth's ecosystem, being a rich source of naturally occurring radioactive elements. The thorium content in the soil is very low and there are no recorded reports of thorium contamination being caused by humans. However, thorium in water is associated with the occurrence of strontium, chromium, nickel, copper, and gold.

Thorium has long been used as fissile material in a nuclear fuel cycle, with the United States, Canada, Russia, India, and Israel being the leading users of thorium. However, it has recently been introduced as a green alternative to nuclear energy, since thorium is more easily converted to nuclear fuel, making it less hazardous to the environment. It is also not an expensive resource.

Although thorium can be easily converted into a fuel, the thorium that is created in this way does not consist of enough fissile material to produce useful power. This means that in order to harness the thorium's high energy output, the fuel must first be used to create fissile material to use as an inert center for the conversion process.

The most commonly used fuel is uranium, which is the second most abundant naturally occurring element on Earth. The U fuel is enriched but not sufficiently to be used as a starter fuel; hence, it must be combined with the thorium oxide to form a mixture known as thorium mixed oxide fuel or THF.

There are two main types of THF: dry powder and liquid. Both forms have different properties, which are primarily responsible for the variations in their boiling points, but both forms are highly effective sources of power for nuclear power plants.

The dry powder is much easier to handle and store, and is used in a variety of applications. The liquid version, on the other hand, is used to create inert containers in which the thorium oxide can be burned and then separated into its constituent atoms to create energy.

In spite of the benefits of thorium as an energy source, it has also been banned from many countries due to the potential for proliferation issues. Countries such as Iran and Pakistan have adopted a strict ban on the possession of thorium fuel because of the potential for nuclear weapons development.

In addition, in Canada, it was recently banned from use in their nuclear power plants, due to its high concentration in its uranium oxide form and the risk that the high concentrations pose to the environment.

Thorium was once used for its highly concentrated U fuel in nuclear energy plants, which also poses a security threat because the U fuel itself would be unstable if a large explosion occurred. As such, it must be contained in a container of some sort.

Today, however, thorium as a green fuel alternative to be used as a starter fuel has become a viable solution, which has many advantages. Due to its highly efficient conversion to inert material, it does not require the use of nuclear waste and is inexpensive to create and dispose of.

It is widely available and cheap, making it an attractive alternative for people who are concerned about the environmental impacts of nuclear fuel waste. Also, due to the lack of radioactive waste, it poses no health risks.