Fusion reactor fuel processing

Technical Report · Thu Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1972

OSTI ID:5877967

Johnson, E F

For thermonuclear power reactors based on the continuous fusion of deuterium and tritium the principal fuel processing problems occur in maintaining desired compositions in the primary fuel cycled through the reactor, in the recovery of tritium bred in the blanket surrounding the reactor, and in the prevention of tritium loss to the environment. Since all fuel recycled through the reactor must be cooled to cryogenic conditions for reinjection into the reactor, cryogenic fractional distillation is a likely process for controlling the primary fuel stream composition. Another practical possibility is the permeation of the hydrogen isotopes through thin metal membranes. The removal of tritium from the ash discharged from the power system would be accomplished by chemical procedures to assure physiologically safe concentration levels. The recovery process for tritium from the breeder blanket depends on the nature of the blanket fluids. For molten lithium the only practicable possibility appears to be permeation from the liquid phase. For molten salts the process would involve stripping with inert gas followed by chemical recovery. In either case extremely low concentrations of tritium in the melts would be desirable to maintain low tritium inventories, and to minimize escape of tritium through unwanted permeation, and to avoid embrittlement of metal walls. 21 refs.

• Research Organization: Princeton Univ., NJ (USA). Plasma Physics Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH03073
• OSTI ID: 5877967
• Report Number(s): MATT-901; ON: DE88002001
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700205* -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Fuel
Heating
& Injection Systems
ALKALI METALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BREEDING BLANKETS
DEUTERIUM
DISTILLATION
DIVERTORS
ELEMENTS
FUELS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
LITHIUM
METALS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PERMEABILITY
PROCESSING
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR COMPONENTS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
STABLE ISOTOPES
SYNTHESIS
THERMONUCLEAR FUELS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR WALLS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
TRITIUM
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES