Sorry for the bad picture and long text. I'll translate what it says on the magazine.

  
"Could melted thorium be the future for nuclear energy?"

  
%9 of electricity comes from only 440 nuclear reactors, and every single of these 440 nuclear reactors depends on the nuclear fission energy created by fissile materials like uranium and plutonium. However, the magazine says that thorium based nuclear reactors can drastically change nuclear energy production comparing to the typical uranium and plutonium based reactors.

There is a specific question about the TMSR.



**Where do you get the thorium for our TMSR? And what does it do?**  
In natural mines, thorium can be found more commonly than uranium. The most abundant resource is a material called monazite, which is made out of %12 thorium. However.. Thorium in this state is not a fissile material, but we can transform it into a fissile material through nuclear decay.

Thorium has a stable isotope called "Thorium-232". And when a neutron hits the Thorium-232, it decays to an another form called "Protactinium-233" Which is the start of the nuclear decay. It continues to decay and decay. Until we have Uranium-233. And Uranium-233 is a fissile material! This is what we were looking for.

  
Like I said before, Uranium-233 is a fissile material and it goes through a fission to let out more neutrons to decay the remaining thorium atoms in monazite until it runs out.

  
So far China is one of the countries who is working on TMSR's and has made a huge step, as they're working on the reactors and by being supported with 2 megawatts of energy, this reactor gives approx. 2,000 homes energy each year.

  
Now how does this reactor work? You can look at the pictures, I also translated what the parts do.

  
**THE LAYOUT OF TMSR**

**How does liquid thorium salt turn the turbines to create electricity?** 

**1-REACTOR** 

A small amount of fissile material, such as Uranium-235, is combined with molten thorium salt to trigger a fission reaction, creating a molten salt mixture with a temperature of approximately 600 degrees Celsius (1112°F).

**2- CHEMICAL PROCESSING**

By circulating the molten salt within the reactor, waste can be reduced and the reactor can be refueled without shutting down the system.

  
**3-GRAPHITE RODS**

Graphite rods are added to the reactor due to their ability to slow down the neutrons that trigger the fission reaction. If the rods are removed, the reaction stops.

  
**4-FREEZE PLUG**

This acts as an emergency fail-safe. In the event of an accident or power loss, it melts to automatically drain the molten salt fuel into subcritical storage tanks.

  
**5-EMERGENCY DRAIN** 

When the freeze plug melts, the fuel drains into the emergency tanks, and the fission reaction automatically ceases due to the loss of geometry.

 **6- COOLANT SALT**

The molten salt also functions as a coolant, carrying away the excess heat generated by the reactor core to the heat exchangers.

**7-HEAT EXCHANGER**

Thermal energy from the flowing molten salt vaporizes water in a steam generator, producing the high-pressure steam needed to drive the turbines.

**8- TURBINES**

The steam generated from the heat exchanger drives and spins the turbine blades to generate electricity.

**9- ELECTRIC GENERATOR**

Spinning turbines are connected to a generator that creates electric current, which supports the electric of the area where the TMSR is located.

  
I would like to also mention something about the TMSR, which is also mentioned in the magazine.

  
I think we all know but the TMSR's aren't new, just regaining it's popularity and choice by the nuclear sectors. United States of America was the first to develop the TMSR's in the middle of 20th centuries. The first experiments were made in Oak Ridge Lab. in Tennessee. The scientist pretty much did the stuff that I translated in "**Where do you get the thorium for TMSR? And what it does?**" However, solid fissile uranium became the first choice and suggesting material for United States. (Which isn't bad at all by the way.) and so because of it, thorium was left behind.

  
Researches show that thorium would be a great substitute for a nuclear reactor. As it is more safer and doesn't stay radioactive as uranium does. (Approx. 500 years.)

  
What do you guys think of the TMSR and the magazine? I would like to hear your opinions.

  


  


  


  


A design of a U-235 seeded Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (TMSR) on a Turkish HOW IT WORKS (Science) magazine.