http://www.daretothink.org/
molten salt reactors – liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR)

…There’s a broad range of possible designs, but the liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) is a good example – it was the first to gather a quickly growing number of fans. In this reactor, the fuel salt runs through graphite tubes were the reaction takes place. The heat builds up while the salt flows: the molten salt is fuel AND coolant. The heat is quickly transferred to another molten salt that takes it to an electric generator, to power the grid.

Because of their unprecedented energy efficiency, liquid fuel reactors extend the uranium scope by a factor 30 to 100, depending on the options compared. Once we start using thorium, which is a great fuel in molten salt reactors, we extend the scope again by many factors – leading to a very real prospect of cheap energy for tens of thousands of years. …

#nuclear #thorium