Useful timecodes: 00:00 DOE changes regarding Molten Salt Reactors. 01:34 Multitude of Molten Salt Reactor companies and designs. 03:36 Kirk analogy between PC revolution and pending MSR revolution. 04:36 Why do some MSR use Thorium but most do not? 08:35 How can academia help MSR effort? Research of value to everyone? 09:27 We need students who have played with salt. Skills for students? 10:17 Electromotive series. Separate Fission Products. 11:48 Chloride salts vs Fluoride salts. 12:22 MSRE experience with Fluoride Salts, Graphite, Hastelloy-N. 12:58 Acquiring U233 (Uranium-233) to seed LFTR. 2 Inventories. 13:31 Online chemical reprocessing embraced with LFTR. Proliferation? 16:07 Multiple revenue streams, not just sale of electricity. 19:38 Electricity generation seeing lack of innovation. (Time traveler.) 22:39 Carbon tax challenges. Kirk sees energy remaining inexpensive. 25:20 Wind and solar using grid as battery, the biggest subsidy. 26:51 Biggest challenge is not engineering, is communication. 27:40 Techno-optimism vs dystopia fiction. 30:10 Positive messages: We live longer lives. Cancer challenge. 31:25 Messages being heard that Thorium is not just energy. 32:07 DOE meetings Advanced Energy means Molten Salt Reactors. 33:20 Funding remains hardest challenge. DOE GAIN $2.6 Million PNNL. 33:56 Nitrogen Tri-Fluoride. NF3. Extract Uranium from Molten Salt. 34:38 Student? Exciting developments to work on.
Where is the part of the machine that cooks bacon? We need a Bacon Loop, built into the secondary heat exchange, in the lunchroom. Pizza ovens between pipes...
I think Gordon McDowell should as well, if it were not for Gordon we wouldn't even be here discussing Thorium, so thank you, Gordon McDowell, we couldn't have gotten anywhere in bringing Thorium up if not for you.
I think the "If" question is no longer a question. We're now down to "when". Yes, Kirk, Alvin Weinberg, and Gordon deserve massive appreciation from humankind. Humankind just does not yet know it. It will.
Kirk Sorensen is extremely unique. Besides being brilliant, he is remarkable articulate. A rare combination.................... He's the right person at the right time.............. Keep an eye on this guy...............
Yes James Hanson is a great scientist but back in 1988 was not so great as a PR man he is a lot better now. Scientist need to go to Toastmaster and train themselfs on PR and become like "spin doctors" sad but true.
Found Kirk Sorensen in 2009, he really championed nuclear to me as a viable ace of spades option against fickle renewable powers. This practically lost art of non-fallout LFTR tech that was invented by Oak Ridge Nat Labs for keeping strategic nuclear bombers of the pre-ICBM era in indefinite flight readiness for tense cold war situations. Strange how this almost this forgotten invention may be the stepping stone we need to slow destroying our biodome until we can create more effective solutions.
The strange thing though is that they are re-using spent fuel at the INL facility. This smells of some wealthy elitists trying to score big on government dollars. I dunno; I read a lot of nuclear physics stuff. There really isn't a problem. Activists pretending to be smart made a problem that stupid politicians listened to.
Something's not adding up here. Kirk says that MSRs aren't profitable enough to attract investment - but apparently HC plants are. Does this evaluation include all the subsidies, direct and indirect, for HC based power plants (including drilling subsidies, wars for control of oil fields, etc., etc.)? How have all our power plants historically been built? Have they always been subsidized? If so, then why haven't MSR reactors yet been subsidized?
My uncle worked at Oak Ridge and I've always at least casually followed what they have done since childhood. So proud that Kirk is doggedly pursuing his dream.
I've been following Kirk and the LFTR design for a while and I'm glad to see that some progress has been made and Kirk has been awarded some funding. It's hard to believe that billionaires don't care enough to throw some money his way. The greedy just want to be richer than they already are, it's frustrating!
I'm so glad to see this technology finally getting some attention. I've been following Mr. Sorensen for quite some time and his enthusiasm is contagious. It's hard not to agree because there are so many positives. Nuclear got a bum rap because bad men wanted the boom boom instead of cheap safe energy.
I thought I was going to die before these technologies were implemented. Now it seems that funding is available, and the political will is materializing. Great job Kirk, your dedication has been successful. Nothing could make me happier for you and Flibe Energy.
@@NerdyNEET I tell you what. You give them the trillions of dollars needed to develop it and the 100s of trillions of dollars to clean up their messes without harming us and we will talk. After 70 years of being the most subsidized industry in the world and nuclear energy is still not safe and still not economical and still hasn't disposed of a thimbleful of the incredibly toxic waste than will be dangerous for more than a million years. Still telling lies and insulting anyone not foolish enough to believe them and pay for their unbelievably expensive mistakes.
I am looking at the future of nuclear energy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. I don't see anything.
It was Gordon's videos on Kirk Sorenson that got me excited about LFTR. So, I enjoy watching Kirk Sorenson updates! Let see Kirk's new lab. Is Flibe able to prototype the chemical extraction?
I have followed the progress on the evolution of LFTR designs & the history by Kirk Sorensen & was enamored by the quality of concept, safety design, flexibility of products produced, the safe, energy productive elimination of the standard fissile products from Uranium & plutonium, as well as the nearly complete burn-up of U & PU. Thank You Kirk! FREE
And thanks to Kirk Sorensen for creating that interest & enthusiasm. Thanks too to Gordon McDowell for his selfless work in getting this message out to the public. UA-cam has contributed, if not made possible, this gigantic dissemination of information about LFTRs/MSRs. Kudos to all!
Heh, tired yes. Remarkable that they keep going though. What if it's all just an elaborate experiment by some aliens, they tell some guys how to solve all our energy problems, but then brain wash some other guys with more power to squash the whole thing, then sit back and wait to see if we ever recover..
This is an awesome way of thinking and I hope the right people get on board with this technology. I totally agree in the LFTR process and am following the development programs closely.
A huge opportunity for Australia to embrace Molten Salt Reactors. We have the space, the reserves of Thorium but our government is still pushing coal and gas power generation......
There's a hopefully useful video here on Australian nuclear: ua-cam.com/video/nKiUR5gg240/v-deo.html ...I've used a bit of Ben Heard in my 6.5h Thorium video and pretty much enjoyed his talks any time he's caught on video.
War is racketeering. Oil and Gas are an integral part of the last 120 years of man made conflict. The Sun is nuclear the core of the earth is nuclear. Neaclear is peace, Peace is the fundamental essence of matter. I hope Someone would: Build One NOW! 4:48 until 6:21 Cheap 5:50 Fast it is all in there Safe it is all in there
Kirk hit the nail on the head about Australia. No politician will make a long term decision that will have them thrown out short term, eg carbon tax. Could you really think of an Australian politician saying we are going to get on the front line with development and widespread use of gen 4 nuclear energy. Too many coal / oil / gas votes out there. We will eventually have them, (nuclear power plants) but they will have ‘made in China’ on the data plate.
This changes everything! really want to see Kirk succeed...Mr Sorensen has always been the face of the 'Thorium movement' in my mind... he's grown more 'sophisticated'...: ) always a great teacher of nuclear physics, LFTR tech... now I can hear his "political diplomacy" chops... 'sales/marketing' legs (which can be confounding as nuclear physics at times!... '; P Kirk is becoming wise, government/corporations finally giving him recognition (and funds!) he deserves... let's not forget, even Microsoft rode to success on the back of IBM... (by leasing DOS...) that is how it's done...
Kirk-Thank you for your continued leadership in the Th Molten salt nuclear reactor evolution. I am a retired professor of organic chemistry who has followed the efforts of your community to overcome the political obstacles to modern nuclear. I totally agree with your assessment of the difficulty of getting risk venture money into your arena. However, your focus on medical isotopes COMBINED WITH THE PROMISE OF CONSUMPTION OF OUR STOCKPILE OF NUCLEAR WASTES should attract huge public support. The cost of ANY of the stored nuclear waste products is going to be born by the government, and if you build this into your business plan with an aggressive PR program, I believe your objective will be realized. Clearly you have thought about this, but simply consider the power of the social network to multiply a well-crafted message. Best of luck.
The nukies have been slowly and steadily spending all of the public's money and destroying their own credibility for the last generation. You have none left. Wall Street won't touch nuclear with a ten foot pole and the public is tired of throwing good money into nuclear meltdowns. After seventy years of the biggest business failure in human history it is time to stop wasting money and lives on nuclear.
@@jackfanning7952 Bro, if you think nuclear is so big and scary, with about 30 deaths directly attributed from all of history (Chernobyl) … Then look up the estimated _yearly_ deaths globally from air pollution, it’s over 100,000 according to World Health Org - the real enemies to human health are coal, oil & nat gas💡
@@jackfanning7952 “losing credibility & spending all the public’s money” - if you’re talking about fusion you have a good point. Fission has been paying for itself for over 50 years and is poised to take the next big leap 💫
@@robertweekes5783 I am not your bro and nuclear advocates have been lying about bthe number of deaths due to nuclear energy since the beginning...with the help of the World Health Organization. Beside, the WHO has a better weapon of mass destruction now, developed at the Wuhan Lab with taxpayer dollars by Fauci and his minions.
Going from non-radioactive thorium to radioactive uranium created from neutron bombardment of non-radioactive thorium is well... more insanity. Your lifetime might be very short and your wallet much thinner.
The issue we have with some renewable technology is we don't build machines to be recycled we say it is and it can be, but we don't do it because the amount of energy to disassemble and recycle it is more expensive than buying new materials.LFTR's aren't subject to weather conditions or use of external storage to support the power grid.With new electric cars we will need to double the power grid to cope with charging of transport vehicles.
Natural resources and services are estimated to be worth $125 trillion per year to the human economy. But we don't charge fees to industries when they put pollution or deplete resources. So prices give bad information about what the real costs are of what we do. When we make prices honest (charge appropriate fees), industries and consumers will pursue sustainable options. Sharing proceeds from fees to all people would end poverty. Biological Model for Politics and Economics: gaiabrain.blogspot.com/2010/03/biological-model-for-politics-and.html
Tax, in general, sucks. The thing with nuclear energy though is that the current systems are great. The strange thing though is that they are re-using spent fuel at the INL facility. This smells of some wealthy elitists trying to score big on government dollars. I dunno; I read a lot of nuclear physics stuff. There really isn't a problem. Activists pretending to be smart made a problem that stupid politicians listened to. ...Still, I wonder which one of them owns land that has a lot of resources.
I’m trying to work and listen to Kirk and found I just had to hold the phone in my hand while I’m getting my tools together. I couldn’t break away from his talking!
My hope is that 10 years or so down the line, Universities start making degree programs that combine nuclear and chemical engineering to serve the demands of a growing Molten Salt Reactor industry. My second hope is that they dub this an 'Alchemical Engineering Degree'
Ten years ago, I was in despair. My thinking at the time was: PWR's / LWR's will probably never get over the scientific illiteracy and public relations hurdle (although that may be changing), solar and wind have an utterly undeserved "darling" reputation and will never scale up to meet the needs of humankind, and yet we must stop burning things to keep energy poverty and human slavery at bay. And, my mother too was afflicted by dementia (now deceased) Then I watched a youtube vid of Kirk giving a google tech-talk about Thorium and Fluid-Fueled reactors. At its conclusion my heart was filled with hope for humankind. My optimism for humanity was lifted to the sky that day, and it remains there today. Thank you Kirk, for all that you have done to raise awareness and move the Thorium ball forward ! (BTW, that 1.5" ball of "garden variety" Thorium can power you entire life at US standards, folks!!!) Kirk, I am sad to see you looking so somber when being interviewed one-on-one by Gordon, but heartened to listen to your closing speech. If you ever need encouragement, I will give it to you without reservation - any day of the week, any time of day.
Hope he reads this comment. We were TIRED more-so than somber. To the point there's some humorous back-and-forth about it but I didn't want to distract from the LFTR / Flibe discussion by including it. If I ever post that moment of video I'll share it at you.
If Kirk Sorensen can get a MSR with the chemical processing and separation down, he will have a revenue machine. He will be providing the world so many needed chemical products besides just heat and electric.
Kirk I hope you can pitch Thorium LFTR reactors for a Multitasking type facility. I speak to so many people to inform friends and family about yours and my vision for the future. Like women that are in our lives, they the LFTR reactors like the women in our lives could do so much for our civilization. We will see a change very soon, I’m glad to see the new advancements in this field. Keep up your good work. 👍
Good shit. A few points: 1. Korea is building PWR for $5B, meaning a payback of 10 years, not 20. No doubt could you improve on this with a MSR. 2. Kirk should try to explore crowd funding if he has money problems. I wouldn't mind investing a few thousand dollars, even if I couldn't touch it for say ten years.
It's really fascinating watching people who really know what they're talking about go on and on. The lingo is so specialized that anyone who isn't in the field can't add anything at all useful the conversation.
Gordon, Glad to see a new MSR video. Also very glad to see progress on MSR development. I have regularly sent letters to government officials urging them to develop MSR. Kirk may find DR Jerry Tennats' book on Healing is Voltage as well as his You Tube videos on the same topic interesting. He talks about Alzheimer's, He has the best handle on why we get sick and how to cure it than anyone else I have seen, and I have been researching health issues for over 30 years. Thought about it and decided to post this separately from my previous post. Also IMO the reason progress stopped so quickly after the 1960's was due to the deep state Globalists realizing that they needed to keep their monopoly on energy and oil to make lots more money. So they shut down all that they could. Shutting down the MSR development was a part of it.
it would be interesting to find out how the dangerous, dirty uranium/plutonium reactors were chosen to be developed over salt-based in the first place. Oak Ridge proved the salt concept was possible in the 60's...
Hi everyone I want to share with you that I found this video so inspiring that I finally decided to dedicate my life to make this future possible. I'm from Argentina so I'm going to study the science of communication in order to get this information to the people that most need to join our fight for a brighter future the youngest. Thank you for reading this.
That is awesome. Yay, communication. If you haven't heard "You Are Not So Smart" podcast, that's my own go-to source on communications and why people believe what they believe. Is nothing nuclear, but a lot of communication challenges are tribal or self-blinders and it gets one thinking about those aspects.
@@gordonmcdowell I've been checking out the channel and I enjoyed it pretty much thank you. I can imagine that in order to achieve this goal we'll have to discover several ways to deliver a message that connects the hearts and minds of the people in order to make them realize that making the future of our world better is a must mindset. As you said it's nothing nuclear, so I will remain hopeful and try my best to unfold those blindfolds to show people that we need this to happen. keep up the good work, you are doing great!
Artistically I like the guy being interviewed in the garden with a water feature more than the driving around in cars or moving around on trams stuff you do in other videos: it's relaxing and has a nice herbal vibe that might help bring in the light green hippies. :-)
Generally there's no time to plan stuff like that out. Dr. Holcomb was a rare exception where my whole day was dedicated to that interview as I waited for my flight. (Whatever happened to red-eye flights!? I want to hop on a plane at 10pm and sleep through the flight. No-can-do.) Visually I'd like to try a bike-ride interview but the wind would probably ruin it.
@@gordonmcdowell Cheers man, I hear you on activist-beggers-can't-be-choosers. If *only* you were fully funded with a whole team to produce state of the art, award winning docos! Thanks for the fantastically valuable work you've already done. You give me hope.
Kirk says Chlorides cannot convert Stored Nuclear Fuel to chloride salt fuel. Elysium, ANL, and INL already converted burned MOX SNF to chloride salt fuel a year ago. Since we actually reduced it to practice, INL marked the report Export controlled. We are trying to get that fixed with INL.
As long as the nuclear and petroleum lobbies govern the world, there is little change for thorium implementation! Only strong political will and knowledgeable citizens can change things!
There's a point in the conversation when Kirk mentioned the advancement of technology. He brings up the fact that nuclear hasn't changed as much as a server farm which would be very different from what it was 50 years ago. In his example he brings up a point that he doesn't quite touch on enough which is when things go wrong with that technology the only thing that happens is nothing. If the phone breaks or if the network goes down it stops working now that might cause other things to go wrong like airplane towers not talking to each other and the like but the device itself just stops working. Much the same way if a nuclear power plant stops working it's bad because it keeps on doing its thing until it gets under control. A thorium reactor on the other hand is like a cell phone when it stops when something goes wrong it just stops working. The safety is inherent.
Yes good to see movement in MSR programs here. It really is about the hearts and minds over the tech to get this going. Fukushima is the elephant in the room, even though it is different , and outmoded tech. I just wonder if we have time before we suffer from the death by carbon.
great work Gordon...........thanks for the video. We need Thorium and we need it soon. The continued progress of mankind relies on cheap,abundant energy to maintain standard of living and to overcome the conflict surrounding resources which is being used every day for gross manipulation of politics.
You would think that the traditional power companies would be eager to fund this research, to enable long term profitability. They subsidize solar. Certainly they are aware of the potential that Thorium would provide. Is it just that greed, making that profit right now, is more important than even future profits and viability? I really hope this technology is developed into usable reactors in the next few years, for America to take the lead should be a no-brainer.
Nonsense. Onshore wind is the cheapest way of producing energy. Period. Solar is catching up and the battery storage and EV revolution will make them mainstream. But it won't be enough, so existing nuclear and new thorium will also be needed.
@sgg You are living in the past and unable to see what is happening right before your eyes. Watch Tony Seba's presentation on Clean Disruption. Decarbonization must happen within years not decades and the EV and battery revolution will accelerate deployment of renewables.
@sgg You seem to know what you're talking about and I'm a bit new to the topic, so I'm curious what is your take on tidal power which is more regular and consistent than solar and wind?
Can wait for next progress. I deeply believe that nuclear power is the future! Although it'll be really hard to success. Because I can imagine all the lobbing around coal, oil and gas field - government, big companies even the media against this incredible move forward.
Build One NOW! 4:48 until 6:21 Cheap 5:50 Fast Safe Scalable No proliferation Export them to the world Make Diesel with them Make water with them Make fertilizers with them Recycle plastics with them Kick ass around the world Go Thorcon GO! We need the next generation
In June of 2022, Tommy Tuberville, (R-Ala), introduced the Thorium Secrutity Act of 2022. It is aimed at ordering the halt of the DOEs destruction of the Throium bound U233 that is stockpiled from the 60s product. The U.S. is exclusive in this possession of this important seeding material.
Is there exploration of LFTR peaker plants? Traditional nuclear is used for baseline. If there is a LFTR that can only perform in shirt runs it would still be valuable in the peaked space. Considering renewables LFTR could contribute for 4 hours of peak usage in the evening or be available for 4 days of polar vortex. I understand that doing baseline is preferred for cost reasons but there are profitable spaces in peaking. I'm not saying LFTR should never be used for baseline rather I have not seen discussion on the peaking part of the market.
We need massively decentralized power production-neighborhood or individually owned thorium reactors. Wind and solar are heavily subsidized boondoggles as are uranium water-cooled high pressure reactors. 😎
in Kirk's original concept, which is close to Alvin Weinbberg's the separation of Protactinium -233 -232 -231 and it's decay to U , outside of the reactor is essential and very recommendable. I would like to take this a step further: the electrolytic cell, where the HF is split back to H2 and F2 should be followed (at least in a bypass-stream ) by centrifugal isotope-separation of Deuterium and Tritium from 1H1H. It is possible to do it by kind of nano-filtration , too (AAAS Science magazine 1, January 2016, p68) ! Then there should be some research about how to use T economical, until there is a real demand for T from fusion-tokamaks! Maybe using Tritium instead of protons in a spallation_neutron generator would be quite effective. Making MSR-Th-breeders more neutron-abundant and have a safer margin from power- excursion! As late nuclear inventor Alvin Weinberg said: Tritium would have to be sequestered, eventually. I think MSRs should be considered more as an exothermal chemical-plant, than a pure power-plant.
Yes 1969. A year when technical blindness set in. It was the year of the wonderful Austin Three litre. A fantastically billiant car. And nobody wanted to buy them.
It is kind of frustrating to hear how Kirk Sorensen was happy about the 2,6 million grant from DOE because the following : -since 9/11 US has wasted 5.6 TRILLION dollars in wars and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yearly cost of occupation is 65 billion dollars. Just to top off the insanity is that US taxpayers paid 80 million to build just one gas station in that country. So I make this plea to the DOE make grants to MSR companies that equal that of building a simple gas station in Afghanistan and you will do something good for the country.
These should be perfect for trains, ships, space ships and maybe even planes. Lunar base, you know whatever. Of course there would be potential problems with such a energy source even if it can't be directly used as a weapon. It could be used to power a weapon such as a railgun, laser beam, or microwave. I think he's right. The sell of secondary products that are hard to come by will be a big game changer.
Optimism took a hit in 1969 because of the VietNam war, student revolts, LBJ, Nixon, two Kennedy murders, cold war, political suspicion and corruption. Young people started hating the 40-50's era mentality and sensibilities.
Project Proposal: Oasis Array Objective: The objective of the Oasis Array project is to develop a biorefinery, renewable chemical, and biobased product manufacturing assistance program that will utilize three phases of energy generation: a breeder reactor molten salt steam turbine, a solar focus array molten salt steam turbine, and a photovoltaic array. The heat generated and captured in the molten salt will be used in the refining of materials and for steam generation. Description: The Oasis Array project will involve the installation of a breeder reactor molten salt steam turbine, a solar focus array molten salt steam turbine, and a photovoltaic array. The breader reactor molten salt steam turbine will be used to generate electricity from the heat produced by the reactor. The solar focus array molten salt steam turbine will be used to generate electricity from the heat produced by the sun. Finally, the photovoltaic array will be used to generate electricity from the sun’s light. The heat generated and captured in the molten salt will be used to refine materials and generate steam. Benefits: The Oasis Array project will provide a number of benefits. First, it will reduce the amount of energy used in the refining of materials and the generation of steam. Second, it will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Third, it will provide a renewable source of energy that can be used to power homes and businesses. Finally, it will provide a cost-effective way to generate electricity and heat. Budget: The budget for the Oasis Array project is estimated at 50 billion. This includes the cost of the breeder reactor molten salt steam turbine, the solar focus array molten salt steam turbine, and the photovoltaic array. It also includes the cost of installation and any other related expenses. Conclusion: The Oasis Array project is an innovative and cost-effective way to generate electricity and heat from renewable sources. It will reduce the amount of energy used in the refining of materials and the generation of steam, reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, and provide a renewable source of energy that can be used to power homes and businesses. The estimated budget for the project is $150 billion. We look forward to receiving your grant funding for this project.
Few questions, What was Kirk going to say? When he reached for the microphone. "He can't talk about It there"? 🤔 Is there a video of the London visit he references?
How do you heat the molten fluoride, is it simple resistive heaters in the bottom of the vessel, so if it cools down, is it hours to get it up and running (runny) again or days, can you use it as a peaked plant ? If we are using solar would it not be sensible to run grids East to West to extended the daylight hours input ? How do you refine Thorium, surely you can't just dump the ore in the molten salt bath, as it has to be kept incredibly pure, with no oxides. Can you contain the molten fluoride in normal stainless steel vessels ? How do you Fire in the neutrons ?
I'm sorry but I don't get the point Mr. Sorensen makes at 18:33: "... if you remove krypton and xenon from the reactor, then that changes how they would have otherwise decayed in other fission products." How is that possible?
I like thorium for nuclear powered trains, ships, and possibly ships. I am very concerned about the potential for scattering of long lived nuclear waste from the potential destruction of nuclear powered ships. Thorium powered ships would minimize this hazard. Because of this, I believe the Navy should be funding the development of thorium fueled MSRs as replacements for existing naval reactors. If these thorium based reactors could be used in railroad engines, all the better. These railroad engines might fill molten salt thermal stores along the way, that could be dropped of at small cities to provide local electricity. For utility scale deployment of MSRs however, thorium reactors, at least in the conventional sense, are far from optimal. Thorium as a feed stock or coolant/neutron absorber is great, but the basic reactor design should be an SNF burner. This is what DOE funding should be focused on.
Kirk, the real solution is...CONSUMERISM. 99 percent of Americans are not rich, but what they are is consumers. Of products. Made with energy. Very few of your customer base are "capitalists," as in rich investors looking for giant returns on tiny investments. What this really means is that the way to fill humanity's need for LFTR's or other MSR's is going to be through government, not through the private industry. You need the US gov't to build several MSR reactors, and then dedicate their energy to making a whole bunch more MSR reactors. Then you can ramp up the production of MSR reactors to levels that will actually solve the world's problems. MSR's need to be heavily subsidized by governments, so that they can displace coal asap. That is the ONLY WAY we can save the world. And the person that can make that happen is Bernie Sanders. A guy like Kirk Sorenson should be able to explain the situation to a logical, honest man like Sanders.
Something's not adding up here. Kirk says that MSRs aren't profitable enough to attract investment - but apparently HC plants are. Does this evaluation include all the subsidies, direct and indirect, for HC based power plants (including drilling subsidies, wars for control of oil fields, etc., etc.)? How have all our power plants historically been built? Have they always been subsidized? If so, then why haven't MSR reactors been subsidized?
Carnot cycle has been around since 1824 and steam engines have been around for even longer. Power generation is a very mature technology and as such won't change much with time (ie 50 years). Any improvements in power generation will require a great deal of very expensive engineering for very small improvements. The exceptions only occur when there is a major breakthrough such as a successful thorium reactor or a successful fusion reactor.
A liquid fluoride thorium reactor is just one of dozens of reactor designs being promoted by advocates. Everyone claims "their" particular reactor is better than all the others, so trained nuclear engineers and regulators spend a lot of time trying to wade through all the claims. Thorium is just one another type of nuclear fuel, almost identical in properties to Uranium-238. You need a breeder reactor (liquid fluoride molten salt reactor for example) to generate energy from either Thorium or U-238. Note that the world already has millions of tons of U-238 sitting around in warehouses in the US and Russia, leftover after they separated the U-235. That's another reason why nuclear engineers have a difficult time getting excited about Thorium...they have so much U-238 already on hand, enough for thousands of years if used in a breeder reactor. Anybody excited about nuclear reactor design should go to college and get a degree in nuclear engineering, it's a great career!
That's a very interesting observation about how our optimism about the future took a dive at the end of the 60's. I think we just got soft to be honest. Warm houses, plenty to eat, holidays, time to relax, there wasn't much to fight for. Then we were sold the dream of Nuclear Energy so cheap it wouldn't even be metered. That huge miscalculation and the Nuclear catastrophes that followed turned people against science in my opinion. Why would you believe anything they have to say about Nuclear energy ever again? Thankfully, not all of us think that way, but it's going to be a long uphill struggle to get people to understand why Molter Salt Reactors are the real deal.
Useful timecodes:
00:00 DOE changes regarding Molten Salt Reactors.
01:34 Multitude of Molten Salt Reactor companies and designs.
03:36 Kirk analogy between PC revolution and pending MSR revolution.
04:36 Why do some MSR use Thorium but most do not?
08:35 How can academia help MSR effort? Research of value to everyone?
09:27 We need students who have played with salt. Skills for students?
10:17 Electromotive series. Separate Fission Products.
11:48 Chloride salts vs Fluoride salts.
12:22 MSRE experience with Fluoride Salts, Graphite, Hastelloy-N.
12:58 Acquiring U233 (Uranium-233) to seed LFTR. 2 Inventories.
13:31 Online chemical reprocessing embraced with LFTR. Proliferation?
16:07 Multiple revenue streams, not just sale of electricity.
19:38 Electricity generation seeing lack of innovation. (Time traveler.)
22:39 Carbon tax challenges. Kirk sees energy remaining inexpensive.
25:20 Wind and solar using grid as battery, the biggest subsidy.
26:51 Biggest challenge is not engineering, is communication.
27:40 Techno-optimism vs dystopia fiction.
30:10 Positive messages: We live longer lives. Cancer challenge.
31:25 Messages being heard that Thorium is not just energy.
32:07 DOE meetings Advanced Energy means Molten Salt Reactors.
33:20 Funding remains hardest challenge. DOE GAIN $2.6 Million PNNL.
33:56 Nitrogen Tri-Fluoride. NF3. Extract Uranium from Molten Salt.
34:38 Student? Exciting developments to work on.
@gordonmcdowell Great video, and thank you very much for the update. I've been dying to hear of some kind of movement forward on this, with the DoE.
Where is the part of the machine that cooks bacon? We need a Bacon Loop, built into the secondary heat exchange, in the lunchroom.
Pizza ovens between pipes...
7:13 Thomas claps.
Kirk let's take this thing critical... Also thank you for pushing this.
I can actually think about it and I love it
I used to be convinced I had a low iq but this stuff is coming so easily
If and when we get thorium MSRs up and running, I think we should reward Kirk with the Nobel Prize for peace.
I think Gordon McDowell should as well, if it were not for Gordon we wouldn't even be here discussing Thorium, so thank you, Gordon McDowell, we couldn't have gotten anywhere in bringing Thorium up if not for you.
Maybe the Chinese will thank and reward these guys when they’ve finished their massive projects, leaving the west in the dust...
We gotta thank Taylor Wilson as well.
I think the "If" question is no longer a question. We're now down to "when". Yes, Kirk, Alvin Weinberg, and Gordon deserve massive appreciation from humankind. Humankind just does not yet know it. It will.
and economy IMO
Kirk Sorensen is extremely unique. Besides being brilliant, he is remarkable articulate. A rare combination.................... He's the right person at the right time.............. Keep an eye on this guy...............
Yes James Hanson is a great scientist but back in 1988 was not so great as a PR man he is a lot better now. Scientist need to go to Toastmaster and train themselfs on PR and become like "spin doctors" sad but true.
You noticed him like a decade into this, congrats. We already have an eye on him and others.
Found Kirk Sorensen in 2009, he really championed nuclear to me as a viable ace of spades option against fickle renewable powers. This practically lost art of non-fallout LFTR tech that was invented by Oak Ridge Nat Labs for keeping strategic nuclear bombers of the pre-ICBM era in indefinite flight readiness for tense cold war situations. Strange how this almost this forgotten invention may be the stepping stone we need to slow destroying our biodome until we can create more effective solutions.
Finally, It seems thing starts to move. I wish good luck to Kirk and his team!
Captain Kirk may his enterprise be a success...XD
The strange thing though is that they are re-using spent fuel at the INL facility. This smells of some wealthy elitists trying to score big on government dollars. I dunno; I read a lot of nuclear physics stuff. There really isn't a problem. Activists pretending to be smart made a problem that stupid politicians listened to.
@@walperstyle You said it and indeed: you REALLY dunno.
@@harrickvharrick3957 Do, go on.
Something's not adding up here. Kirk says that MSRs aren't profitable enough to attract investment - but apparently HC plants are. Does this evaluation include all the subsidies, direct and indirect, for HC based power plants (including drilling subsidies, wars for control of oil fields, etc., etc.)? How have all our power plants historically been built? Have they always been subsidized? If so, then why haven't MSR reactors yet been subsidized?
My uncle worked at Oak Ridge and I've always at least casually followed what they have done since childhood. So proud that Kirk is doggedly pursuing his dream.
wdwerker that’s neat glad I found the community that doesn’t make me sad about life everyone interested in this I’m happy to talk too!!!!
Gordon, you batted this one out of the park. Brilliant work! Lets hope the "Mainstream" media notices.
Kirk is so good at using analogies to explain things, I could listen to him talk all day!
I have watched older videos about MSR and this development is great news. New nuclear reactors are badly needed to replace the old ones.
I've been following Kirk and the LFTR design for a while and I'm glad to see that some progress has been made and Kirk has been awarded some funding. It's hard to believe that billionaires don't care enough to throw some money his way. The greedy just want to be richer than they already are, it's frustrating!
I'm so glad to see this technology finally getting some attention. I've been following Mr. Sorensen for quite some time and his enthusiasm is contagious. It's hard not to agree because there are so many positives. Nuclear got a bum rap because bad men wanted the boom boom instead of cheap safe energy.
We are very fortunate to have Kirk Sorensen speaking for this science and future industry
I thought I was going to die before these technologies were implemented. Now it seems that funding is available, and the political will is materializing.
Great job Kirk, your dedication has been successful. Nothing could make me happier for you and Flibe Energy.
It’s nice to hear some things are moving along
Agreed, this has taken forever.
Yeah - to non-nuclear energy - cheaper, cleaner and oh so much safer.
@@NerdyNEET I tell you what. You give them the trillions of dollars needed to develop it and the 100s of trillions of dollars to clean up their messes without harming us and we will talk. After 70 years of being the most subsidized industry in the world and nuclear energy is still not safe and still not economical and still hasn't disposed of a thimbleful of the incredibly toxic waste than will be dangerous for more than a million years. Still telling lies and insulting anyone not foolish enough to believe them and pay for their unbelievably expensive mistakes.
@@NerdyNEET If you want to communicate with me, spit it out. don't send me propaganda videos.
@@NerdyNEET I don't care if it is the Easter Bunny. You want to communicate with me, spit it out. Don't send me links tosomeone else's crap.
I love hearing that this effort in MSR and LFTR is still going strong. I still see it as future.
I am looking at the future of nuclear energy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. I don't see anything.
Look thorium transforms into uranium 233 no plutonium as such that they dont like it no weapons ronadam
It was Gordon's videos on Kirk Sorenson that got me excited about LFTR. So, I enjoy watching Kirk Sorenson updates! Let see Kirk's new lab. Is Flibe able to prototype the chemical extraction?
I have followed the progress on the evolution of LFTR designs & the history by Kirk Sorensen & was enamored by the quality of concept, safety design, flexibility of products produced, the safe, energy productive elimination of the standard fissile products from Uranium & plutonium, as well as the nearly complete burn-up of U & PU.
Thank You Kirk! FREE
And thanks to Kirk Sorensen for creating that interest & enthusiasm. Thanks too to Gordon McDowell for his selfless work in getting this message out to the public. UA-cam has contributed, if not made possible, this gigantic dissemination of information about LFTRs/MSRs. Kudos to all!
It sounds like they are tired, tired of explaining how great this is while almost no country picks this up
Both India and China have been pushing Thorium reactors for the last 5 yrs at least. Their R&D is being super funded at high levels.
Heh, tired yes. Remarkable that they keep going though. What if it's all just an elaborate experiment by some aliens, they tell some guys how to solve all our energy problems, but then brain wash some other guys with more power to squash the whole thing, then sit back and wait to see if we ever recover..
India has
We need someone with BIG BALLS to jump feet first... Similar to the initiation of Intel. One page business plan and then BAM...
Tell the nukies to take their hands off of my wallet and their poison out of the atmosphere.
Gordon - Thanks for the most useful information on this subject that I've seen in a long time. Keep up the excellent work!
This is an awesome way of thinking and I hope the right people get on board with this technology. I totally agree in the LFTR process and am following the development programs closely.
A huge opportunity for Australia to embrace Molten Salt Reactors. We have the space, the reserves of Thorium but our government is still pushing coal and gas power generation......
There's a hopefully useful video here on Australian nuclear: ua-cam.com/video/nKiUR5gg240/v-deo.html ...I've used a bit of Ben Heard in my 6.5h Thorium video and pretty much enjoyed his talks any time he's caught on video.
I agree with you mate.
War is racketeering. Oil and Gas are an integral part of the last 120 years of man made conflict. The Sun is nuclear the core of the earth is nuclear. Neaclear is peace, Peace is the fundamental essence of matter. I hope Someone would:
Build One NOW! 4:48 until 6:21
Cheap 5:50
Fast
it is all in there
Safe it is all in there
Most Australian governments are pushing useless wind turbines and closing coal plants. Are you paying attention??
Kirk hit the nail on the head about Australia. No politician will make a long term decision that will have them thrown out short term, eg carbon tax. Could you really think of an Australian politician saying we are going to get on the front line with development and widespread use of gen 4 nuclear energy. Too many coal / oil / gas votes out there. We will eventually have them, (nuclear power plants) but they will have ‘made in China’ on the data plate.
This changes everything! really want to see Kirk succeed...Mr Sorensen has always been the face of the 'Thorium movement' in my mind... he's grown more 'sophisticated'...: ) always a great teacher of nuclear physics, LFTR tech... now I can hear his "political diplomacy" chops... 'sales/marketing' legs (which can be confounding as nuclear physics at times!... '; P Kirk is becoming wise, government/corporations finally giving him recognition (and funds!) he deserves... let's not forget, even Microsoft rode to success on the back of IBM... (by leasing DOS...) that is how it's done...
Kirk-Thank you for your continued leadership in the Th Molten salt nuclear reactor evolution. I am a retired professor of organic chemistry who has followed the efforts of your community to overcome the political obstacles to modern nuclear. I totally agree with your assessment of the difficulty of getting risk venture money into your arena. However, your focus on medical isotopes COMBINED WITH THE PROMISE OF CONSUMPTION OF OUR STOCKPILE OF NUCLEAR WASTES should attract huge public support. The cost of ANY of the stored nuclear waste products is going to be born by the government, and if you build this into your business plan with an aggressive PR program, I believe your objective will be realized. Clearly you have thought about this, but simply consider the power of the social network to multiply a well-crafted message. Best of luck.
It is amazing how hard it is to teach an old dog (our world) new tricks (Thorium MSR)
It’s great to see Flibe Energy getting big contracts now!! DOE discussing thorium! Slow and steady progress can win the race
The nukies have been slowly and steadily spending all of the public's money and destroying their own credibility for the last generation. You have none left. Wall Street won't touch nuclear with a ten foot pole and the public is tired of throwing good money into nuclear meltdowns. After seventy years of the biggest business failure in human history it is time to stop wasting money and lives on nuclear.
@@jackfanning7952 Bro, if you think nuclear is so big and scary, with about 30 deaths directly attributed from all of history (Chernobyl) …
Then look up the estimated _yearly_ deaths globally from air pollution, it’s over 100,000 according to World Health Org - the real enemies to human health are coal, oil & nat gas💡
@@jackfanning7952 “losing credibility & spending all the public’s money” - if you’re talking about fusion you have a good point. Fission has been paying for itself for over 50 years and is poised to take the next big leap 💫
@@robertweekes5783 I am not your bro and nuclear advocates have been lying about bthe number of deaths due to nuclear energy since the beginning...with the help of the World Health Organization.
Beside, the WHO has a better weapon of mass destruction now, developed at the Wuhan Lab with taxpayer dollars by Fauci and his minions.
Great video! Thanks for all your work Gordon.
Always enjoy listening to Mr. Sorensen on these topics!
Going from uranium to thorium MSRs is akin to going from bottle rockets to warp drive. I seriously want to see this in my lifetime.
Going from non-radioactive thorium to radioactive uranium created from neutron bombardment of non-radioactive thorium is well... more insanity. Your lifetime might be very short and your wallet much thinner.
Very inspiring work Gordon, please keep it up.
Thanks again for these uploads, Gordon!
The issue we have with some renewable technology is we don't build machines to be recycled we say it is and it can be, but we don't do it because the amount of energy to disassemble and recycle it is more expensive than buying new materials.LFTR's aren't subject to weather conditions or use of external storage to support the power grid.With new electric cars we will need to double the power grid to cope with charging of transport vehicles.
I'm brown latino from the USA. The concept of Carbon Taxes sucks. 🤨 I'm with Mr. Sorensen, Thorium all the way.
😁👊🏾🇺🇸
Natural resources and services are estimated to be worth $125 trillion per year to the human economy. But we don't charge fees to industries when they put pollution or deplete resources. So prices give bad information about what the real costs are of what we do.
When we make prices honest (charge appropriate fees), industries and consumers will pursue sustainable options. Sharing proceeds from fees to all people would end poverty.
Biological Model for Politics and Economics:
gaiabrain.blogspot.com/2010/03/biological-model-for-politics-and.html
Tax, in general, sucks. The thing with nuclear energy though is that the current systems are great. The strange thing though is that they are re-using spent fuel at the INL facility. This smells of some wealthy elitists trying to score big on government dollars. I dunno; I read a lot of nuclear physics stuff. There really isn't a problem. Activists pretending to be smart made a problem that stupid politicians listened to. ...Still, I wonder which one of them owns land that has a lot of resources.
Why does being a brown Latino have to do with anything
I’m trying to work and listen to Kirk and found I just had to hold the phone in my hand while I’m getting my tools together. I couldn’t break away from his talking!
My hope is that 10 years or so down the line, Universities start making degree programs that combine nuclear and chemical engineering to serve the demands of a growing Molten Salt Reactor industry.
My second hope is that they dub this an 'Alchemical Engineering Degree'
Ten years ago, I was in despair.
My thinking at the time was: PWR's / LWR's will probably never get over the scientific illiteracy and public relations hurdle (although that may be changing), solar and wind have an utterly undeserved "darling" reputation and will never scale up to meet the needs of humankind, and yet we must stop burning things to keep energy poverty and human slavery at bay.
And, my mother too was afflicted by dementia (now deceased)
Then I watched a youtube vid of Kirk giving a google tech-talk about Thorium and Fluid-Fueled reactors. At its conclusion my heart was filled with hope for humankind. My optimism for humanity was lifted to the sky that day, and it remains there today.
Thank you Kirk, for all that you have done to raise awareness and move the Thorium ball forward ! (BTW, that 1.5" ball of "garden variety" Thorium can power you entire life at US standards, folks!!!)
Kirk, I am sad to see you looking so somber when being interviewed one-on-one by Gordon, but heartened to listen to your closing speech. If you ever need encouragement, I will give it to you without reservation - any day of the week, any time of day.
Hope he reads this comment. We were TIRED more-so than somber. To the point there's some humorous back-and-forth about it but I didn't want to distract from the LFTR / Flibe discussion by including it. If I ever post that moment of video I'll share it at you.
Thank God for so many things, and the Thorium MSR is definitely one of them! FINALLY - Yeah!!!
Is your god named Satan?
Great work, as usual Gordon. EVERYONE - Please sponsor Gordon on Patreon. Go there now and pledge now!!
Best. Comment. Ever. www.patreon.com/join/thorium?
If Kirk Sorensen can get a MSR with the chemical processing and separation down, he will have a revenue machine. He will be providing the world so many needed chemical products besides just heat and electric.
Congratulations to Kirk, and thanks to Gordon.
Kirk I hope you can pitch Thorium LFTR reactors for a Multitasking type facility. I speak to so many people to inform friends and family about yours and my vision for the future. Like women that are in our lives, they the LFTR reactors like the women in our lives could do so much for our civilization. We will see a change very soon, I’m glad to see the new advancements in this field. Keep up your good work. 👍
Gordon, I have few heroes in my life, you are one of them.
Good shit. A few points:
1. Korea is building PWR for $5B, meaning a payback of 10 years, not 20. No doubt could you improve on this with a MSR.
2. Kirk should try to explore crowd funding if he has money problems. I wouldn't mind investing a few thousand dollars, even if I couldn't touch it for say ten years.
I was thinking exactly this with crowdfunding. Conventional funding options now have competition!
It's really fascinating watching people who really know what they're talking about go on and on. The lingo is so specialized that anyone who isn't in the field can't add anything at all useful the conversation.
Gordon, Glad to see a new MSR video. Also very glad to see progress on MSR development. I have regularly sent letters to government officials urging them to develop MSR. Kirk may find DR Jerry Tennats' book on Healing is Voltage as well as his You Tube videos on the same topic interesting. He talks about Alzheimer's, He has the best handle on why we get sick and how to cure it than anyone else I have seen, and I have been researching health issues for over 30 years. Thought about it and decided to post this separately from my previous post.
Also IMO the reason progress stopped so quickly after the 1960's was due to the deep state Globalists realizing that they needed to keep their monopoly on energy and oil to make lots more money. So they shut down all that they could. Shutting down the MSR development was a part of it.
it would be interesting to find out how the dangerous, dirty uranium/plutonium reactors were chosen to be developed over salt-based in the first place. Oak Ridge proved the salt concept was possible in the 60's...
Hi everyone I want to share with you that I found this video so inspiring that I finally decided to dedicate my life to make this future possible. I'm from Argentina so I'm going to study the science of communication in order to get this information to the people that most need to join our fight for a brighter future the youngest. Thank you for reading this.
That is awesome. Yay, communication. If you haven't heard "You Are Not So Smart" podcast, that's my own go-to source on communications and why people believe what they believe. Is nothing nuclear, but a lot of communication challenges are tribal or self-blinders and it gets one thinking about those aspects.
@@gordonmcdowell I've been checking out the channel and I enjoyed it pretty much thank you. I can imagine that in order to achieve this goal we'll have to discover several ways to deliver a message that connects the hearts and minds of the people in order to make them realize that making the future of our world better is a must mindset. As you said it's nothing nuclear, so I will remain hopeful and try my best to unfold those blindfolds to show people that we need this to happen. keep up the good work, you are doing great!
As always, Kirk gives a very inspiring and positive speech. Keep it up!
keep 'em coming Gordon!
Great stuff! I would love to hear more on these Alpha targeted Cancer treatments Kirk touched on.
Artistically I like the guy being interviewed in the garden with a water feature more than the driving around in cars or moving around on trams stuff you do in other videos: it's relaxing and has a nice herbal vibe that might help bring in the light green hippies. :-)
Generally there's no time to plan stuff like that out. Dr. Holcomb was a rare exception where my whole day was dedicated to that interview as I waited for my flight. (Whatever happened to red-eye flights!? I want to hop on a plane at 10pm and sleep through the flight. No-can-do.) Visually I'd like to try a bike-ride interview but the wind would probably ruin it.
@@gordonmcdowell Cheers man, I hear you on activist-beggers-can't-be-choosers. If *only* you were fully funded with a whole team to produce state of the art, award winning docos! Thanks for the fantastically valuable work you've already done. You give me hope.
America needs to really get behind these.
You're giving me hope for humanity. It took a lot... but you did it.
Kirk says Chlorides cannot convert Stored Nuclear Fuel to chloride salt fuel. Elysium, ANL, and INL already converted burned MOX SNF to chloride salt fuel a year ago. Since we actually reduced it to practice, INL marked the report Export controlled. We are trying to get that fixed with INL.
As long as the nuclear and petroleum lobbies govern the world, there is little change for thorium implementation! Only strong political will and knowledgeable citizens can change things!
There's a point in the conversation when Kirk mentioned the advancement of technology. He brings up the fact that nuclear hasn't changed as much as a server farm which would be very different from what it was 50 years ago. In his example he brings up a point that he doesn't quite touch on enough which is when things go wrong with that technology the only thing that happens is nothing. If the phone breaks or if the network goes down it stops working now that might cause other things to go wrong like airplane towers not talking to each other and the like but the device itself just stops working. Much the same way if a nuclear power plant stops working it's bad because it keeps on doing its thing until it gets under control. A thorium reactor on the other hand is like a cell phone when it stops when something goes wrong it just stops working. The safety is inherent.
Yes good to see movement in MSR programs here. It really is about the hearts and minds over the tech to get this going. Fukushima is the elephant in the room, even though it is different , and outmoded tech.
I just wonder if we have time before we suffer from the death by carbon.
The real Captain Kirk shooting for the stars... !
great work Gordon...........thanks for the video. We need Thorium and we need it soon. The continued progress of mankind relies on cheap,abundant energy to maintain standard of living and to overcome the conflict surrounding resources which is being used every day for gross manipulation of politics.
You would think that the traditional power companies would be eager to fund this research, to enable long term profitability. They subsidize solar. Certainly they are aware of the potential that Thorium would provide. Is it just that greed, making that profit right now, is more important than even future profits and viability? I really hope this technology is developed into usable reactors in the next few years, for America to take the lead should be a no-brainer.
We must get rid of the solar panel and wind craziness and go full nuclear.
Nonsense. Onshore wind is the cheapest way of producing energy. Period. Solar is catching up and the battery storage and EV revolution will make them mainstream. But it won't be enough, so existing nuclear and new thorium will also be needed.
@sgg You are living in the past and unable to see what is happening right before your eyes.
Watch Tony Seba's presentation on Clean Disruption.
Decarbonization must happen within years not decades and the EV and battery revolution will accelerate deployment of renewables.
@sgg You seem to know what you're talking about and I'm a bit new to the topic, so I'm curious what is your take on tidal power which is more regular and consistent than solar and wind?
Can wait for next progress. I deeply believe that nuclear power is the future! Although it'll be really hard to success. Because I can imagine all the lobbing around coal, oil and gas field - government, big companies even the media against this incredible move forward.
Why isn’t this stuff on the news like all the time. Like this is probably some of the most important stuff for the human race _Ever._
Build One NOW! 4:48 until 6:21
Cheap 5:50
Fast
Safe
Scalable
No proliferation
Export them to the world
Make Diesel with them
Make water with them
Make fertilizers with them
Recycle plastics with them
Kick ass around the world
Go Thorcon GO!
We need the next generation
It is INSANE that ITER (the fusion plant) get 20 billion + USD, and this (or similar designs) just a few pennies relatively.
In June of 2022, Tommy Tuberville, (R-Ala), introduced the Thorium Secrutity Act of 2022. It is aimed at ordering the halt of the DOEs destruction of the Throium bound U233 that is stockpiled from the 60s product. The U.S. is exclusive in this possession of this important seeding material.
Is there exploration of LFTR peaker plants?
Traditional nuclear is used for baseline. If there is a LFTR that can only perform in shirt runs it would still be valuable in the peaked space.
Considering renewables LFTR could contribute for 4 hours of peak usage in the evening or be available for 4 days of polar vortex.
I understand that doing baseline is preferred for cost reasons but there are profitable spaces in peaking.
I'm not saying LFTR should never be used for baseline rather I have not seen discussion on the peaking part of the market.
This brings joy
We need massively decentralized power production-neighborhood or individually owned thorium reactors. Wind and solar are heavily subsidized boondoggles as are uranium water-cooled high pressure reactors. 😎
in Kirk's original concept, which is close to Alvin Weinbberg's the separation of Protactinium -233 -232 -231 and it's decay to U , outside of the reactor is essential and very recommendable. I would like to take this a step further:
the electrolytic cell, where the HF is split back to H2 and F2 should be followed (at least in a bypass-stream ) by centrifugal isotope-separation of Deuterium and Tritium from 1H1H. It is possible to do it by kind of nano-filtration , too (AAAS Science magazine 1, January 2016, p68) ! Then there should be some research about how to use T economical, until there is a real demand for T from fusion-tokamaks! Maybe using Tritium instead of protons in a spallation_neutron generator would be quite effective. Making MSR-Th-breeders more neutron-abundant and have a safer margin from power- excursion! As late nuclear inventor Alvin Weinberg said: Tritium would have to be sequestered, eventually. I think MSRs should be considered more as an exothermal chemical-plant, than a pure power-plant.
3:28 "Can I say something about that?" "No." XD
I find it very encouraging
Why is this not widespread on (inter)national TV?
Yes 1969. A year when technical blindness set in.
It was the year of the wonderful Austin Three litre. A fantastically billiant car. And nobody wanted to buy them.
It is kind of frustrating to hear how Kirk Sorensen was happy about the 2,6 million grant from DOE because the following :
-since 9/11 US has wasted 5.6 TRILLION dollars in wars and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yearly cost of occupation is 65 billion dollars. Just to top off the insanity is that US taxpayers paid 80 million to build just one gas station in that country. So I make this plea to the DOE make grants to MSR companies that equal that of building a simple gas station in Afghanistan and you will do something good for the country.
Coal is booming in Asia. The world desperately needs this technology and it has to be cheaper than coal.
Woo, some good news :D
Kirk breaks down the physics. Which is why I like the LFTR better than fast spectrum.
Carbon tax would only work as a redistribution, i.e. tax at the source and it out in a dividend per capita.
Thank you for the subtitles.
Is there a way you could develop low-temperature vapor deposition to line the interior of pipes with diamond?
Grafite instead of diamonds far cheaper they are made of graphite neutron capture fermi ronadam
our greatest hope. truly.
Educate AOC on Thorium since the main stream media has everyone seems to be lining up behind her on environmental issues.
On low enriched uranium MSRs would be even better, because it is actually ready now.
These should be perfect for trains, ships, space ships and maybe even planes. Lunar base, you know whatever. Of course there would be potential problems with such a energy source even if it can't be directly used as a weapon. It could be used to power a weapon such as a railgun, laser beam, or microwave. I think he's right. The sell of secondary products that are hard to come by will be a big game changer.
Optimism took a hit in 1969 because of the VietNam war, student revolts, LBJ, Nixon, two Kennedy murders, cold war, political suspicion and corruption. Young people started hating the 40-50's era mentality and sensibilities.
u are the richest man alive right now, as well as all LTRS who seen the light, the final solution
Glorious video Gordon.
Project Proposal: Oasis Array
Objective:
The objective of the Oasis Array project is to develop a biorefinery, renewable chemical, and biobased product manufacturing assistance program that will utilize three phases of energy generation: a breeder reactor molten salt steam turbine, a solar focus array molten salt steam turbine, and a photovoltaic array. The heat generated and captured in the molten salt will be used in the refining of materials and for steam generation.
Description:
The Oasis Array project will involve the installation of a breeder reactor molten salt steam turbine, a solar focus array molten salt steam turbine, and a photovoltaic array. The breader reactor molten salt steam turbine will be used to generate electricity from the heat produced by the reactor. The solar focus array molten salt steam turbine will be used to generate electricity from the heat produced by the sun. Finally, the photovoltaic array will be used to generate electricity from the sun’s light. The heat generated and captured in the molten salt will be used to refine materials and generate steam.
Benefits:
The Oasis Array project will provide a number of benefits. First, it will reduce the amount of energy used in the refining of materials and the generation of steam. Second, it will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Third, it will provide a renewable source of energy that can be used to power homes and businesses. Finally, it will provide a cost-effective way to generate electricity and heat.
Budget:
The budget for the Oasis Array project is estimated at 50 billion. This includes the cost of the breeder reactor molten salt steam turbine, the solar focus array molten salt steam turbine, and the photovoltaic array. It also includes the cost of installation and any other related expenses.
Conclusion:
The Oasis Array project is an innovative and cost-effective way to generate electricity and heat from renewable sources. It will reduce the amount of energy used in the refining of materials and the generation of steam, reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, and provide a renewable source of energy that can be used to power homes and businesses. The estimated budget for the project is $150 billion. We look forward to receiving your grant funding for this project.
Few questions, What was Kirk going to say? When he reached for the microphone. "He can't talk about It there"? 🤔 Is there a video of the London visit he references?
How do you heat the molten fluoride, is it simple resistive heaters in the bottom of the vessel, so if it cools down, is it hours to get it up and running (runny) again or days, can you use it as a peaked plant ?
If we are using solar would it not be sensible to run grids East to West to extended the daylight hours input ?
How do you refine Thorium, surely you can't just dump the ore in the molten salt bath, as it has to be kept incredibly pure, with no oxides.
Can you contain the molten fluoride in normal stainless steel vessels ?
How do you Fire in the neutrons ?
I'm sorry but I don't get the point Mr. Sorensen makes at 18:33: "... if you remove krypton and xenon from the reactor, then that changes how they would have otherwise decayed in other fission products." How is that possible?
I like thorium for nuclear powered trains, ships, and possibly ships. I am very concerned about the potential for scattering of long lived nuclear waste from the potential destruction of nuclear powered ships. Thorium powered ships would minimize this hazard. Because of this, I believe the Navy should be funding the development of thorium fueled MSRs as replacements for existing naval reactors. If these thorium based reactors could be used in railroad engines, all the better. These railroad engines might fill molten salt thermal stores along the way, that could be dropped of at small cities to provide local electricity.
For utility scale deployment of MSRs however, thorium reactors, at least in the conventional sense, are far from optimal. Thorium as a feed stock or coolant/neutron absorber is great, but the basic reactor design should be an SNF burner. This is what DOE funding should be focused on.
Shbe "possibly aircraft".
Media Stopped selling Hope and started selling Fear. Fear is a better seller then hope can ever be.
Kirk, the real solution is...CONSUMERISM. 99 percent of Americans are not rich, but what they are is consumers. Of products. Made with energy. Very few of your customer base are "capitalists," as in rich investors looking for giant returns on tiny investments. What this really means is that the way to fill humanity's need for LFTR's or other MSR's is going to be through government, not through the private industry.
You need the US gov't to build several MSR reactors, and then dedicate their energy to making a whole bunch more MSR reactors. Then you can ramp up the production of MSR reactors to levels that will actually solve the world's problems. MSR's need to be heavily subsidized by governments, so that they can displace coal asap. That is the ONLY WAY we can save the world.
And the person that can make that happen is Bernie Sanders. A guy like Kirk Sorenson should be able to explain the situation to a logical, honest man like Sanders.
Something's not adding up here. Kirk says that MSRs aren't profitable enough to attract investment - but apparently HC plants are. Does this evaluation include all the subsidies, direct and indirect, for HC based power plants (including drilling subsidies, wars for control of oil fields, etc., etc.)? How have all our power plants historically been built? Have they always been subsidized? If so, then why haven't MSR reactors been subsidized?
I want to ask Kirk Sorensen if he has checked Glaubers salt for its ability to retain copious amounts of heat
Can we get the slides that Kirk used?
I never got them.
@@gordonmcdowell the slide with all the by products in a web chart would be good if you asked him
Carnot cycle has been around since 1824 and steam engines have been around for even longer. Power generation is a very mature technology and as such won't change much with time (ie 50 years). Any improvements in power generation will require a great deal of very expensive engineering for very small improvements. The exceptions only occur when there is a major breakthrough such as a successful thorium reactor or a successful fusion reactor.
I think the excitement with molten salt reactors is the much higher thermal efficiency _already known to exist_ (over pressurized water reactors).
A liquid fluoride thorium reactor is just one of dozens of reactor designs being promoted by advocates. Everyone claims "their" particular reactor is better than all the others, so trained nuclear engineers and regulators spend a lot of time trying to wade through all the claims.
Thorium is just one another type of nuclear fuel, almost identical in properties to Uranium-238. You need a breeder reactor (liquid fluoride molten salt reactor for example) to generate energy from either Thorium or U-238. Note that the world already has millions of tons of U-238 sitting around in warehouses in the US and Russia, leftover after they separated the U-235. That's another reason why nuclear engineers have a difficult time getting excited about Thorium...they have so much U-238 already on hand, enough for thousands of years if used in a breeder reactor.
Anybody excited about nuclear reactor design should go to college and get a degree in nuclear engineering, it's a great career!
That's a very interesting observation about how our optimism about the future took a dive at the end of the 60's. I think we just got soft to be honest. Warm houses, plenty to eat, holidays, time to relax, there wasn't much to fight for. Then we were sold the dream of Nuclear Energy so cheap it wouldn't even be metered. That huge miscalculation and the Nuclear catastrophes that followed turned people against science in my opinion. Why would you believe anything they have to say about Nuclear energy ever again?
Thankfully, not all of us think that way, but it's going to be a long uphill struggle to get people to understand why Molter Salt Reactors are the real deal.
Yo! Take any of the LFTR / MSR on the stock market and I'll buy a lot of shares and I think most of us here will.