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60 Years of U: Perspectives on resources, demand, and the evolving role of nuclear energy
Recent years have seen growing global interest in nuclear energy and rising confidence in the sector. For the first time since the early 2000s, there is renewed optimism about the industry’s future. This change is driven by several major factors: geopolitical developments that highlight the need for secure energy supplies, a stronger focus on resilient energy systems, national commitments to decarbonization, and rising demand for clean and reliable electricity.
John Sheffield, Mohamed Sawan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 53 | Number 3 | April 2008 | Pages 780-788
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST53-780
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Catalyzed D-D is the ultimate fusion cycle, because deuterium is essentially unlimited on earth. In this approach, the 3He and tritium fusion products are recycled to increase the charged particle fusion power. A difficulty with this fusion cycle is that the tritium from fusion, if left in the plasma, produces 14-MeV neutrons, leading to radiation damage comparable to that of the D-T cycle. This paper shows that the damage problems may be alleviated by removing tritium before it can burn. Fortunately, the charged particle fusion power from burning the tritium is small compared to that from the 3He and removing it from the plasma makes little difference to the plasma power balance. Ion cyclotron power might be used to pump out tritium. In this paper, we review the benefits of tritium removal, identify the issues associated with this approach, and determine illustrative parameters required for an advanced tokamak and an advanced stellarator.