Is it possible to reuse nuclear waste

This spawns neutrons that in turn convert thorium into fissile uranium, producing heat by way of nuclear fission. The heavy uranium nuclei divides into smaller nucleus such as zirconium think Shopping Channel jewellery or xenon used in camera flash bulbs , with only minimal radioactive waste produced.

Clean: No emissions are produced CO2, nitrogen or sulphur oxides particles, among others , unlike with fossil fuel. Heat is generated from the transmutation of thorium into the highly radioactive uranium and its subsequent fission into smaller particles. Feasible : ADS technology development has been proven to be a bounded problem with a realistic development timeline. In comparison, fusion is an unbounded problem that does not have a constrained development timeline.

Transmutation of nuclear waste : the ADS process has been proven to transmute long-term nuclear waste, harmful for , years or more, into short-term radioactivity waste of less than years toxicity. The technology would solve the intractable problem of very long-term radioactive waste storage.

Large thorium reserves: enough for 20 centuries at level of global electricity consumption. Thorium is well distributed around the globe, with no nation having a monopoly. High energy density : 1 tonne of thorium would provide the energy equivalent of 3 million tonnes of coal, or tonnes of natural uranium enriched for use in a nuclear reactor. The reaction is also stops immediately when the proton beam is interrupted, providing inherent safety. In the wintery north-west, an equivalent solar farm would be almost three times larger, approximately 62 km2.

Wind turbines require even more space. Proximity: inherent safety and small size make ADS ideally suited for any use, industrial or urban, and able to be located in remote regions, including high latitudes with little sunshine.

Decarbonized hydrogen production: reactors could be set close to abundant freshwater at high latitudes for clean hydrogen production, allowing the conversion of electrons into a green gas used for transport, heating and industrial processes. ADS technology advances the double promise of boundless clean electricity, together with the destruction of highly toxic long-term nuclear waste. Its inherent safety will allow power plants to be located anywhere, even close to urban areas, and in any climate.

ADS offers the possibility to provide sustainable energy on demand and with easy integration into smart grids. Combined with the production of green hydrogen, it could decarbonize our entire energy needs, from transport to industrial.

The development of this promising technology offers hope for a paradigm shift in clean energy production, achievable in years instead of decades, helping the fight against global warming. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum. Green investments would create more jobs than investing in fossil fuels.

I accept. It can be done. Take action on UpLink. In France and Japan, the nuclear material that is not reused is embedded in glass. In the end, repossession on a ton of nuclear waste is equivalent to saving , barrels of oil. In the United States, nuclear reprocessing was banned for the fear of nuclear proliferation.

Additionally, twelve states have also banned nuclear plants completely, due to the fact that they produce radioactive waste.

The example of other countries shows that nuclear proliferation is not as great a problem as once thought, as the nuclear fuel are highly guarded and nuclear materials can be transported safely. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines.

The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author. Andrews, "Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing: U.