2. Smart Planet - A privately held Norwegian company (Thor Energy) will start burning thorium fuel in a conventional test reactor owned by Norway’s government with help from U.S.-based nuclear giant Westinghouse, the company revealed here recently.
The Halden Boiling Water Reactor (HBWR) is a versatile tool for nuclear fuels and materials investigations:
More than 300 positions individually accessible
About 110 positions in central core
About 30 positions for experimental purposes(any of 110/300)
Height of active core 80 cm
Usable length within moderator about 160 cm
Experimental channel Ø:- 70 mm in HBWR moderator- 35-45 mm in pressure flask
Loop systems for simulation of BWR/PWR conditions
The four-year test at Norway’s government owned Halden reactor could help thorium inch closer to replacing uranium as a possible safer and more effective nuclear power source. Many people believe that thorium is superior because it leaves less long- lived dangerous waste, makes it far more difficult to fashion bombs, runs more efficiently, and can be made meltdown proof.
Oslo-based Thor Energy will deploy a mix of solid thorium mixed with plutonium - a blend known as “thorium MOX” - Thor’s chief technology officer Julian Kelly told the Thorium Energy Conference 2012.
Thor is testing the thorium fuel in a conventional reactor at Halden cooled by “heavy water” - water that contains an isotope of hydrogen called deuterium. (Although Halden is typically described as a “test reactor,” it also provides steam to a nearby paper mill).
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