Populist Reform of the Democratic Party

thx64536

(47 posts) Tue Mar 30, 2021, 12:41 PM Mar 2021

Thorium based nuclear power is the best choice for our energy future not wind or solar

If you study the science molten salt nuclear reactors using thorium as fuel is the best choice. Thorium based Molten-Salt-Reactors are extremely efficient burning almost ALL of the fuel producing a extremely small fraction of the waste you would get with traditional nuclear reactors. There's a lot of disinformation by special interests so it's easy to find counter opinions. But the science is not based on superstitious nonsense that is politically motivated. Any one who studies this with an unbiased opinion will come to the same conclusions explained by Kirk Sorensen.

Thorium based nuclear power will undoubtedly become the primary energy source of the world. This will be a 3-4 trillion dollar per year industry. The Chinese have made the choice and are leading the way: "China spending US$3.3 billion on molten salt nuclear reactors for faster aircraft carriers and in flying drones":

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/12/china-spending-us3-3-billion-on-molten-salt-nuclear-reactors-for-faster-aircraft-carriers-and-in-flying-drones.html

We need a Manhattan like project or space-race effort of funding with the goal of making Thorium based nuclear power the United State's primary energy source. The US can choose to be a driver or just a passenger on next energy revolution bus. It's so sad to think about how the US used to have the best engineers in the world. Big Oil is destroying our future. Not only is thorium the best possible energy choice but when you mine thorium you will get expensive and lucrative rare earth metals which markets are currently dominated by the Chinese.

9 replies

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Thorium based nuclear power is the best choice for our energy future not wind or solar (Original Post) thx64536 Mar 2021 OP

Just to note. China is also investing more then $360 billion into renewable energy. CentralMass Mar 2021 #1

The thing about renewables - they don't need any fuel Blues Heron Mar 2021 #2

Agree! Other countries are out pacing us with wind, solar and wave. They aren't talking about PortTack Mar 2021 #8

I think it will be a mix exboyfil Mar 2021 #3

Are nuclear and renewables like wind/solar supposed to be mutually exclusive? kysrsoze Mar 2021 #4

Agree 100% ... batteries as it stands are an expensive solution to intermittency problems Hugh_Lebowski Mar 2021 #6

So did China get these pilot plants up in 2020 as they planned per this 2017 article? Hugh_Lebowski Mar 2021 #5

I call bullshit. He is a con-man, selling hype to people who don't know how a reactor works: DetlefK Mar 2021 #7

They use gas to remove the heat Hokie Mar 2021 #9

CentralMass

(15,537 posts)

1. Just to note. China is also investing more then $360 billion into renewable energy.

Reply to thx64536 (Original post)

Tue Mar 30, 2021, 12:47 PM

Mar 2021

https://www.csis.org/east-green-chinas-global-leadership-renewable-energy

Blues Heron

(6,130 posts)

2. The thing about renewables - they don't need any fuel

Reply to thx64536 (Original post)

Tue Mar 30, 2021, 12:52 PM

Mar 2021

These reactors - not only extremely dangerous - need to be fueled and generate fuel waste. AKA the gift that keeps on giving for thousands of years. So yeah, no thanks.

PortTack

(34,643 posts)

8. Agree! Other countries are out pacing us with wind, solar and wave. They aren't talking about

Reply to Blues Heron (Reply #2)

Tue Mar 30, 2021, 01:22 PM

Mar 2021

Nuclear....hello

exboyfil

(17,995 posts)

3. I think it will be a mix

Reply to thx64536 (Original post)

Tue Mar 30, 2021, 12:56 PM

Mar 2021

I will watch these lectures. I haven't given it a whole lot of thought even though I heard about them several years ago.

kysrsoze

(6,139 posts)

4. Are nuclear and renewables like wind/solar supposed to be mutually exclusive?

Reply to thx64536 (Original post)

Tue Mar 30, 2021, 12:57 PM

Mar 2021

I don't have an issue with safer nuclear power, but it doesn't seem it can supply all our energy needs. And there is no reason why we shouldn't have a multi-pronged approach. The fossil fuel industry has utilized gas, oil and coal, so why not do wind, solar, hydro and perhaps nuclear?

Another consideration is the rare earth market is currently dominated by China, specifically because their land holds such a huge amount of these materials when compared with the rest of the world. So you can't just assume you're going to solve the rare earth mineral shortage by mining for thorium.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/277268/rare-earth-reserves-by-country/

Hugh_Lebowski

(33,643 posts)

6. Agree 100% ... batteries as it stands are an expensive solution to intermittency problems

Reply to kysrsoze (Reply #4)

Tue Mar 30, 2021, 01:07 PM

Mar 2021

Not to mention very 'dirty' things to make.

Nuclear power to supplement/back up wind/solar seems reasonable, although I'm not sure you can spin them up and down as easily as one can with, say, a natural gas plant.

Hugh_Lebowski

(33,643 posts)

5. So did China get these pilot plants up in 2020 as they planned per this 2017 article?

Reply to thx64536 (Original post)

Tue Mar 30, 2021, 01:02 PM

Mar 2021

And do we have significant Th reserves here in the USA, or at least N. America?

I'd hope so since basing our energy future on fuel we don't actually possess seems ... risky.

DetlefK

(16,455 posts)

7. I call bullshit. He is a con-man, selling hype to people who don't know how a reactor works:

Reply to thx64536 (Original post)

Tue Mar 30, 2021, 01:22 PM

Mar 2021

All fission-reactors are built on the same principle: Converting thermal energy into electricity.

He SPECIFICALLY said that a molten-salt reactor wouldn't need water-coolant. But how else would he harvest the thermal energy? HE NEVER EXPLAINED THAT. And what does the reactor-layout in HIS OWN PRESENTATION show a "heat-exchanger" next to the reactor? At time-stamp 5:26. What is in that heat-exchanger if not water???

The molten salt is the radioactive fuel that produces the heat! It's not the medium that converts heat into electricity!!!

I only watched the first video and after such a crass mistake I refuse to waste any more time on this man.

Hokie

(4,298 posts)

9. They use gas to remove the heat

Reply to DetlefK (Reply #7)

Tue Mar 30, 2021, 03:52 PM

Mar 2021

In one video I think I saw in one video that carbon dioxide is the gas that is used to drive the turbine to run the generator. It is recycled so there are no CO2 emissions.

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