Proposal for improved nuclear fuel utilisation and economic performance by utilising thorium

Marina du Toit, Sunil Chirayath

Research output: Contribution to specialist publicationArticle

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

A systematic and strategic nuclear power reactor deployment roadmap has been developed for South Africa within the national strategic plan, utilizing thorium-based fuel. The roadmap was developed through analysis of economical, strategic and historical aspects. The accumulated advantages of thorium-based fuels are summarized, which could form the initiative to implement thorium-based nuclear fuels in South Africa. A timeline (which forms the basis of the roadmap) was constructed and consists of three different phases. Phase 1 starts in 2015 and extends to 2030. Phase 2 starts in 2031 and ends in 2044 whilst Phase 3 is from 2045 to 2060. Each phase is discussed with regard to construction, implementation and research activities. This roadmap starts at current pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and advances to future reactor technologies, using an evolutionary approach. In addition to the results reported in this paper, the economic advantages to introducing thorium as a fertile component in PWR fuels as compared to once-through conventional uranium-only cycles is explored (Du Toit & Cilliers, 2014). The economic evaluation compares uranium fuel to thorium-uranium fuel in terms of the fuel cycle costs, reactor downtime costs due to refuelling and income derived from electricity sales.

Original languageEnglish
Pages11-18
Number of pages8
Volume26
No2
Specialist publicationJournal of Energy in Southern Africa
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Fuel cycle
  • Nuclear power in South Africa
  • PWR
  • Roadmap
  • Thorium-based fuels

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