Reply #15: Set up correctly, the nuclear industry will never run out of fuel [View All]

[Massacure]

There have been studies that have shown that even if we were to get 100% of our energy from breeder reactors, uranium and thorium reserves would not exhaust until after the sun becomes a red giant and engulfs Earth. In a nutshell humans would need to extract uranium and thorium from seawater and use it in breeder reactors that can fission not only uranium and thorium but their daughter products as well. This allows Earth to replenish the supplies of uranium and thorium in the oceans via the process of erosion faster than we take it out. The U.S. did an experiment with breeders with a reactor called the Integral Fast Reactor. It fissioned and reprocessed nuclear waste down to the point where it will be less radioactive than the original ore in four hundred years, which shows great promise in regards to dealing with waste. Unfortunately, Clinton killed the project during his presidency.

Breeder reactors have shown some technological problems, particularly dealing with sodium. The reactors will no doubt start off very expensive, but research continues with them. The people involved with those projects are not holding their breath on solar and wind, that is for sure.