India to Focus on Developing Thorium-Based Nuclear Reactors

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The recent Indo-U.S. nuclear deal has given impetus to India's nuclear power development program. As part of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12), state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation India Limited (NPCIL) (Mumbai) has announced the commencement of site and project work on 12 nuclear reactors to be developed indigenously. This includes eight 700-megawatt (MW) pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), one 300-MW advanced heavy water reactor and three 500-MW fast breeder reactors (FBRs). The eight PHWR projects, part of India's Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-07), was delayed because of uranium mining constraints. The site study, project and design, commercial and vendor selection, and construction activity will take up to 30 months.

The recent nuclear deal has opened up many opportunities for the country. India has developed a three-stage nuclear development plan. Stage I will consist of the commissioning of natural uranium heavy water moderated and cooled PHWR. Plutonium will be obtained from the spent fuel. The second stage, to be fired by plutonium, will consist of FBRs. This stage will also breed uranium-233 from thorium. The last stage of the plan will develop power reactors from thorium and uranium-233. The nuclear development plan will take forward India's commitment to develop thorium-based reactors and thorium fuel cycle.

The thorium fuel cycle is a nuclear reaction in a thermal or fast reactor between thorium-232 and uranium-233. Thorium is the fertile base and uranium is used as a fissile fuel. Thorium-232 absorbs a neutron to become thorium-233. Then, thorium-233 emits an electron and an anti-neutrino to form protactinium-233. Protactinium-233 then emits an electron and an anti-neutrino to form uranium-233, which is then used as a fuel.

Although global uranium trade is opening up, using thorium is a commercially viable option for India, as it has the one of the largest deposits of thorium in the world. India has 363,000 tons of thorium along its eastern and southern coasts. Uranium deposits in India total about 78,000 tons. Thorium is a naturally available element, exhibiting some radioactive properties. It is considered a safer alternative to uranium as it helps decrease nuclear waste. The most naturally occurring form of thorium is monazite, which contains up to 12% thorium oxide. There are known reserves of 12 million tons of monazite in the world.

In 2002, India began to design and develop a prototype fast thorium breed reactor (FTBR). The reactor uses uranium that is discharged from other nuclear reactors along with thorium to form a fertile mix. Plutonium is used as a "seed" to fire the nuclear chain reaction. FTBR technology is among the first to use the concept of thorium breeding. In a nuclear reaction, when compared to uranium, the consumption of thorium is slow. This reduces nuclear waste by 50%. There is also a global concern on the extensive development of uranium-based reactors, as they produce a plutonium component that is used in nuclear weapons. Thorium-based reactors eliminate this process. Thorium can be used in existing reactors with little or no change to the design.

Though NPCIL presently generates only 4,120 MW of power through nuclear reactors, this figure is expected to touch 22,000 MW in the next five years. It has 17 reactors operational presently, with another five under construction. NPCIL is also identifying sites in coastal areas of the country to set up 25 to 30 light water reactors by 2030.

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