The neutron budget in the thorium fuel cycle is very weak. At best with proliferation sensitive fuel reprocessing, the breeding ratio is 1.06 to 1.14, but in reality it gets no greater than 1.06 to make the thorium fuel cycle proliferation safe.
To make thorium a breeder we need to add U235 and/or Pu239 to get the breeding ratio high enough to burn Np237. That is why Np237 is removed, to save neutrons. If we burn Np237, we must add more U235 on Pu239 to get the neutron budget over one. Thorium is usually tied to an ADS or Fusion neutron generator because of its weak breeding ratio. On Mon, Jan 6, 2014 at 4:53 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > In reply to Axil Axil's message of Mon, 6 Jan 2014 16:24:02 -0500: > Hi, > > You might get some Neptunium from the Plutonium, but I doubt you would get > much > from Thorium, because you have to add quite a few neutrons to get there. > Besides, as 237Np is fissionable, it would likely tend to "burn up" in the > reactor faster than it formed, resulting in a very low concentration being > present at any given time. > > > >*Cold Fusion is the goal...only cold fusion...* > > > >Thorium fission produces loads of *Neptunium* 237. > > > >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptunium > > > >In many ways, Neptunium is a bigger problem as plutonium. > > > >Weapons applications ...It can make bombs > [snip] > Regards, > > Robin van Spaandonk > > http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html > >
