Enhanced safety and performance improvements have been made to the liquid-wall HYLIFE reactor, yielding the current HYLIFE-II conceptual design. Liquid lithium has been replaced with a neutronically thick array of flowing molten-salt jets (Li[sub 2]BeF[sub 4] or Flibe), which will not burn, has a low tritium solubility and inventory, and protects the chamber walls, giving a robust design with a 30-yr lifetime. The tritium inventory is 0.5 g in the molten salt and 140 g in the metal of the tube walls, where it is less easily released. The 5-MJ driver is a recirculating induction accelerator estimated to cost $570 million (direct costs). Heavy-ion targets yield 350 MJ, six times per second, to produce 940 MW of electrical power for a cost of 6.5 cents/kW[center dot]h. Both larger and smaller yields are possible with correspondingly lower and higher pulse rates. When scaled up to 1934 MW (electric), the plant design has a calculated cost of electricity of 4.5 cents/kW[center dot]h. The design did not take into account potential improved plant availability and lower operations and maintenance costs compared with conventional power plant experience, resulting from the liquid wall protection. Such improvements would directly lower the electricity cost figures. For example,more » if the availability can be raised from the conservatively assumed 75% to 85% and the annual cost of component replacement, operations, and maintenance can be reduced from 6% to 3% of direct cost, the cost of electricity would drop to 5.0 and 3.9 cents/kW[center dot]h for 1- and 2-GW (electric) cases. 50 refs., 15 figs., 3 tabs.« less

HYLIFE-II: A Molten-Salt Inertial Fusion Energy Power Plant Design — Final Report

Extraction of lithium with functionalized lithium ion-sieves

http://www.fusion.ucla.edu/abdou/abdou%20publications/1999/abdou-exploring%20novel%20high%20power.pdf

Exploring novel high power density concepts for attractive fusion systems

Modified APEX reactor as a fusion breeder

Rejuvenation of light water reactor spent fuel in fusion blankets

The High-Yield Lithium-Injection Fusion Energy (HYLIFE) concept to convent inertial confinement fusion energy into electric power has undergone intensive research and refinement at LLNL since 1978. This paper reports on the final HYLIFE design, focusing on five major areas: the HYLIFE reaction chamber (which includes neutronics, liquid-metal jet-array hydrocynamics, and structural design), supporting systems, primary steam system and balance of plant, safety and environmental protection, and costs. An annotated bibliography of reports applicable to HYLIFE is also provided. We conclude that HYLIFE is a particularly viable concept for the safe, clean production of electrical energy. The liquid-metal jet array, HYLIFE's key design feature, protects the surrounding structural components from x-rays, fusion fuel-pellet debris, neutron damage and activation, and high temperatures and stresses, allowing the structure to last for the plant's entire 30-year lifetime without being replaced. 127 refs., 18 figs.

/pdf/high-yield-lithium-injection-fusion-energy-hylife-reactor-3yqlxj2tmq.pdf

J.H. Pitts

Papers

High-Yield Lithium-Injection Fusion-Energy (HYLIFE) reactor