Wyoming nuclear task force hears thorium reactor plan

Wyoming nuclear task force hears thorium reactor plan

2012-09-04T07:00:00Z 2012-09-04T15:01:23Z Wyoming nuclear task force hears thorium reactor planBy ADAM VOGE Star-Tribune energy reporter trib.com
21 hours ago • By ADAM VOGE Star-Tribune energy reporter
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Kirk Sorensen claims a person can literally hold a lifetime’s supply of power in his or her hand.

Presenting to the Wyoming Task Force for Nuclear Energy Production via phone late last week, Sorensen touted the benefits of thorium — a possible competitor for uranium — in energy production.

“Thorium energy is much easier,” he said. “It can present a great advantage if we can use it.”

Sorensen, president and chief technologist of Huntsville, Ala.-based Flibe Energy, told the task force Thursday that his company is looking to establish a liquid fluoride thorium reactor in the United States within the next decade, with Wyoming a possible location.

Among the advantages of using liquid fluoride thorium reactors rather than uranium reactors, he said, are the element’s abundance in the United States, including Wyoming, the reactor’s ability to produce in remote areas and high efficiency.

He said the naturally occurring element and common byproduct of rare earths mining is three times as abundant as the uranium used to fuel modern nuclear power plants and 200 times more efficient. He added that thorium reactors

consume nearly all the thorium used to create energy — uranium-powered reactors consume less than one percent — and thereby create less waste.

Sorensen co-founded Flibe Energy about a year ago with a mission to establish a reactor in the United States. Similar technology is being pursued in China and India, and he told the Wyoming task force that the U.S. can’t afford to lose the thorium race.

“This is too important a technology to yield to another nation,” he said. “They’re running and we’re sitting on the bench.”

The reactor, as proposed by Sorensen, carries another major advantage that could make it a realistic option for Wyoming — the ability to operate in remote areas.

Most nuclear plants require large supplies of water for cooling. But a thorium reactor, he said, could run using a gas-to-air heat exchanger instead, making arid Wyoming a possible fit.

“It relieves you of the burden of having to be next to water,” he said. “Areas that are rather remote are possible.”

Sorensen also said a thorium reactor isn’t as prone to meltdowns as nuclear reactors. And although it produces some waste, it doesn’t create plutonium, curium and other potentially harmful radioactive products.

The reactor itself would be about the size of a semitrailer and would be buried in the ground. The initial setup would cost “hundreds of millions” to build, but Sorensen said he’s confident private parties will provide enough funding.

Members of the task force approached Sorensen’s presentation with guarded optimism.

“Hopefully we can make some progress in that direction,” said state Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie.

The task force encouraged Sorensen to make contact with the Idaho National Lab, which is nearly finished with a hybrid energy study commissioned by the state Legislature.

Sorensen said his project is still in the conceptual stages, and there are still potential regulatory issues to be worked out. He said the project will be expensive to get off the ground, but any investment pays off in the long term, as thorium potentially usurps hydrocarbons.

“Thorium will become the world’s dominant energy source,” he said. “This will be the most important development in the 21st century.”

Reach energy reporter Adam Voge at 307-266-0561, or at adam.voge@trib.com. Read his blog at http://trib.com/news/opinion/blogs/boom or follow him on Twitter @vogeCST.

Tags

Environment, Kirk Sorensen, Wyoming Task Force For Nuclear Energy Production, Nuclear Technology, Nuclear Reactor, Thorium, Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor, Lithium Fluoride, Chris Rothfuss, Idaho National Lab, Adam Voge
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JoeinMilwaukee - 12 hours ago
Wyoming, give this serious consideration! Reactors like this have the potential to be a very exciting solution to this country's energy dilemma.

If you are not familiar with the technology I would encourage you to do some research. It is amazing!
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Mike Carey - 18 hours ago
Thorium reactors can be cleaner, and safer than conventional nuclear reactors, and produce power cheaper than coal.

The thorium fueled molten salt reactor was demonstrated in the 1960's at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, but uranium based reactors were developed instead, because they provided plutonium by-products for Cold War weapons.
See details at -
http://www.thoriumapplications.com/how_it_works.htm
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