Design of a helium-cooled molten-salt fusion breeder

Conference · Mon Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985 · Fusion Technol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5790720

Moir, R W; Berwald, D H; DeVan, J H; Fulton, F J; Grimes, W R; Lee, J D; Muegei, F; Neef, W S; Sherwood, A E; Whitley, R H

A new conceptual blanket design for a fusion reactor produces fissile material for fission power plants. Fission is suppressed by using beryllium, rather than uranium, to multiply neutrons and also by minimizing the fissile inventory. The molten-salt breeding media is circulated through the blanket and on to the online processing system, where /sup 233/U and tritium are continuously removed. Helium cools the blanket including the steel pipes containing the molten salt. Austenitic steel was chosen because of its ease of fabrication, adequate radiation-damage lifetime, and low corrosion rate by molten salt. We estimate the breeder, having 3000 MW of fusion power, produces 6400 kg of /sup 233/U per year, which is enough to provide make up for 20 GWe of LWR per year (or 14 LWR plants of 4440 MW /sub t/ ) or twice that many HTGRs or CANDUs. Safety is enhanced because the afterheat is low and the blanket materials do not react with air or water. The fusion breeder based on a pre-MARS tandem mirror is estimated to cost $4.9B or 2.35 times an LWR of the same power. The estimated present value cost of the /sup 233/U produced is )40/g if utility financed or )16/g if government financed.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, Livermore, CA
• OSTI ID: 5790720
• Report Number(s): CONF-850310-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Fusion Technol.; (United States) Journal Volume: 8:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050700 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Fuels Production & Properties
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700201* -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Blanket Engineering
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BERYLLIUM COMPOUNDS
BERYLLIUM FLUORIDES
BREEDING BLANKETS
COST ESTIMATION
DESIGN
ELEMENTS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FISSILE MATERIALS
FISSIONABLE MATERIALS
FLUIDS
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
FUSION YIELD
GASES
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HEAVY NUCLEI
HELIUM
ISOTOPES
LITHIUM COMPOUNDS
LITHIUM FLUORIDES
LITHIUM HALIDES
MAGNETIC MIRROR TYPE REACTORS
MATERIALS
MOLTEN SALTS
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR REACTION YIELD
NUCLEI
PRODUCTIVITY
RADIOISOTOPES
RARE GASES
REACTOR COMPONENTS
RECOVERY
SALTS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR MATERIALS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
THORIUM COMPOUNDS
THORIUM FLUORIDES
TMR REACTORS
TRITIUM RECOVERY
URANIUM 233
URANIUM ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
YIELDS