Tritium removal from molten salt media in nuclear fusion and fission processes

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Molten salts (e.g. FLiBe) are of growing interest as blanket materials for fusion reactors. Many of the proposed blanket materials that are used to convert the energy to heat for electricity generation, can also act as a tritium breeder material providing the potential of tritium self -sufficiency to the fusion life-cycle if recovered. Molten salts have also received significant attention for energy storage media as they possess inherent safety features that are advantageous in nuclear and non nuclear systems, however these salts continuously produce the radioactive isotope of hydrogen; tritium, from the FLiBe molten salt under nuclear operations across both fusion and fission. This presents a major design challenge, as tritium needs to be removed and separated so that is does not contaminate the salt system. Therefore the uptake of hydrogen isotopes such as tritium in molten salt systems, requires careful consideration of downstream tritium management systems in nuclear fission and fusion reactors. Tritium removal from molten media is also of interest both in terms of recovery as fuel for the future deployment of fusion systems and detritiation of the molten salt for end of life decommissioning and waste management. This project will therefore explore the chemical behaviour and transport of tritium in molten salts to inform remova strategies and to investigate methods to provide efficient, reliable, and safe recovery of tritium for reuse.