Tritium processing system for the ITER Li/V Blanket Test Module

• Published in: Fusion engineering and design Vol. 39; no. 1-4; pp. 859 - 864
• Main Authors: Sze, Dai-Kai, Hua, Thanh Q, Dagher, Mohamad A, Waganer, Lester M, Abdou, Mohamed A
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.09.1998; New York, NY Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products; Energy; Exact sciences and technology; Fuels; Offshore drilling and production; Prospecting and production of crude oil, natural gas, oil shales and tar sands; Seabed operations. Divers. Logistics; Design; Nuclear safety; Tokamak; Nuclear fusion reactor; Blanket; Lithium; Tritium; Performance
• ISSN: 0920-3796; 1873-7196
• DOI: 10.1016/S0920-3796(98)00329-9

The purpose of the ITER Blanket Testing Module is to test the operating and performance of candidate blanket concepts under a real fusion environment. To assure fuel self-sufficiency, the tritium breeding, recovery and processing have to be demonstrated. The tritium produced in the blanket has to be processed to a purity which can be used for refuelling. All these functions need to be accomplished so that the tritium system can be scaled to a commercial fusion power plant from a safety and reliability point of view. This paper summarizes the tritium processing steps, the size of the equipment, power requirements, space requirements, etc. for a self-cooled lithium blanket. This information is needed for the design and layout of the test blanket ancillary system and to assure that the ITER guidelines for remote handling of ancillary equipment can be met.