thorium

Why Buy Thorium?

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Thorium is a radioactive metal named for the Norse god of thunder, and it’s a possible energy alternative to uranium. Discovered in 1828 by Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius, thorium is only slightly radioactive, but it must be combined with fissile material — such as uranium-233 or U-235 — to sustain a nuclear reaction for power generation.

A thorium-based fuel cycle significantly lowers the amount of waste that is produced; it also significantly reduces radioactively decaying elements that remain in the reactor after a chain reaction is completed. When used with enriched uranium, for example, thorium can help to reduce the waste by 95%, according to University of Oslo researchers.

The element is primarily mined from thorite (ThSiO4), thorianite (ThO2) and monazite (Ce, La, Nd, Y)PO4. It’s also found in some sand and seawater.

It’s a chemically reactive metal that “rusts” easily in air. It’s also a very radioactive metal, making it difficult to isolate for commercial use.

Despite all that, it’s being explored as a possible alternative to uranium for electricity generators and marine vehicles. In the United States, a handful of accelerator-driven thorium reactors have been tested, led by Norwegian company Flibe Energy.

They can’t compete with the power output of current nuclear reactors, but they could be the key to a more sustainable future. And they could be safer for human life as well, since thorium does not emit any radiation during the process of producing power.

Thorium Sulfate Production Process

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Thorium is a radioactive element that is used to make ceramics, welding rods, camera and telescope lenses, fire brick, heat resistant paint and metals used in the aerospace industry. It is also being considered as a nuclear fuel for future nuclear reactors.

thorium sulfate is one of the most desirable candidates for replacement of uranium in future nuclear reactor designs. It has many advantages over uranium including an absence of non-fertile isotopes, greater safety benefits, and availability in the Earth’s crust.

The present invention relates to a process for purifying and producing a highly pure and essentially uncontaminated thorium sulfate product in a satisfactory form. It is particularly adapted to permit the production of a new and useful hydrated form of thorium sulfate, the heptahydrate.

Crude thorium sulfate is dissolved in a hot mother liquor of the salt, and the resulting aqueous solution is heated to a temperature at which crystallization of the thorium sulfate heptahydrate therefrom takes place. The crystalline product is then removed from the mother liquor, and filtered to remove any impurities or other contaminants.

Sulfuric acid may be added to the mother liquor, either as initial prepared or later in the process if desired, to further depress the solubility of the thorium sulfate in the hot mother liquor, thus increasing the recovery of the heptahydrate from the mother liquor. This can usually be accomplished by adding up to 20 weight percent or more of the acid to the crude thorium sulfate solution, based on its total solution weight.