To meet its rapidly growing energy demand, some opine that India should pursue research and development on thorium as the future fuel of nuclear energy. In this context, what advantage does thorium hold over uranium? 1. Thorium is far more abundant in nat

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Q: 86 (IAS/2012)
To meet its rapidly growing energy demand, some opine that India should pursue research and development on thorium as the future fuel of nuclear energy. In this context, what advantage does thorium hold over uranium?
1. Thorium is far more abundant in nature than uranium.
2. On the basis of per unit mass of mined mineral, thorium can generate more energy compared to natural uranium.
3. Thorium produces less harmful waste compared to uranium.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

question_subject: 

Geography

question_exam: 

IAS

stats: 

0,82,120,34,31,55,82

keywords: 

{'thorium': [1, 0, 0, 1], 'natural uranium': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'uranium': [3, 0, 2, 0], 'nuclear energy': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'harmful waste': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'mined mineral': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'energy demand': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'advantage': [1, 0, 0, 5], 'more energy': [0, 0, 0, 3]}

The correct answer is "1, 2, and 3", i.e. all the given statements are correct.

Explanation:

Thorium is a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive element that is more abundant in the Earth`s crust than uranium. India has large thorium reserves, and it has been suggested that thorium could be a safer and more sustainable alternative to uranium for nuclear energy.

The advantages of thorium over uranium are as follows:

1. Abundance: Thorium is more abundant in nature than uranium. While uranium deposits are limited and mostly located in a few countries, thorium is found in many countries, including India.

2. Energy yield: Thorium can generate more energy per unit mass of mined mineral compared to natural uranium. This is because thorium-232, the most common isotope of thorium, can be converted into fissile uranium-233 in a nuclear reactor. Uranium-235, the isotope used in most nuclear reactors, makes up only 0.7% of natural uranium, while thorium-232 makes up 100% of natural thorium.

3. Waste: Thorium produces less long-lived radioactive waste compared to uranium. The waste produced by thorium reactors decays to safe levels in a few hundred years, while the waste produced by uranium reactors remains radioactive for tens of thousands of years.

Therefore, pursuing research and development on thorium could potentially lead to a safer and more sustainable future for nuclear energy in India.

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