Tritium Extraction from Liquid Blankets of Fusion Reactors via Membrane Gas–Liquid Contactors
The exploitation of fusion energy in tokamak reactors relies on efficient and reliable tritium management. The tritium needed to sustain the deuterium–tritium fusion reaction is produced in the Li-based blanket surrounding the plasma chamber, and, therefore, the effective extraction and purification...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Nuclear Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4362/6/2/13 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850168359204683776 |
|---|---|
| author | Silvano Tosti Luca Farina |
| author_facet | Silvano Tosti Luca Farina |
| author_sort | Silvano Tosti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The exploitation of fusion energy in tokamak reactors relies on efficient and reliable tritium management. The tritium needed to sustain the deuterium–tritium fusion reaction is produced in the Li-based blanket surrounding the plasma chamber, and, therefore, the effective extraction and purification of the tritium bred in the Li-blankets is needed to guarantee the tritium self-sufficiency of future fusion plants. This work introduces a new technology for the extraction of tritium from the Pb–Li eutectic alloy used in liquid blankets. Process units based on the concept of Membrane Gas–Liquid Contactor (MGLC) have been studied for the extraction of tritium from the Pb–Li in the Water Cooled Lithium Lead blankets of the DEMO reactor. MGLC units have been preliminarily designed and then compared in terms of the permeation areas and sizes with the tritium extraction technologies presently under study, namely the Permeator Against Vacuum (PAV) and the Gas–Liquid Contactors (GLCs). The results of this study show that the DEMO WCLL tritium extraction systems using MGLC require smaller permeation areas and quicker permeation kinetics than those based on PAV (Permeator Against Vacuum) devices. Accordingly, the MGLC extraction unit exhibits volumes smaller than those of both PAV and GLC. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2e8206f2fa9540f18cb8f5ba4586a8d7 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2673-4362 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Nuclear Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-2e8206f2fa9540f18cb8f5ba4586a8d72025-08-20T02:20:58ZengMDPI AGJournal of Nuclear Engineering2673-43622025-05-01621310.3390/jne6020013Tritium Extraction from Liquid Blankets of Fusion Reactors via Membrane Gas–Liquid ContactorsSilvano Tosti0Luca Farina1ENEA, Nuclear Department, ENEA Frascati Research Center, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, ItalyENEA, Nuclear Department, ENEA Frascati Research Center, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, ItalyThe exploitation of fusion energy in tokamak reactors relies on efficient and reliable tritium management. The tritium needed to sustain the deuterium–tritium fusion reaction is produced in the Li-based blanket surrounding the plasma chamber, and, therefore, the effective extraction and purification of the tritium bred in the Li-blankets is needed to guarantee the tritium self-sufficiency of future fusion plants. This work introduces a new technology for the extraction of tritium from the Pb–Li eutectic alloy used in liquid blankets. Process units based on the concept of Membrane Gas–Liquid Contactor (MGLC) have been studied for the extraction of tritium from the Pb–Li in the Water Cooled Lithium Lead blankets of the DEMO reactor. MGLC units have been preliminarily designed and then compared in terms of the permeation areas and sizes with the tritium extraction technologies presently under study, namely the Permeator Against Vacuum (PAV) and the Gas–Liquid Contactors (GLCs). The results of this study show that the DEMO WCLL tritium extraction systems using MGLC require smaller permeation areas and quicker permeation kinetics than those based on PAV (Permeator Against Vacuum) devices. Accordingly, the MGLC extraction unit exhibits volumes smaller than those of both PAV and GLC.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4362/6/2/13tritiumPb–Li eutectic alloyfusion reactors breeding blanketsmembrane gas–liquid contactors |
| spellingShingle | Silvano Tosti Luca Farina Tritium Extraction from Liquid Blankets of Fusion Reactors via Membrane Gas–Liquid Contactors Journal of Nuclear Engineering tritium Pb–Li eutectic alloy fusion reactors breeding blankets membrane gas–liquid contactors |
| title | Tritium Extraction from Liquid Blankets of Fusion Reactors via Membrane Gas–Liquid Contactors |
| title_full | Tritium Extraction from Liquid Blankets of Fusion Reactors via Membrane Gas–Liquid Contactors |
| title_fullStr | Tritium Extraction from Liquid Blankets of Fusion Reactors via Membrane Gas–Liquid Contactors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tritium Extraction from Liquid Blankets of Fusion Reactors via Membrane Gas–Liquid Contactors |
| title_short | Tritium Extraction from Liquid Blankets of Fusion Reactors via Membrane Gas–Liquid Contactors |
| title_sort | tritium extraction from liquid blankets of fusion reactors via membrane gas liquid contactors |
| topic | tritium Pb–Li eutectic alloy fusion reactors breeding blankets membrane gas–liquid contactors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4362/6/2/13 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT silvanotosti tritiumextractionfromliquidblanketsoffusionreactorsviamembranegasliquidcontactors AT lucafarina tritiumextractionfromliquidblanketsoffusionreactorsviamembranegasliquidcontactors |