Lok Sabha Question No. 1686 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-09
Subject: Thorium for Nuclear Power Generation
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: KAMLA DEVI PATLE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1686

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.12.2015

## THORIUM FOR NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION

## 1686.  SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PAATLE:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether indigenous technology has been developed for usage of thorium for nuclear power generation in this country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the names of the countries where the said technology has been developed fully?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (Dr. JITENDRA SINGH) :

- (a)&(b)    Yes,  Sir.  In  preparation  for  the  Third  Stage  of  India's  Nuclear  power programme,  development  of  technologies  pertaining  to  utilisation  of  thorium has been a part of ongoing activities in Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). With the sustained efforts over the years, India has gained experience over the  entire  thorium  fuel  cycle  -  irradiation,  fabrication  and  reprocessing  on  a semi-industrial  scale.  Efforts  are  currently  on  to  enlarge  this  experience  to industrial scale. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and other research organisations  attached  with  DAE  are  engaged  in  various  R&D  activities  to address the utilisation  of  thorium  in  different  types  of  reactors.  Some  of  the key technologies developed as part of the Thorium utilisation programme are described below :
- (i) Technologies for mining of monazite and its processing to extract thoria (ThO2) have been well established. Several thousand tonnes of monazite sand have been processed to extract thoria.
- (ii) Technologies  for  Thorium  fuel  fabrication  through  powder  pellet  route have been established. Few tons of fuel was made for use in research reactors CIRUS and Dhruva, Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) and for blanket assemblies for Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR). Few pins were also fabricated using mixed oxides of (Th-Pu) for irradiation in research reactors.
- (iii) The fabricated fuel has been irradiated in the research reactors CIRUS, Dhruva,  and  FBTR.  Thoria  bundles  have  also  been  used  in  the  initial cores of six units of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs). The

irradiation experience of thoria fuel in these reactors and test irradiations are satisfactory.

- (iv) The  thoria  pins  irradiated  in  CIRUS  reactor,  BARC  have  also  been reprocessed  to  obtain  Uranium  233.  The  recovered  Uranium  233  has been fabricated as fuel and used in 30 kWth KAMINI Research Reactor, which  has  been  in  operation  since  1996  at  Indira  Gandhi  Centre  for Atomic  Research  (IGCAR),  Kalpakkam.  Some  of  the  Thoria  bundles irradiated  in  PHWRs  have  also  been  reprocessed  in  the  recently commissioned PRTRF (Power Reactor Thoria Reprocessing Facility) at BARC and Uranium 233 has been obtained.
- (v) Studies have been also carried out to use thorium in different types of reactors  with  regard  to  fuel  management,  reactor  control  and  fuel utilisation.
- (vi) A Critical Facility for Advanced Heavy Water Reactor was commissioned in  2008  at  BARC  and  is  being  used  since  then  for  carrying  out experiments to further validate the physics design features of Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR).
- (vii) To accelerate thorium utilisation and to demonstrate industrial scale use of Thorium in our power programme, BARC has designed an indigenous Advanced  Heavy  Water  Reactor  (AHWR)  to  serve  as  a  technology demonstrator. This 300 MWe reactor is specially meant for demonstration of large scale commercial utilisation of Thorium, generating nearly 60% of its power from in-situ burn up of Thorium. The design  of  all  nuclear  systems  of  the  reactor  has  been  completed  and associated confirmatory R&D  is on. Detailed engineering is in consultancy mode
- (c) During the period of 1960s to late 1980s countries viz. USA, Germany and UK worked on utilisation of Thorium mainly for  use  in Gas  Cooled Reactors  and Light Water Reactors (LWRs). However, once the Light Water Reactor (LWR) technology was well established with enriched Uranium, R&D on Thorium was terminated  in  other  countries  except  in  India.  India  has  continued  to  develop technologies for Thorium and Thorium based reactors as part of our three stage nuclear power programme.

Recently,    many  countries  like  China,  USA,  France,  Russian  Federation  and Czech Republic have restarted technology development for Thorium utilisation. A  majority of them including India are developing technologies for Molten Salt Breeder Reactors. These are novel technologies, involving several challenges and are, therefore, still under development.

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