Breeding blanket

The tritium breeding blanket (also known as a fusion blanket, lithium blanket or simply blanket), is a key part of many proposed

Of these three duties, it is only the breeding portion that cannot be replaced by other means. For instance, a large quantity of water makes an excellent cooling system and neutron shield, as in the case of a conventional nuclear reactor. However, tritium is not a naturally occurring resource, and thus is difficult to obtain in sufficient quantity to run a reactor through other means, so if commercial fusion using the D-T cycle is to be achieved, successful breeding of the tritium in commercial quantities is a requirement.

ITER runs a major effort in blanket design and will test a number of potential solutions.^[2] Concepts for the breeder blanket include helium-cooled lithium lead (HCLL), helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB), and water-cooled lithium lead (WCLL) methods.^[3] Six different tritium breeding systems, known as Test Blanket Modules (TBM) wil be tested in ITER.^[4]

Some breeding blanket designs are based on lithium containing ceramics, with a focus on lithium titanate and lithium orthosilicate.^[5] These materials, mostly in a pebble form, are used to produce and extract tritium and helium; must withstand high mechanical and thermal loads; and should not become excessively radioactive upon completion of their useful service life.

To date no large-scale breeding system has been attempted, and it is an open question whether such a system is possible to create.

A