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General Atomics announces breeding blanket test facility
General Atomics announced it is developing design concepts in collaboration with the Department of Energy for the Fusion Blanket Component Test Facility (BCTF), which will test full-scale breeding blankets.
“No one has tested a fusion blanket at this scale. While there are more research and development challenges ahead, a BCTF brings us closer to turning fusion from proven science into practical, sustainable power,” said Anantha Krishnan, senior vice president of the General Atomics Energy Group.
Haihua Zhao, Per F. Peterson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 180 | Number 3 | December 2012 | Pages 422-436
Technical Paper | Special Issue on the Initial Release of MCNP6 / Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A15353
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Generation IV high-temperature-reactor (HTR) systems use closed gas Brayton cycles to realize high thermal efficiency in the range of from 40% to 50% or more. The waste heat is removed through coolers by water at a substantially greater average temperature than in conventional condensing Rankine steam cycles. This paper introduces an innovative advanced multieffect distillation (AMED) design that can enable the production of substantial quantities of low-cost desalinated water using waste heat from closed gas Brayton cycles. A reference AMED design configuration, optimization models, and simplified economics analysis are presented. By using an AMED distillation system, one can fully utilize the waste heat from closed gas Brayton cycles to desalinate brackish water and seawater without affecting the cycle thermal efficiency. Analysis shows that cogeneration of electricity and desalinated water can increase net revenues for several Brayton cycles while generating large quantities of potable water. AMED combined with closed gas Brayton cycles could significantly improve the sustainability and economics of Generation IV HTRs.