[P2P-F] Fwd: Danger and Opportunity

Mon Nov 14 14:44:32 CET 2011

It seems there are a few ways and materials that can be used for producing
fission nuclear energy ( as opposed to fusion - for which
a controversial experimental iter fusion
reactor<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER> is
being built in france - ).

One of the materials (most?) used till now apparently being Uranium ( very
radioactive ) and Thorium ( much less radioactive ).

Note : one may ask why such focus on Uranium in the last 65 years, despite
havon control on Thorium civil energy production since the 50 ies. ( see
more on Thorium below )
One thesis potentially being that the process using uranium supports the
creation of "weapons grade plutonium", needed for certain weapons,
including fissile nuclear weapons ? Certain countries building up their
stocks of such very specific kind of plutonium before the depletion of
Uranium ?

Regarding Uranium :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_depletion#Uranium_production

*"The European Commission said in 2001 that at the current level of uranium
consumption, known uranium resources would last 42 years. When added to
military and secondary sources, the resources could be stretched to 72
years. Yet this rate of usage assumes that nuclear power continues to
provide only a fraction of the world’s energy supply. If electric capacity
were increased six-fold, then the 72-year supply would last just 12 years.
[8]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_depletion#cite_note-Jameson20050815-7>
 "*

///

There seems to be one molten salt energy production plant in India, and
more thorium nuclear energy projects to come in China ?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8393984/Safe-nuclear-does-exist-and-China-is-leading-the-way-with-thorium.html

"the Chinese will soon lead on this thorium technology as well as
molten-salts. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor#Chinese_Thorium_MSR_project

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium#Thorium_energy_fuel_cycle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten_salt_reactor#Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor

http://www.greenhealthwatch.com/newsstories/newslatest/latest0701/thoriumzzz.html

*"Thorium*
There is three times as much thorium as uranium in the Earth's crust. It
produces 250 times more energy than uranium. Thorium waste loses its
radioactivity in hundreds of years rather than tens of thousands."

http://www.dauvergne.com/technology/thorium-vs-uranium/

"thorium retrieval much less expensive and less environmentally damaging
per unit of energy extracted."

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/News/2006/2/Pages/Thorium--An-Alternative-to-Uranium.aspx

"historically, these reactors were designed to “breed” plutonium,
ostensibly so that the reactors would actually produce more fuel than they
consume. In fact this focus on the use of highly enriched uranium as a fuel
to make plutonium has resulted in a steady supply of weapons grade
plutonium from which nearly all “modern” nuclear weapons are made. Thorium
like uranium can be mixed with plutonium to make reactor fuel, but thorium
has two major advantages over uranium:

   1. Thorium can be used to “burn” up existing stocks of weapons grade
   plutonium, and;
   2. Thorium reactors can be designed so that they do not produce weapons
   grade fissile material.

Thorium can be blended with weapons-grade plutonium to make fuel for
nuclear reactors that convert the plutonium to a grade not suitable for the
manufacture of fission weapons."

On Sun, Nov 13, 2011 at 8:54 PM, Mark Janssen <dreamingforward at gmail.com>wrote:

> On Sun, Nov 13, 2011 at 5:47 AM, Michel Bauwens <michel at p2pfoundation.net>wrote:
>
>> calculations of solar energy are an important read
>>
>>
> Question:  If it took 300 years to burn 1 billion years of fossil fuel,
> how many years will it take to burn the 15 billion years of stored nuclear
> energy?
>
> marcos
>
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