Beschreibung:
<jats:p>Lithium stable, lithium conducting electrolytes may improve methods to attain high tritium breeding yields required by many current D-T fusion energy production designs. Two ways such an electrolyte could aid is by reducing one unit of operation from the current baseline method from the process of tritium extraction from the breeding blanket, and by enrichment of lithium-6 from natural lithium to allow for use of a lithium-6 enriched blanket in combination with blanket neutron multipliers to attain a higher breeding per fusion neutron. </jats:p>
<jats:p>Lithium tritide (LiT) is generated as a by-product of a tritium reaction with lithium cooling blanket material in fusion reactors for tritium breeding and power production. Recovery of tritium from the blanket materials is important to prevent environmental release and to recover valuable material. The Maroni process is the leading method to recover LiT from the lithium blanket using a molten salt liquid-liquid extraction method. The Maroni process can introduce salt components into the fusion reactor if separation is not complete and that can cause corrosion and activation of the salt components. SRNL has developed a direct LiT electrolysis method in the lithium blanket material using solid lithium ion conductors and has shown the evolution of hydrogen from the Li/LiH material during electrolysis. This method has been demonstrated at SRNL and results will be discussed. </jats:p>
<jats:p>The U.S. has historically stockpiled lithium-6 and lithium-7 for use in nuclear applications. These stockpiles of lithium isotopes are being depleted and the U.S. closed production facilities in the 1980's. The longest operating plants in the U.S. used the column exchange (COLEX) process, which utilized an Hg-Li amalgam that preferentially forms with lithium-6. The operation of these plants resulted in significant environmental contamination with mercury (Hg). SRNL is now conducting research to use the same type of electrolyte as used for LiT electrolysis to enrich lithium in lithium-6. This research is to develop a high temperature method for lithium-6 enrichment that includes conduction of lithium-6 through a solid state electrolyte and the formation of a molten Li-Bi alloy. Both the solid state conduction of Li and the formation of the Li-Bi alloy can potentially lead to enrichment of lithium-6 based on current research findings and thermodynamic modeling. Combining the conduction and alloying steps will make it possible to create a smaller and more efficient separation process. The use of bismuth (Bi) is much more environmentally friendly than Hg and has a similar energetic change, which assists the separation process. Results to date will be discussed.</jats:p>