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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
ARPA-E announces $40 million to develop transmutation technologies for UNF
The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) announced $40 million in funding to develop cutting-edge technologies to enable the transmutation of used nuclear fuel into less-radioactive substances. According to ARPA-E, the new initiative addresses one of the agency’s core goals as outlined by Congress: to provide transformative solutions to improve the management, cleanup, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
Gregg A. Morgan, Brittany J. Hodge, Anita S. Poore
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 72 | Number 3 | October 2017 | Pages 426-433
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1333858
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A prototype Pd-Ag diffuser manufactured by Power and Energy was evaluated for performance characterization testing at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). The prototype Pd-Ag diffuser was characterized to determine the overall performance as a function of the permeation of hydrogen through the membrane. The tests described in this report consider the effects of feed gas compositions, feed flow rates, pump type and internal tube pressure on the permeation of H2 through the Pd-Ag tubes.
For the 96% H2/4% N2 mixtures, nearly all of the H2 permeated through the membrane at flow rates up to 3000 sccm. However, results for the 50% H2/50% N2 composition show that 100% permeation is only achieved up to a flow rate of 1000 sccm. A significant reduction in the hydrogen permeation was observed for the 2% H2/98% N2 composition. This Pd-Ag diffuser design is not suitable for a tritium purification system within the fusion energy fuel cycle. Typical tritium purification systems can be expected to see a range of hydrogen isotope concentrations and this particular prototype diffuser is only suitable for process streams containing high concentrations of hydrogen isotopes.
Significant efforts should be undertaken to identify additional commercial vendors for Pd-Ag diffusers. It is of critical importance to identify, procure, and test different Pd-Ag designs that can perform well over a range of hydrogen isotope concentrations for tritium gas processing applications.