Scientists put a bold plan to convert nuclear waste into nuclear fuel

The nuclear fusion has seen Some exciting progressIt seems that the promise of clean and effective energy Crawl. But the skeptics refer to practical issues that we may not try hard enough to solve them – issues that will inevitably affect our reactions when they finally arrive.

A new suggestion presented by Tender Tarnowsky, a nuclear physicist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, focuses on a major part of the problem: finding supplies of Tritium, which is a basic component of fusion. Tarnowsky, whose road map will present next week in ACS Fall 2025 The conference suggests benefiting from thousands of tons of nuclear waste, including the reactor fuel, using sleep atoms at home to support Tritium production. With the correct adjustments to an accelerated device, this strategy can reliably create a self -sufficient source of precious counterpart.

At a successful fusion reactor, tritium and dutereem – light -weight hydrogen counterparts – prepare a giant load of energy in this process. On the contrary, current nuclear plants are fission, or dividing heavy atoms such as uranium, which also generate a large amount of energy but produce long -term radioactive products. Tarnovsky told Gizmodo during a video call.

At the same time, the promise of fusion is shaded due to an inevitable deficiency in the tritium, which is a very rare hydrogen counterpart. “There are only dozens of kilograms (from tritium) – natural and artificial – on the entire planet,” said Tarnovsky. This does not help in the fact that nuclear tests around the world are burning through these small supplies at a rate that warns of danger. “So, this tritium is supposed to come?”

breeding Tritium in Labs is an applicable option, but again, there is a very good reason that did not find the perfect recipe; Tarnovsky said it was “difficult fuel to deal with it.”

“If you are generating tritium now, it is not as if you can hide it in a 30 -year -old container from now, because it decomposes to helium 3 very quickly,” I explained. “He also has hydrogen chemistry. Hydrogen loves to get out of things; he loves to stumble in the walls. So it is difficult to handle it.” For context, and Half of Tretium 12.3 years oldThis means that it decomposes to half of the original amount at the time.

Tarnowsky’s proposal combines previous theories with modern technological developments. Simply put, the idea is to use the particle accelerator to cause the decomposition of uranium and plutonium atoms within nuclear waste, leading to a series of neutron and other nuclear transformations that ultimately produce tritium. Waste will be covered with molten lithium salt to protect the process from excessive exposure to harmful radiation, according to Tarnovsky.

With the right design, tarnowsky hold this way.It produces more than 10 times a teretium, such as fusion reactor in the same thermal energy, “as shown in the press statement. However, he admits that this road map will require bold obligations from the public and private sectors.

Tarnovsky said the integration economy is irreversible in some respects. Tarnovsky said: It is definitely not something as “one can turn a key and has a backup system if something wrong occurs terribly in the breeding of Tritium,” said Tarnovsky. “You need to plan for the future through a very long time frame.”

He said that the longer our waiting period, the more ourselves digging ourselves in a hole. “Every year, we continue to operate our nuclear power plants – very safe! – We will also make more consumer fuel every year, (which increases about 2000 metric tons annually. Thus the obligations get worse every year.”

All that has been said, Tarnowsky is still optimistic about the future of nuclear fusion – and in fact, to complete our transition towards clean energy.

“You know, as you know, 10 years ago, this type of technology proposed in this field could not receive this attention a lot; people were wary of nuclear power plants.” “Then they went to burn dirty charcoal. Well, what will you do? But we are doing this conversation now, and people do not interact with fear only.”