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Division Spotlight
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.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
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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Latest News
Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
Yu Huang, Gaofeng Lu, Youshi Zeng, Nan Qian, Xinxin Chu, Guanghua Wang, Shengwei Wu, Wei Liu
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 3 | March 2020 | Pages 458-466
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1633156
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Since the Pd/Ag membrane has a permselectivity for hydrogen isotopes, a permeator with a Pd/Ag membrane is developed to separate tritium from inert gases. First, a permeation experiment of pure H2 was carried out to determine the pressure exponent and the rate-determining step of permeation. It was found that the diffusion of H2 through the Pd membrane was the rate-determining step. Then, the separation of H2 from H2-Ar gas mixtures was carried out on the permeator to simulate the separation of tritium. Moreover, numerical simulation was utilized to study the concentration distribution of H2 in the permeator. The permeability of the Pd/Ag membrane was determined comparing the simulation results with the experimental data. The permeation flux of H2 through the Pd/Ag membrane is affected by permeability, the volume fraction of Ar in the feed gas, and the flow rate of the feed gas. In the condition of high permeability and Ar volume fraction, a phenomenon known as concentration polarization occurred. It can strongly affect the permeation of H2. Based on these results, an optimized design of the Pd/Ag permeator can be made to effectively separate tritium from other gases.