• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.56-64
• /
• 2012

The ITER fuel cycle is designed for DT operation in equimolar ratio. It involves not only a group of fuelling system and torus cryo-pumping system of the exhaust gases through the divertor from the torus in tokamak plant, but also from the exhaust gas processing of the fusion effluent gas mixture connected to the hydrogen isotope separation in cryogenic distillation to the final safe storage & delivery of the hydrogen isotopes in tritium plant. Tritium plant system supplies deuterium and tritium from external sources and treats all tritiated fluids in ITER operation. Every operation and affairs is focused on the tritium inventory accountancy and the confinement. This paper describes the major fuel cycle processes and interfaces in the tritium plant in aspects of upcoming technologies for future hydrogen and/or hydrogen isotope utilization.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.58 no.4
• /
• pp.596-603
• /
• 2020

In this study, a mathematical model for optimal operation of the fusion fuel cycle is developed based on scheduling approach. The fusion fuel cycle consists of a system for storing and supplying deuterium and tritium, and receiving and separating process after the fusion reaction. Except that tritium is a radioactive material, most of these processes consist of catalytic reactions and separation process. For these reasons, it is possible to apply scheduling approach which is also widely utilized to chemical plants to derive the optimal operating scenarios. The developed model determined the optimal regeneration cycle to minimize the amount of tritium inside the vacuum pumps. Based on the characteristics of various device in the fusion reactor, the optimal tritium plant operation scenario is evaluated. The formulated model was applied to the actual tokamak scenario and utilized to analyze the fuel flow and balance of ITER fuel cycle.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.30 no.12
• /
• pp.655-659
• /
• 2020

Hydrogen isotopes (i.e. deuterium and tritium) are supplied to the tokamak in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fuel cycle. One important part of the ITER fuel cycle is the recycling of unused fuel back to the tokamak, as almost 99 % of fuel is unburned during fusion reaction. For this, cryogenic distillation has been used in the isotope separation system (ISS) of ITER, but this technique tends to be energy-intensive and to have low selectivity (typically below 1.5 at 24 K). Recently, efficient isotope separation by porous materials has been reported in the so-called quantum sieving process. Hence, in this study, hydrogen isotope adsorption behavior is studied using chemically stable ZIF-11. At low temperature (40 K ~ 70 K), the adsorption increases and the sorption hysteresis becomes stronger as the temperature increases to 70K. Molar ratio of deuterium to hydrogen based on the isotherms shows the highest (max. 14) ratio at 50 K, confirming the possibility of use as a potential isotope separation material.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.50 no.4
• /
• pp.595-603
• /
• 2012

International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) will be constructed in 2019 according to the JIA (Joint Implementation Agreement) of 7 countries. The ITER fusion fuel cycle consists of fusion vacuum vessel, tritium plant and fuelling system. The tritium plant provides the functions of storage, delivery, separation, removal and recovery of the deuterium and tritium used as fusion fuels for the ITER. The tritium plant systems supply deuterium and tritium from external sources and treat all tritiated fluids from ITER operation through Storage and Delivery System (SDS), Tokamak Exhaust Processing (TEP), Isotope Separation System (ISS), Water Detritiation System & Atmosphere Detritiation System (WDS & ADS) and Analysis System (ANS). In this paper, the functions and design requirements of the major systems in the tritium plant and the status of R&D are described. Korean party is developing the SDS for ITER tritium plant and partially attaining the WDS technology through the construction and operation experience of the Wolsong Tritium Removal Facility (WTRF). Now it is expected that researchers in other fields such as chemical engineering take part in the development of upcoming technologies for ISS and TEP.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.372-379
• /
• 2011

A nuclear fusion fuel cycle plant is composed of various subsystems such as a hydrogen isotope storage and delivery system, a tokamak exhaust processing system, and a hydrogen isotope separation system. Korea shares in the construction of its ITER fuel cycle plant with the EU, Japan, and the US, and is responsible for the development and supply of the storage and delivery system. The authors thus present details on the development status of hydrogen isotope storage technologies for nuclear fusion fuel cycle plants. We have developed various hydride beds of different size. We have realized a hydrogen delivery rate of 12.5 $Pam^3/s$ with a typical 1242g-ZrCo bed.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.128-135
• /
• 2013

The nuclear fuel cycle plant is composed of various subsystems such as a fuel storage and delivery system (SDS), a tokamak exhaust processing system, a hydrogen isotope separation system, and a tritium plant analytical system. Korea is sharing in the construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fuel cycle plant with the EU, Japan, and the US, and is responsible for the development and supply of the SDS. Hydrogen isotopes are the main fuel for nuclear fusion reactors. Metal hydrides offer a safe and convenient method for hydrogen isotope storage. The storage of hydrogen isotopes is carried out by absorption and desorption in a metal hydride bed. These reactions require heat removal and supply respectively. Accordingly, the rapid storage and delivery of hydrogen isotopes are enabled by a rapid cooling and heating of the metal hydride bed. In this study, we designed and manufactured a vertical-type hydrogen isotope storage bed, which is used to enhance the cooling performance. We present the experimental details of the cooling performances of the bed using various cooling parameters. We also present the modeling results to estimate the heat transport phenomena. We compared the cooling performance of the bed by testing different cooling modes, such as an isolation mode, a natural convection mode, and an outer jacket helium circulation mode. We found that helium circulation mode is the most effective which was confirmed in our model calculations. Thus we can expect a more efficient bed design by employing a forced helium circulation method for new beds.