IAEAInternational Atomic Energy Agency

Thorium - Securing the resources

Hari Tulsidas

Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section

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Thorium – the future of energy

• Advantages, challenges

• Past experience, the downturn

• Present hunger for energy, climatic concerns

• Booming nuclear waste issues

• How long with uranium resources last?

• Renewed interest in thorium

• IAEA activities in Th fuel cycle

• ThDEPO

• Planned activities

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Bunch of advantages

• Large resources of thorium• Self sustained equilibrium thorium fuel cycle • Intrinsic proliferation resistance • Better thermo-physical properties and chemical stability • High burn – up capability• Lesser long lived minor actinides • Superior plutonium incineration • Attractive in accelerated driven systems and energy amplifiers

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Resistance to proliferation

• Difficulties in reprocessing of chemically stable thoria.

• Easy detection of gamma activity

• Quality of plutonium produced unattractive for weapons

• Improved burn-up increases the fuel cycle length, safeguarding the fissile material in the reactor itself

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Some challenges too …

• Needs fissile material to start with• Fuel cycle infrastructure to be developed - mining, milling, fuel

fabrication, transport and reprocessing• Re-cycling of U233 requires automated and remote fuel fabrication

and handling in adequately shielded facility• Reprocessing of Th fuels is not yet established• Large investment for Th fuel development, qualification and

characterization

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Th utilization – Past experience (1)

• Studied for about 40 years in Germany, USA, UK, Netherlands and India.

• Commercial scale Th fuelled reactors in Germany, USA in 1970s & 80s.

• Test reactor irradiation of thorium fuel to high burnups

• Several test reactors - partially or completely loaded with thorium-based fuel.

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Th utilization – Past experience (2)

• 1967 – 1988: AVR, Germany (18 MWe)• 1964 – 1973: Dragon, UK (20 MWt)• 1962 – 1980: Indian Point, USA (285 MWe)• 1964 – 1969: MSRE ORNL, USA (7.5 MWt)• 1963 – 1968: Borax IV & Elk River (2,4 – 24 MWe)• 1967 – 1974: Peach Bottom, USA (40 MWe)• 1976 – 1989: Fort St Vtain, USA (330 MWe)• 1977 – 1982: Shippingport, USA (100 MWe)• 1960s – present: 3 RR and NPD, Canada• 1974 - 1977: SUSPOP/KSTR KEMA, Netherlands (1 MWt)• 1983 – 1989: THTR, Germany (300MWe)• 1980s : Cirus & Dhruva, India (30 kWt & 40 MWt)• 1985 – present: FBTR, India (40 MWt)• 1996 – present: Kamini, India (30kWt)

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The downturn

• All major projects using Th in their fuel cycles had been terminated by the late 1980s.

• Could not compete economically

• Lack of political support

• Concern regarding proliferation risks

Chernobyl Cheap Oil Proliferation

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Hunger for energy

Population growth

Energy poverty

Source: World Energy Outlook 2010

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Concern for environment

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Looming waste problem (1)

World cumulative spent fuel discharge by 2030

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Looming waste problem (2)

Reuse# 4 workshop, AECL, Canada 15-16Nov. 2010

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World distribution of uranium resources

    Australia 1 679 000 26.6%

    Kazakhstan 832 000 13.2%

    Russia 565 000 9.0%

    Canada 544 000 8.6%

    United States 472 100 7.5%

    South Africa 295 600 4.6%

    Namibia 284 200 4.5%

    Brazil 278 700 4.4%

    Niger 275 500 4.3%

IAEA /OECD NEA Uranium 2009: Resources, Production and Demand

Others 1 079 000 17%

Total 6 306 000 100%

iNFCIS - UDEPO

Data of 1 323 uranium deposits from 75

countries

http://www-nfcis.iaea.org

Total 20 314 645 tU

tURed Book 2009

Undiscovered Resources: 7 495 500 tU

Recovera

ble Reso

urces

Identified < $260

Total Reso

urces

Iden

tified

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Uranium supply balance

WNA Global Nuclear Fuel Market 2007-2030

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Peak Uranium ?

Projected U production in Australia

2020

2022

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Rethinking thorium

• HTGR: GT-MHR by General Atomics• THTR in China• Radkowsky Thorium Reactor: LWBR in USA• MSR/LFTR – Japan, Russia, France, USA – GIF• CANDU - ACR - Canada and China • VVERs -Thorium Power (Lightbridge)• EPR – France / Lightbridge

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Th action in India

• Long-term nuclear fuel cycle to utilise its abundant thorium resources in three stages:• Stage 1 - Plutonium is produced in PHWRs fuelled by natural

uranium and in LWRs• Stage 2 - In FBRs plutonium is burned to breed U233 from

thorium and plutonium from the uranium. • Currently a research reactor uses 233U obtained from a test FBR.• Prototype FBR (500 MWe) to be commissioned in 2012 • Four commercial FBRs (500 MWe each) by 2020.

• Stage 3 - Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWRs) burn the U233 and plutonium with thorium to derive about two thirds of the power from thorium.

• One 300 MWe AHWR to be operational by 2020.

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International cooperation

• IAEA-International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) 32 members

• IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on Comparative assessments of thorium based fuel cycle concepts to be initiated in 2011

• Generation IV International Forum – GIF: Th will be the reference fuel cycle for some of the Gen-IV SCWR concepts and MSR

• International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation - IFNEC

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More details …

• Thorium Fuel Cycle – Potential Benefits and Challenges

• Current information base

• Front end / back end issues

• Proliferation resistance issues

• Economic aspects

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Initially based on the Agency’s electronic databases created in 1980s

Web based system with public access since 2001

ThDEPO project started in 2010

Integrated Nuclear Fuel Cycle Information System

http://www-nfcis.iaea.org

NFCIS

UDEPO

PIE

NFCSS

MADB

ThDEPONew

To be published soon!

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Thorium resources

• Natural Th is a relatively abundant element with an av of 7.2 ppm in the earth’s crust, compared to 2.5 - 3 ppm of U.

• This does not mean at all that the exploitable reserves of thorium are 2-3 times larger than U

• Extensive exploration for thorium has not been conducted • Red Book stopped reporting Th since 1981.• A reliable estimation of the world-wide reserves of thorium is

not currently available.

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Current Th Exploration

• Th Exploration (USGS - 2007) continues in Canada, India and the USA.

• India – 846 tTh resources: Stockpile: ~30 000 t thorium concentrate.

• USA- Th exploration in Lemhi Pass area

• Monazite last produced in 1994

• Expected to resume in soon (Florida) ?

• Reassessment of resources in Australia, Brazil, USA & India.

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Thorium Resources

Data based on Red Book 2009 & ThDEPO 2010

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Major Th deposit types and resources

Deposit type Resources (t Th) Percentage

Carbonatite 1 900 000 31

Placer 1 500 000 25

Vein-type 1 300 000 21

Alkaline rocks 1 120 000 18

Other 258 000 4

Total 6 078 000

‘Red Book’ 2009

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ThDEPO status

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Th resources publications

2009

USA

2009

2001

India

Australia

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Th resources issues

• Present practice of diluting and dispersing Th minerals

• Sea level rise and land loss – impact on coastal resources?

• Social acceptability of mining in coastal areas?

• Economics of hard rock Th mining?

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ThDEPO planned activities

• Collect all the available resources data from published sources / unpublished reports

• Critically evaluate and publish data in ThDEPO

• Preserve the fast disappearing knowledge base on Th reserves.

• Highlight gaps in knowledge.

• Identify issues in development of Th resources.

• Identify associated work that should be carried our – CRPs, Tech Documents, Meetings

• Promote International Cooperation in Th resources development.

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Next …

IAEA Technical Meeting on

World Thorium Resources17 – 21 October 2011

Thiruvanatapuram, India

Thorium geology, mineralization Exploration case histories

Resource evaluationProduction, feasibility and economics

Extraction technologiesSafety, environmental and social licensing

Field visits

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You can reach me at …

Harikrishnan TulsidasNuclear Technology Specialist

Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials SectionInternational Atomic Energy AgencyTel: (+431) 2600 22758 Fax: (+431) 26007 22758Room A26 19

Email: T.Harikrishnan@iaea.org