Isotope exchange reaction on Li 2ZrO 3

Abstract

Lithium meta-zirconate, Li 2ZrO 3, is considered as a strong candidate for the tritium breeding material in a D-T fusion reactor. The isotope exchange reaction rate between hydrogen isotopes in the purge gas and tritium on the surface of Li 2ZrO 3 has not been quantified yet, although helium gas with hydrogen or deuterium is planned to be used as the blanket purge gas in the recent blanket designs. The mass transfer coefficient representing the isotope exchange reaction between H 2 and D 2O or that between D 2 and H 2O in the Li 2ZrO 3 is experimentally obtained as K F,ex1 = 1.60 × 10 2 exp(− 121[kJ/mol]/RT) in this work. Discussions about the effect of temperature, concentration of hydrogen in the purge gas or flow rate of the purge gas on the conversion of tritiated water to tritium gas, HT instead of H 2, are also performed.