Open AccessCivilization Needs Sustainable Energy – Fusion Breeding May Be Best
Author(s) -
Wallace M. Manheimer
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of sustainable development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1913-9071
pISSN - 1913-9063
DOI - 10.5539/jsd.v15n2p98
Subject(s) - fissile material , fusion power , civilization , nuclear power , nuclear fusion , wind power , renewable energy , environmental science , hydroelectricity , natural resource economics , nuclear engineering , environmental economics , business , geography , engineering , economics , archaeology , neutron , ecology , nuclear physics , physics , biology , electrical engineering , plasma
Civilization requires power. For a while it can get by with the power supplies we currently use, fossil fuel, nuclear fuel; and hydroelectric, solar and wind. Only the last 3 are sustainable. The first two will run out as some point, very likely well before the end of this century, especially if the less developed parts of the world come up to OECD standards. This paper makes the case that solar and wind are not up to the job, and neither is pure fusion, at least in this century. However, using fusion to breed fissile material for current nuclear reactors could play an important role well before century’s end. The requirements on a fusion device used as a breeder are considerably relaxed from the requirements for pure fusion. It is likely that an ITER type device, could be used for fusion breeding on a large scale. Fusion breeding can support nuclear fuel for civilization, at 30- 40 terawatts (TW), at least as far into the future as the dawn of civilization was in the past.