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T. J. Dolan, G. R. Longhurst, E. Garcia-Otero
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 3 | May 1992 | Pages 1949-1954
Material and Tritium | doi.org/10.13182/FST21-1949
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We have designed a vacuum disengager system to remove tritium from the Flibe (Li2BeF4) molten salt coolant of the HYLIFE-II fusion reactor. There is a two-stage vacuum disengager in each of three intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) loops. Each stage consists of a vacuum chamber 4 m in diameter and 7 m tall. As 0.2 mm diameter molten salt droplets fall vertically downward into the vacuum, most of the tritium diffuses out of the droplets and is pumped away. A fraction Φ ≈ 10−5 of the 8.6 MCi/day tritium source (from breeding in the Flibe and from unburned fuel) remains in the Flibe as it leaves the vacuum disengagers, and about 21 % of that permeates into the intermediate coolant loop, so about 20 Ci/day leak into the steam system. With Flibe primary coolant and a vacuum disengager, it appears that an intermediate coolant loop is not needed to prevent tritium from leaking into the steam system. An experiment is needed to demonstrate Flibe vacuum disengager operation.