The breeding blanket interface (BBI): recent results for the solid breeder and the aqueous salt solution blanket concepts

The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at Los Alamos, New Mexico, is a full-scale facility dedicated to testing tritium processing for fusion reactors. Adding a breeder blanket interface (BBI) to the TSTA is being studied. The BBI is to test the processing required for the tritium output streams for the various fusion-reactor breeder blankets. In the current phase of the study, the characteristics of the output from the various blanket types are being evaluated. Defining the output stream with respect to H/T ratio, impurity content, and radionuclide content is emphasized. Assessments of the solid breeder blanket (ceramic, Li₂O) and the aqueous salt solution blanket are reported. For the aqueous lithium salt solution blanket, the chemical systems are very complex, involving a number of phenomena, including radiolysis, corrosion, and electrolysis. A system of about 0.01 ITER scale may be added to the TSTA. For the solid breeder blanket, no critical issues are identified. A system of about half-ITER scale, possibly even full scale, may be added to the TSTA