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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.
Robert J. Demyanovich, Scott Lynn
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 12 | Number 3 | November 1987 | Pages 488-501
Technical Paper | Inertial Confinement Fusion | doi.org/10.13182/FST87-A25080
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Process designs were evaluated for the continuous, large-scale generation of singlet delta oxygen for use in a chemical oxygen-iodine laser. The excited singlet oxygen is generated from the chemical reaction of chlorine gas with basic hydrogen peroxide. The chemical reaction also produces a large waste brine stream that can be controlled by recycling through a chlor-alkali cell, which regenerates the reactants Cl2 and NaOH. To prevent deactivation of this excited oxygen, a large excess of hydrogen peroxide is typically used to change the reaction mechanism. This use of excess hydrogen peroxide or nonstoichiometric generation leads to substantial increases in capital and operating costs when compared with theoretical stoichiometric (no excess) generation. For the generation of singlet oxygen at a 500-kW level of equivalent lasing power, a theoretical stoichiometric plant producing all reactants has an estimated capital cost of $38 million. The capital cost for a nonstoichiometric plant is $98 million. Operating costs are $0.68 and $2.12/lb of singlet oxygen, respectively. The energy efficiency of generation is ∼6.3% for the theoretical stoichiometric flow sheet and 3.3% for the nonstoichiometric flow sheet. At this nonstoichiometric efficiency, the use of a chemical oxygen iodine laser for photoneutralization of negative ion beams is probably not competitive with other technologies below a 750-keV neutral beam level.