India 's nuclear programme started on March 1944 and its three-stage efforts in technology were established by Dr. Homi Bhabha when he founded the nuclear research centre, the Institute of Fundamental Research. Bhabha drew up the blue print of the nuclear energy programme in India. Based on early geological surveys, he decided that the vast deposits of thorium in the monazite sands of Kerala could be harnessed for securing India’s long-term energy needs. Thorium is particularly attractive for India, as it has only around 1–2% of the global uranium reserves, but one of the largest shares of global thorium reserves at about 25% of the world 's known thorium reserves.
As per the World Nuclear Association,
India has a flourishing and largely …show more content…
The cycle produces virtually no plutonium. The waste products contain low amount of long-lived alpha-emitters. This also reduces the risk of proliferation which is a major concern with uranium based reactors. The Indian Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is designed and developed to achieve large-scale use of thorium for the generation of commercial nuclear power. This reactor will produce most of its power from thorium, avoiding any external input of uranium-233, in the equilibrium …show more content…
Thorium is also an ideal host for disposition of weapons grade plutonium. It is also possible to derive these advantages using thorium in existing reactor designs. Heavy water moderated lattices offer best characteristics for utilization of thorium. In particular, the used of Pu(RG) and thorium in 220MWe PHWRs offers an attractive option for near-term deployment in several regions of the world. However, presently thorium is not economically viable as global uranium prices are much lower, but for a country like India with vast resources of thorium compared to negligible uranium resources, this seems as an effective option. To sum up, the Thorium programme being pursued by India can be instrumental in ending the nation’s energy woes and also showing the world a path towards safe, greener and efficient energy production from atomic
As per the World Nuclear Association,
India has a flourishing and largely …show more content…
The cycle produces virtually no plutonium. The waste products contain low amount of long-lived alpha-emitters. This also reduces the risk of proliferation which is a major concern with uranium based reactors. The Indian Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is designed and developed to achieve large-scale use of thorium for the generation of commercial nuclear power. This reactor will produce most of its power from thorium, avoiding any external input of uranium-233, in the equilibrium …show more content…
Thorium is also an ideal host for disposition of weapons grade plutonium. It is also possible to derive these advantages using thorium in existing reactor designs. Heavy water moderated lattices offer best characteristics for utilization of thorium. In particular, the used of Pu(RG) and thorium in 220MWe PHWRs offers an attractive option for near-term deployment in several regions of the world. However, presently thorium is not economically viable as global uranium prices are much lower, but for a country like India with vast resources of thorium compared to negligible uranium resources, this seems as an effective option. To sum up, the Thorium programme being pursued by India can be instrumental in ending the nation’s energy woes and also showing the world a path towards safe, greener and efficient energy production from atomic