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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
Kitabata, Takuya
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 41 | Number 3 | May 2002 | Pages 356-360
Plenary | Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Tritium Science and Technology Tsukuba, Japan November 12-16, 2001 | doi.org/10.13182/FST02-A22611
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Two heavy water upgraders have been developed and operated in the Fugen Nuclear Power Station to keep the isotopic purity of the moderator around 99.7 wt% and to recover tritium from the degraded heavy water. One of the upgraders is a combined electrolysis catalyst exchange (CECE) process that consists of 90 stages of catalytic water-hydrogen isotopic separation units. This upgrader treats 10 m3/y of degraded heavy water, produces reactor grade heavy water, and lowers the tritium and heavy water in the waste to <3700 Bq/cm3 and <0.1wt%, respectively. The other one is simple electrolysis system and terminated its operation in 1999. Heavy water recycle is completed with these two upgraders in the Fugen. A filter-separation-type tritium monitor was developed. Daughter species of Rn-Tn are separated from sampled gas with hollow fiber filters made of perfluorosulfuric-acid resin before introducing to an ionization chamber. The detection limit of the monitor is 7.4E-03 Bq/cm3-air. The upgraders and monitor contributed to control airborne and liquid tritium releases from the Fugen lower than 18 TBq/y and 11 TBq/y, respectively.