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RE: [cdn-nucl-l] Debate provides chance to push nuclear option
Hi Rod,
One of the major goals of ITER is to demonstrate breeding of Lithium to
produce Tritium in-situ with a 14 MeV neutron power load on the first
wall ~>0.5 MW/m^2 and fluence of ~>0.3 MWa/m^2. That way, the
production of T can be optimized exactly to the reaction demand and
greatly simplify any T handling outside the reactor. This is done via:
n + Li6 -> He4 (2.1 MeV) + T (2.7 MeV)
(http://wwwppd.nrl.navy.mil/nrlformulary/thermonuclear_fusion.pdf)
Where the He is pumped away along with the He from the DT reaction. Li6
is 7.5% naturally abundant (Li7 is the remaining 92.5% - see the Chart
of the Nuclides). Lithium major use is currently rechargeable batteries
(which has driven the price up since the late 1970's; see:
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/450798.pdf, but
also less so in lubricants) but is extremely common worldwide and easy
to mine and extract (see:
http://www.min.tu-clausthal.de/www/lager/excursion/excursion.html). A
1000 MWe fusion power plant would require about 1.4 kg of Li6 per day.
There are lots of details about the breeding blanket design in the ITER
Design Basis Document.
See chapter 6.21 of the planning doc at:
http://www.iter.org/ITERPublic/ITER/PDD6.pdf
How it's being designed into the structure of the wall-blanket:
http://www.iter.org/ITERPublic/ITER/PDD2-3.pdf
And how it's being included in remote maintenance:
http://www.iter.org/ITERPublic/ITER/PDD2-9.pdf
Shield blanket design (done by Boeing fusion team):
http://www.boeing.com/assocproducts/hienergy/ITER_SB.htm
Safety assessment:
http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/aesj/publication/JNST2001/No.11/38_921-929.pdf
And finally, a whole whack of papers on blanket technology from the
International Symposium on Fusion Technology, April 2002:
http://isfnt6.ucsd.edu/sessions/posbkt.html
Adam
-----Original Message-----
From: AtomicRod@aol.com [mailto:AtomicRod@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 08, 2002 5:18 PM
To: adam.mclean@utoronto.ca; cdn-nucl-l@informer2.cis.McMaster.CA
Subject: Re: [cdn-nucl-l] Debate provides chance to push nuclear option
In a message dated 9/6/02 3:14:27 AM, adam.mclean@utoronto.ca writes:
>Nuclear fusion, the process that will drive the ITER fusion research
>reactor that Canada is bidding to host (www.itercanada.com), uses
>common fuels inherent and abundant to all nations, presents no risk for
>nuclear proliferation or as a terrorist target,
Adam:
Isn't the above statement slightly optimistic if the reactor uses D-T
fuel?
Few nations produce those specialized isotopes and there is some
relationship
between that production and the nation's weapons programs.
Rod