Revive R&D in thorium, says India

[Justin Joseph]

Revive R&D in thorium, says India

Sandeep Dikshit

PARIS, March 9, 2010

India struck a different tone at the ongoing global meet on nuclear energy, drawing attention to the pitfalls of relying solely on uranium fuel for atomic reactors. It said the world must revive research in utilizing thorium and join hands with India, only country engaged in this endeavor, to ensure that energy is sustainable for the next few centuries.

Warning that the reliance on uranium will not be sustainable beyond this century, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee said the “world must wake up” and support India's three-stage nuclear programme. “The constraint in relying only on uranium was never addressed in this conference. The world has to pay attention to uranium 238 using plutonium in a closed fuel cycle — this transition is essential for the whole world. But this is not enough. Unless thorium is used, it will not be possible to have sustainable energy on this planet. Only with thorium will it be possible for the whole world to get enough energy for several centuries. This was discussed in the 1950s and 1960s but the world has since forgotten it,” Dr. Banerjee pointed out, speaking at a round table session on “Nuclear power and the energy mix in a sustainable development perspective” here on Monday.

The AEC chief said the entire nuclear energy projections were based on the Western Europe-U.S. type of one to two per cent growth in requirement. On the other hand, developing countries needed to step up their energy needs by 10 per cent which would not be met with the current emphasis on relying only on uranium 235.

Dr. Banerjee said the present available reserves of 5.469 million tonnes of uranium could support 570 gigawatts of electricity till 2025 and not beyond. Taking the total identified and undiscovered reserves of 16 million tonnes would extend availability till the end of the century. He also called for new reactor designs that were proliferation-proof, and asked developed countries to ease restrictions on enrichment and reprocessing as a medium-term measure.

Providing India as a case study, he pointed out that the nine per cent growth pattern was based on a small section of 300 million people participating in the economy. Thus 10 per cent growth in energy requirement was possible to sustain on a per capita basis — per capita energy consumption was currently 700 kw/hour, whereas reasonable human development required at least seven times more.

Can renewable energy tackle it? Dr. Banerjee felt, “We can try as much as possible,” but suggested that it was impossible for this segment to fill the gap. If India resorted to coal to achieve this goal, it would need to burn 4.7 billion tonnes of coal per year or over four times the consumption in the U.S. This would load the environment with 7.7 billion giga tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions that “would be shared by all of you.”

“The world always felt there would be a miracle. Unfortunately, we have not seen any miracle for the last 40 years. Unless we wake up, humans won't be able to exist beyond this century,” he observed.

The Hindu : News / National : Revive R&D in thorium, says India

 

[Kinetic]

India have done lots of R&D on Th based nuclear technologies. But until they goes full commercial we will not get whole benefit. Govts wastes money in every cases why they cant build atleast 50 small and medium size reactors under AEC by the end of next decade. India lacks energy resources except Th.

 

[Justin Joseph]

India have done lots of R&D on Th based nuclear technologies. But until they goes full commercial we will not get whole benefit. Govts wastes money in every cases why they cant build atleast 50 small and medium size reactors under AEC by the end of next decade. India lacks energy resources except Th.

We are working on thorium. But for it we have to go through three stages. It is time consuming and very high end process. By 2020 we will have many nuclear reactors ready with thorium based fuel.


India unveils 'world's safest nuclear reactor'

India unveiled before the international commuity Thursday its revolutionary design of 'A Thorium Breeder Reactor' that can produce 600 MW of electricity for two years 'with no refuelling and practically no control manoeuvres.'

Designed by scientists of the Mumbai-based Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the ATBR is claimed to be far more economical and safer than any power reactor in the world.

Most significantly for India, ATBR does not require natural or enriched uranium which the country is finding difficult to import. It uses thorium -- which India has in plenty -- and only requires plutonium as 'seed' to ignite the reactor core initially.

Eventually, the ATBR can run entirely with thorium and fissile uranium-233 bred inside the reactor (or obtained externally by converting fertile thorium into fissile Uranium-233 by neutron bombardment).

BARC scientists V Jagannathan and Usha Pal revealed the ATBR design in their paper presented at the week-long 'international conference on emerging nuclear energy systems' in Brussels. The design has been in the making for over seven years.

According to the scientists, the ATBR while annually consuming 880 kg of plutonium for energy production from 'seed' rods, converts 1,100 kg of thorium into fissionable uranium-233. This diffrential gain in fissile formation makes ATBR a kind of thorium breeder.

The uniqueness of the ATBR design is that there is almost a perfect 'balance' between fissile depletion and production that allows in-bred U-233 to take part in energy generation thereby extending the core life to two years.

This does not happen in the present day power reactors because fissile depletion takes place much faster than production of new fissile ones.

BARC scientists say that "the ATBR with plutonium feed can be regarded as plutonium incinerator and it produces the intrinsically proliferation resistant U-233 for sustenance of the future reactor programme."

They say that long fuel cycle length of two years with no external absorber management or control manoeuvres "does not exist in any operating reactor."

The ATBR annually requires 2.2 tonnes of plutonium as 'seed'. Althouth India has facilities to recover plutonium by reprocessing spent fuel, it requires plutonium for its Fast Breeder Reactor programme as well. Nuclear analysts say that it may be possible for India to obtain plutonium from friendly countries wanting to dismantle their weapons or dispose of their stockpiled plutonium.

India's first Fast Breeder Reactor to be delayed
Sudheer Pal Singh / New Delhi February 14, 2010, 0:02 IST

The 500-Mwe reactor will take another year to be completed

India’s first Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) for commercial nuclear energy generation is likely to be delayed by a year. The 500-megawatt equivalent (Mwe) reactor, which is being built at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) in Tamil Nadu, was initially expected to be commissioned by 2010-end.

“There have been some delays in the commissioning of Kalpakkam FBR. This is because many equipment are being made for the first time in India as it is an indigenous reactor,” said a senior official from the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

The official informed that the delay could be a couple of month to one year and FBR would be commissioned in 2011.

The reactor, when commissioned, would become the second-largest commercial FBR in the world after Russia’s BN-600 reactor, which is operating since 1980. With its commissioning, India would enter the second phase of its “three-stage nuclear energy programme”.

India, as a part of its nuclear strategy, has embarked on a three-pronged path. First, natural uranium will fuel PHWRs (Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors). The second stage involves using FBRs based on plutonium that will be extracted from the spent fuel of the first stage. Finally, the country’s vast thorium reserves will be used to generate electricity.

Apart from the Kalpakkam FBR, the government is planning to set up four additional FBRs by 2020. The sites for two of these additional FBRs have already been identified at Kalpakkam.

The FBR at Kalpakkam would utilise over 75 per cent of natural Uranium that is fed into it — as compared to a dismal 0.3 per cent utilisation of the radioactive fuel in the conventional PHWRs currently installed in India — making it “near-renewable”.

The prototype FBR, being developed at an estimated investment of Rs 3,492 crore, is expected to provide energy security to the country.

The reactor is set up by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (Bhavini), the special purpose vehicle set up by the government in 2003 for constructing FBRs in the country under the aegis of DAE. It has been designed at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), DAE’s research body developing the fast breeder reactor technology in India.

A small sized 13 MWe Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) is already successfully operating in the country since 1985. The FBR technology, which forms the second stage of India’s nuclear energy programme, is expected to allow the country’s nuclear power generation capacity to grow over 300,000 MWe in the long term, without any additional uranium, as it uses the spent fuel from the already installed PHWRs.

India has a current installed nuclear power generation capacity of over 4,100 MWe, contributed by the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) through its 15 PHWRs and two Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs). NPCIL alone produces nuclear power in the country, as the Atomic Energy Act 1962 prohibits private entry into nuclear power generation. The country plans to ramp up its nuclear power generation capacity fivefold to over 20,000 MWe by 2020.

 

[paritosh]

necessity is the mother, father and uncle of invention...we had almost zero Uranium deposits...so ended up using thorium based reactors...we have one of the world's largest thorium deposits...and so the R&D was put in place...

 

[cosmos]

Russian BN-600, 600 MW, fast reactor in commercial use for 3 decades. Why not just buy this mature tech and learn from it.

 

[Justin Joseph]

Russian BN-600, 600 MW, fast reactor in commercial use for 3 decades. Why not just buy this mature tech and learn from it.

India to build two more fast breeder reactors

January 26, 2010 21:44 IST

Two more fast breeder reactors of 500 mega watt electric capacity each would be set up here by 2020, a top official of the Indira Gandhi [ Images ] Centre for Atomic Research said on Tuesday.

"In addition to the prototype Fast Breeder Reactor, work on which is nearing completion, we have planned to construct two more reactors of this kind," IGCAR Director Dr Baldev Raj said.

He said the work on the two reactors was expected to start by 2014.

On the ongoing work on the Rs 3,500-crore first FBR, Raj said the physical and civil construction was almost complete and it would be commissioned by October 2011.

The safety vessel and main vessel had already been placed in the reactor vault while the inner vessel would be installed before the reactor was closed, he said.

Other works, including primary piping and electrical, would be completed very soon, Raj said.

The testing of indigenously developed fission chamber would be carried out for three months from February end.

Stating that officials were ensuring the safety of the reactor, double testing each and every aspect, he said more validation was being done in each and every parameter.

On cost over run, he said the increase in the prices of steel and cement would push up the cost by 15-20 percent.

On possible competition by China in FBR technology, he said country was trying to buy two reactors from Russia.

In future, IGCAR would go in for 1,000 Mw FBRs, the Director added.

Russia to build up to 8 nuclear reactors in India

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:21:34 GMT




Russian RosAtom is currently building two nuclear power units at Kudankulam in Indian Tamil Nadu with the total capacity of 2000 MWe.

Russia plans to construct up to 8 nuclear reactors in Indian West Bengal as part of a long-term pact between the two countries for expanding civil nuclear cooperation.

"The Government of India has taken a decision and has awarded us the new site at Haripur in West Bengal. It means we will build at least six, maximum eight nuclear power reactors," Chief of the Russian State Nuclear Corporation RosAtom Sergei Kiriyenko said Friday.

Srikumar Banerjee, Head of India's Atomic Energy Commission, said recently that the country was planning to increase nuclear power generation to 60 gigawatts by about 2035, from the 4.7 gigawatts currently produced by 18 reactors.

“India's established reserve of uranium will allow us to raise our installed capacity only to 10 gigawatts,” he said.

On December 15, Russian Ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin said his country was planning to set up 12 to 14 nuclear reactors in India, adding that Moscow had no issues with transferring enrichment and reprocessing technologies to New Delhi.

"We do not have domestic laws as strict as in some other countries. We do not see many problems in this field," he said.

 

[paritosh]

we have a running fat-breeder reactor built in Kalpakkam in southern India...

 

[jagjitnatt]

Thorium technology although being used in some countries is no where as mature as Uranium tech. Efficiency is very low and procedure is costly. As of today, we are better off investing on uranium based reactors. But India is heavily investing in R&D for thorium reactors, because India has lots of reserves of Thorium.

In 15-25 years, we will finally have enough knowledge to put this thorium to use. That is the day I am waiting for.

 

[Justin Joseph]

Thorium technology although being used in some countries is no where as mature as Uranium tech. Efficiency is very low and procedure is costly. As of today, we are better off investing on uranium based reactors. But India is heavily investing in R&D for thorium reactors, because India has lots of reserves of Thorium.

In 15-25 years, we will finally have enough knowledge to put this thorium to use. That is the day I am waiting for.

Yes, that's why AEC Chairman Srikumar Banerjee is in Paris for investment and technologies for future.

 

[Kinetic]

We are working on thorium. But for it we have to go through three stages. It is time consuming and very high end process. By 2020 we will have many nuclear reactors ready with thorium based fuel.

Actually India is looking for three stage closed cycle reactor system where fast breeder reactors constitute the second stage and the third stage of the programme using Th-U (fossil) based reactor that you mentioned ie ATBR. The AHWR reactor which needs crucial technologies is the first part of this third stage and I am more interested in this than other rectors. It has potential to supply enough electricity to India atleast for next 1000 years. But the govt is ordering less number of this new technology reactors while ordering from Russia, France and USA. One of the worst thing installing foreign reactors is that the output products cannot be used as fuel for another reactor that is what India is looking via indigenous solutions.

 

[Chanakyaa]

I was just going to state what kinetic said, infact there are more benifits like safety , proliferation and size in case of such reactors.

A variety called TMSR uses liquid sald of thorium and is a perfect solution for india.

Kinetic, the deal with russia doesnot have any issues with end products i think.

 

[Kinetic]

Kinetic, the deal with russia doesnot have any issues with end products i think.

Better!

 

[Yusuf]

May be indias thorium will be the next black gold. India is working on the thorium cycle and once we perfect it, then we will be in a position to get big contracts from other countries facing energy crises. Its only good that india is alone in its development. And out huge thorium reserves will be like what oil is. This will probably come to pass only by say 2050 and beyond.

 

[ARCHON]

we have a running fat-breeder reactor built in Kalpakkam in southern India...

Can somebody explain to me what a "fat" breeder reactor is???/

Thorium is a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive metal. It is estimated to be about three to four times more abundant than uranium in the Earth's crust.
India has 32 per cent of world's thorium reserves in the sands of Kerala

 

[LCA Tejas]

Can somebody explain to me what a "fat" breeder reactor is???/

Thorium is a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive metal. It is estimated to be about three to four times more abundant than uranium in the Earth's crust.
India has 32 per cent of world's thorium reserves in the sands of Kerala

he missed out "S" its FAST BREEDER REACTOR...