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Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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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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High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
M. Komuro, Y. Ichimasa, M. Ichimasa
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 41 | Number 3 | May 2002 | Pages 422-426
Biology | Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Tritium Science and Technology Tsukuba, Japan November 12-16, 2001 | doi.org/10.13182/FST02-A22624
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The distribution of molecular tritium (HT) oxidation activity and HT oxidizing bacteria in 5-cm soil sections from the surface to 20 cm depth in natural and cultivated fields in Mito was determined in in vitro experiments. HT oxidation activity was the highest in the top section of the natural soil, about twice that of the top section of the cultivated soil, and decreased with depth. From the natural and cultivated soil sections, 195 and 969 isolated strains with HT oxidation activity were obtained, respectively. The distribution profile of the occurrence rate and the sum of oxidation activity of HT oxidizing bacteria in each soil section were consistent with that of HT oxidation activity in the soil section. Most of the HT oxidizing isolates, 84% for the natural soil and 94% for the cultivated soil, were actinomycetes, Gram-positive bacteria.
