I understand that both China and India have harvested as much of the LFTR type information from Oak Ridge and elsewhere that they can lay their hands on. India has significant Thorium resources. Much of the Thorium in the world is not recognized though since it has no significant market at this time because its use is limited.
LFTR should be a national policy program on the same scale and importance as going to the moon was in the 60s. Unlike that program this could actually accomplish something useful that would place the US in a position of preeminence and global leadership for decades. Done right it might actually result in cheap clean electricity and near freedom from fossil fuels for all but the most demanding transportation activities.
The problem with LFTR as I understand it is to develop a process whereby contaminants can be removed and new fuel can be added to the liquid salt in a process stream instead of a batch operation as was done in the Oak Ridge demonstration plant.
I have wondered if LFTR is just another over hyped panacea like atomic energy in general was in the 40s and 50s before reality set in. Back then everything was going to be atomic and electricity was going to be to cheap to measure. Never happened.
I continue to be astonished at how many otherwise very knowledgable people are totally ignorant of LFTR.
Here’s the big difference...LFTR’s actually existed. They weren’t some theoretical dream locked up in someone’s file cabinet or a Gov’t funded scam.
As to the tech spec issues, Weinberg’s fellow scientists were interviewed years latter by Kirk Sorensen (TEAC founding member) and all said that any major post-op concerns were fixable. Some issues were fixed on-the-fly at Oak Ridge while others had solutions inserted into their final reports. Any other remaining issues were to be worked out in “Phase 2”.
As to the waste removal and fuel production, batch processing was done to simplify the testing process. In many ways the first few years were a “proof of concept” experiment. Micro testing of certain key processes, not fully worked on in the 1965-1969 series, would of been done before “Phase two” was to commence (1976...but this time with full DOE/NRC/Corporate support).
Weinberg’s crew were confident, based upon their calculations and previous experiences, that any post 1969 issues were solvable.
The NRC/DOE were so confident in LFTR’s potential they were making the necessary preparations for regulatory standards and protocols (a vital milestone for LFTRs acceptance). However, by 1972 the whole LFTR project was summarily shut down. The reasons were many but the chief ones were that since WW2, Uranium was “the standard” and darling of the world’s militaries, corporations, academia and gov’ts. Thorium just didn’t have the clout.