Radioactive Rarity on Mars - Revision history

RichardWSmith: /* References */ Added a bibliography section.

2024-11-02T22:11:47Z

References: Added a bibliography section.

RichardWSmith: /* Would Lower Radioactives Cripple Martian Nuclear Power */ Added link to Michel's work.

2022-11-30T02:37:03Z

Would Lower Radioactives Cripple Martian Nuclear Power: Added link to Michel's work.

RichardWSmith: /* Impact Concentrated Ores On Mars */

2022-11-25T15:10:12Z

Impact Concentrated Ores On Mars

RichardWSmith: Gave better section title.

2022-11-25T15:08:27Z

Gave better section title.

RichardWSmith: /* Would Lower Radioactives Cripple Martian Nuclear Power */ Added reference.

2022-11-23T18:55:39Z

Would Lower Radioactives Cripple Martian Nuclear Power: Added reference.

RichardWSmith: /* References */ Added another reference.

2022-11-22T10:05:27Z

References: Added another reference.

RichardWSmith: Minor polishing.

2022-11-22T10:01:50Z

Minor polishing.

RichardWSmith: /* Mining the dirt */ Adjusted order of sentences.

2022-11-21T21:25:00Z

Mining the dirt: Adjusted order of sentences.

RichardWSmith: /* References */

2022-11-21T21:21:20Z

References

RichardWSmith: Added a link.

2022-11-21T20:56:12Z

Added a link.

@@ Line 82: / Line 82: @@
 There is no incentive to use such poor quality 'fuel' when much better ores are widely available, but it is clear that even poor ores could be mined for an energy profit.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occurrence_of_thorium#cite_note-27</ref>
-==References==
+==Bibliography==
 "Thorium: Energy Cheaper than Coal", By Robert Hargraves, ISBN: 9-781478-161295
@@ Line 88: / Line 88: @@
 "Molten Salt Reactors & Thorium Energy", Edited by Thomas J. Dolan, ISBN 978-0-08-101126-3 // Intended to be a review of all research projects working on molten salt Th reactors.

@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 Even if Mars (for some reason) had significantly less U/Th/K than the Earth, it would not preclude nuclear power on that planet.
-*Early exploration bases and colonies could have the nuclear materials refined, enriched, and shipped to Mars.  (Note that nuclear core before the control rods are removed to allow it to go critical, is not highly radioactive.)  A one time shipment of a reactor would provide years or decades of reliable power for less mass than solar cells with a similar power output.  (If geothermal power sites are found, the cost might be close if you include the advantages of liquid water from geothermal.)
+*Early exploration bases and colonies could have the nuclear materials refined, enriched, and shipped to Mars.  (Note that nuclear core before the control rods are removed to allow it to go critical, is not highly radioactive.)  A one time shipment of a reactor would provide years or decades of reliable power for less mass than solar cells with a similar power output.  See [[Cost of energy on Mars]] for more details.  (If geothermal power sites are found, the cost might be close if you include the advantages of liquid water from geothermal.)
 *If Fusion power is made to work, Mars has 5 times more deuterium than Earth, per water molecule.  Thus this fusion fuel is cheaper on Mars than on Earth.

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 Since Mars is closer to the asteroid belt, this process could produce such hard rock ores more often than on Earth.  (The Hellas Basin, in particular is likely to have rich ores deep underground.)
-U/Th/K are silicon loving elements, and so are less likely to be concentrated by such processes, but any differentiated melting and solidifying of minerals can concentrate elements.  In other words, such a process is not likely to make ore bodies of metallic uranium, but could concentrate the U/Th/K above the local average.
+U/Th/K are silicon loving elements, and so are less likely to be concentrated by such processes, but any differentiated melting and solidifying of minerals can concentrate elements.  In other words, such a process is not likely to make ore bodies of metallic uranium, but could concentrate the U/Th/K above the local average is some parts of the melt.
 ==Would Lower Radioactives Cripple Martian Nuclear Power==

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
-==Concentrated Ores On Mars==
+==Impact Concentrated Ores On Mars==
 The Sudbury Nickel mine in Ontario Canada was created when a small asteroid hit the Earth.  It (and local rocks) melted.  The dense metals sank to the bottom of the melt and froze, producing rich metal ores. <ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666759221000792</ref>
 Since Mars is closer to the asteroid belt, this process could produce such hard rock ores more often than on Earth.  (The Hellas Basin, in particular is likely to have rich ores deep underground.)
-U/Th/K are rock loving elements, and so are less likely to be concentrated by such processes, but any differentiated melting and solidifying of minerals can concentrate elements.  In other words, such a process is not likely to make ore bodies of metallic uranium, but could concentrate the U/Th/K above the local average.
 ==Would Lower Radioactives Cripple Martian Nuclear Power==

@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 *Thorium and uranium are always found with [[Rare Earths|Rare Earth Element]] (REE) ores.  If REE are mined on Mars for their magnetic and electronic industrial uses, enough U/Th would be produced to allow for nuclear power.<ref>https://www.epa.gov/radiation/technologically-enhanced-naturally-occurring-radioactive-materials-tenorm</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxwF93wnRQo</ref>   (This would be for a well developed Martian economy, starting colonies would import REE from Earth, if needed.) This paper discusses a less expensive way to capture thorium from REE wastes.<ref>https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.8b07610</ref>
-*Mining other ores can concentrate radioactives. <ref>https://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm-copper-mining-and-production-wastes</ref>
+*Mining other ores can concentrate radioactives (the links discuss copper and tin mines). <ref>https://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm-copper-mining-and-production-wastes</ref><ref>https://aip.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.4972913</ref>
 ===Mining the dirt===

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:05, 22 November 2022
Line 85:		Line 85:

	"Superfuel", By Richard Martin, ISBN 978-0-230-11647-4. // This is a introductory book for the layman with nice history of molten salt reactors. The above reference is more scholarly.		"Superfuel", By Richard Martin, ISBN 978-0-230-11647-4. // This is a introductory book for the layman with nice history of molten salt reactors. The above reference is more scholarly.
		+
		+	"Molten Salt Reactors & Thorium Energy", Edited by Thomas J. Dolan, ISBN 978-0-08-101126-3 // Intended to be a review of all research projects working on molten salt Th reactors.

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 *Even looking only at fission reactors, one good ore body anywhere on the planet could provide fuel for hundreds or thousands of reactors.
-*The cost of fission fuel is insignificant compared to the other costs of current nuclear power on Earth.  Permitting, environmental reviews, public hearings, court challenges, building giant bespoke reactors, and the cost of capital dominate the cost of current nuclear power.  If those other elements were eliminated or reduced, then a ten fold increase in fuel costs would still result in nuclear power being cheaper on Mars than on Earth. <ref>https://www.britannica.com/technology/nuclear-power/Economics</ref>.  Note that natural uranium (U238) must be processed to increase the proportion of U235 and then formed into fuel rods (expensive).  However reactors can be built which use metallic thorium, which makes the fuel MUCH less expensive.
+*The cost of fission fuel is insignificant compared to the other costs of current nuclear power on Earth.  Permitting, environmental reviews, public hearings, court challenges, building giant bespoke reactors, and the cost of capital dominate the cost of current nuclear power.  (In Superfuel, Richard Martin points out that a nuclear power plant spends less on fuel than on plant security.  They have no interest in finding CHEAPER fuel, the current fuel is trivially cheap compared to other expenses.)  If those other elements were eliminated or reduced, then a ten fold increase in fuel costs would still result in nuclear power being cheaper on Mars than on Earth. <ref>https://www.britannica.com/technology/nuclear-power/Economics</ref>.  Note that natural uranium (U238) must be processed to increase the proportion of U235 and then formed into fuel rods (expensive).  However reactors can be built which use metallic thorium (which has only one natural isotope), which makes Th fuel MUCH less expensive.
 *Current nuclear power (light water pressurized reactors) were designed 70 years ago, and are WILDLY inefficient. (One example, they 'burn' only 0.5% of their fuel.)  Far better, 4th generation reactors have been designed, and many are currently being tested.  Presumably, Mars would not use 70 year old technology.  (See [[LFTR]] for one such reactor.  Note that some versions of LFTR could burn current nuclear wastes.)
-*One kg of thorium has enough energy to power a city for a year. (See the books referred to below.)<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density</ref>  If our Martian exploration colony had a LFTR shipped to it, 1 kg of cargo mass, would power the base for decades.  It is entirely reasonable for even a fairly large Martian town to last for a long time with occasional shipments of a 1 to 5 kg of nuclear fuel from Earth every two years.
+*One kg of thorium has enough energy to power a town for a year. (See the books referred to below, and also...)<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density</ref>  If our Martian exploration colony had a LFTR shipped to it, 1 kg of cargo mass, would power the base for decades.  It is entirely reasonable for even a fairly large Martian town to last for a long time with occasional shipments of a 1 to 5 kg of nuclear fuel from Earth every two years.
 *If gold is more common in Mars' crust than Earth, (certainly possible), Mars could profitably trade gold for thorium (which is dirt cheap on Earth).  Robert Zubrin pointed out in "The Case for Mars", that with _current_ space technology, we could export items as valuable as gold (or more so) between planets at a profit.

@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 ===Mining the dirt===
-Basically, tiny amounts of radioactive materials, can produce massive amounts of power.  Three examples:
+Basically, tiny amounts of radioactive materials, can produce massive amounts of power.  Four examples:
 * Conway granite has 56 +/- 6 ppm thorium.  New Hampshire is estimated to have 3,000,000 tonnes of this at shallow depth. Each 12 cubic meters of rock contains 1 kg of 'readily leachable' thorium.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC221093/</ref>
 *Even common granite (13 ppm) contains the potential nuclear energy equivalent to 50 times the rock's mass in coal.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20080811001036/http://www.energybulletin.net/node/13630</ref>
@@ Line 77: / Line 80: @@
 There is no incentive to use such poor quality 'fuel' when much better ores are widely available, but it is clear that even poor ores could be mined for an energy profit.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occurrence_of_thorium#cite_note-27</ref>
 ==References==

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:21, 21 November 2022
Line 83:		Line 83:
	"Thorium: Energy Cheaper than Coal", By Robert Hargraves, ISBN: 9-781478-161295		"Thorium: Energy Cheaper than Coal", By Robert Hargraves, ISBN: 9-781478-161295

−	"Superfuel", By Richard Martin, ISBN 978-0-230-11647-4. // This is a introductory book for the layman. The above reference is more scholarly.	+	"Superfuel", By Richard Martin, ISBN 978-0-230-11647-4. // This is a introductory book for the layman with nice history of molten salt reactors. The above reference is more scholarly.

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:56, 21 November 2022
Line 77:		Line 77:

	There is no incentive to use such poor quality 'fuel' when much better ores are widely available, but it is clear that even poor ores could be mined for an energy profit.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occurrence_of_thorium#cite_note-27</ref>		There is no incentive to use such poor quality 'fuel' when much better ores are widely available, but it is clear that even poor ores could be mined for an energy profit.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occurrence_of_thorium#cite_note-27</ref>
		+
		+	In the [[Thorium\|thorium]] page, there is a long discussion of mining thorium ores, and burning them in a LFTR. The conclusion is that VERY poor ores could be burnt at a profit.

	==References==		==References==