Closed nuclear fuel recycling can pave way for thorium-based energy: Scientist
Scientist Naba Kumar Mondal discussed India's three-stage nuclear energy program, emphasizing that closed fuel recycling is essential for utilizing thorium resources. He noted that the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is a critical step toward achieving long-term energy security.
Why it matters
Advancements in thorium-based energy could provide a sustainable, low-carbon alternative for India's future power needs.
India’s efforts to develop a closed nuclear fuel cycle could eventually help it harness its abundant thorium resources while reducing the volume of radioactive waste requiring long-term management, particle physicist Naba Kumar Mondal said.
Delivering a talk on “From Uranium to Thorium: India’s Path to Energy Security” at GITAM Deemed to be University on Tuesday, Mr. Mondal, a NASI senior scientist at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, explained the importance of reprocessing and recycling spent nuclear fuel.
He said India’s three-stage nuclear programme envisaged the use of uranium in the first stage, plutonium-based fast breeder reactors in the second and thorium-based uranium-233 (U-233) fuel in the third.
The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) attaining criticality marked an important step towards the second stage, he said. Fast breeder reactors are designed to produce additional fissile material and provide a pathway for converting thorium into U-233.
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