Nobel laureate proposes nuclear proliferation resistant system
Mumbai (PTI): hindu.com
Nobel laureate and renowned high energy physicist Carlo Rubbia has proposed a nuclear proliferation resistant system "Energy Amplifier (EA)" or "Accelerator Driven Sub-critical System (ADSS)".
According to him, in this concept, a high energy proton beam from an accelerator, striking a lead or lead bismuth target, provides neutrons to the sub-critical reactor.
"A plutonium-thorium fuelled sub-critical reactor combined with the accelerator is an excellent choice," he said while addressing scientists and engineers at the BARC here.
Rubbia showed that based on his design, waste generation could be reduced over a period of time to as low as naturally available thorium. "Thorium fuelled reactors are also proliferation resistant," he said while delivering a talk on "The Thorium Driven Energy Amplifier."
Rubbia said the world was concerned with conventional power plants using coal/gas fuel due to greenhouse gasses generated by them. Worldwide it is recognised that nuclear reactor systems are one of the better alternatives to overcome these issues. However, the current generation of nuclear reactors is also producing long-lived radioactive waste. Hence, nuclear reactors, which will solve the radioactive waste problems, have to be designed.
India, as part of its three-stage nuclear programme will be utilising Uranium-233 produced by conversion of thorium in fast reactors. The new concept of ADSS based energy amplifiers not only gives energy but also can permit a growth in the installed capacity in the third-stage of the Indian nuclear programme, BARC Director S Banerjee said. |
