Re:New design could finally help to bring fusion power close...
by throwaway_yy2Di on Monday August 10, 2015 @06:59PM
(#10038022)
They actually have nearly opposite goals. The fusion blanket is supposed to transmute lithium to tritium [0] (create more fusion fuel), so it has capture as many neutrons as possible. The fission-reactor coolant is supposed to be transparent -- to capture as few neutrons as possible. Both of them need isotopic separation of lithium to be practical. But in opposite directions. ARC's FLiBe needs to be Li-6 enriched, and MSR needs to be Li-6 depleted.
The MSRE fuel used 99.993% Li-7 (your link), and the ARC blanket is 90% Li-6 (arXiv paper).
The MSRE fuel used 99.993% Li-7 (your link), and the ARC blanket is 90% Li-6 (arXiv paper).
[0] https://www.iter.org/mach/tritiumbreeding