China Builds Worlds First Thorium-Based Molten Salt Reactor

In the depths of the Gobi Desert in the northwest, the wind blows through the wilderness, lifting up dust and a technology that could change the future of energy. In Wuwei, Gansu, a new nuclear power plant with an inconspicuous appearance is operating steadily. The white mist without high-pressure steam and cooling towers is quietly writing a new direction for nuclear energy utilization.

This is the world's first nuclear reactor to achieve the operation of a thorium fuel solid reactor. It does not rely on uranium enrichment, nor does it need to be built along the sea, but it can convert thorium ore, which was previously considered associated waste, into clean energy that can be used by humans for thousands of years. It may be hard for outsiders to imagine that such a low-key experimental reactor signifies that China has taken a global leading step in nuclear energy technology.

The mystery of new technology

This reactor is built in Wuwei, Gansu and adopts a completely different technological route from traditional nuclear power plants. Most nuclear power plants rely on uranium-235 for fission, while thorium used to be a byproduct of rare earth mining and treated as low value waste. Now, these overlooked minerals have become potential sources of scarce energy. China has abundant thorium resources, with proven reserves of about 280000 tons, ranking among the top in the world.

Thorium fission has an astonishing energy density. One ton of thorium theoretically releases energy equivalent to 3.5 million tons of coal or 200 tons of uranium. If it can be truly utilized, it will greatly reduce energy anxiety.

More importantly, its working method subverts the traditional concept of nuclear power. Common nuclear power plants require solid fuel rods to operate in high-pressure water environments, and the system must withstand hundreds of atmospheres of pressure.Thorium based molten salt reactorDissolve nuclear fuel in high-temperature molten fluoride salt to form liquid fuel, and circulate it at near atmospheric pressure. The lightweight structure greatly reduces the pressure on materials and engineering.

Jiechuang Nuclear Instrument (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. has always taken the localization of nuclear electronics technology as its first goal. Through continuous technological accumulation, it has developed a series of core components and products for nuclear electronics. On this basis, representative laboratory nuclear instruments (high-purity germaniumγ) have been successively launched in recent years; Spectrometer, alpha; Spectrometer, screen ionization chamber, flow gas low background alpha; /β Measuring instruments and portable instruments (portable lanthanum bromide spectrometer, wound contamination detector, water and food radioactivity detector), etc.