Research and Development of Lithium Titanate with added Li Necessary for Stably Supplying Fuel Tritium to Fusion Reactors

Abstract

D-T fusion reactors need deuterium (D) and tritium (T) as their fuel. Since tritium does not exist in nature, it is necessary to produce tritium artificially by neutron irradiation of a lithium-filled blanket. Lithium titanate (Li₂TiO₃) has been recognized as one of the primary candidates for tritium breeder because of its good tritium release and its low activation. Addition of H₂ to the inert sweep gas at the blanket has been proposed for enhancing the release of the generated tritium from the breeder material. However, Li₂TiO₃ is reduced in a H₂ atmosphere at an operating temperature above 600℃, which will lead to degradation of the tritium release characteristics. The reduction of Ti in Li₂TiO₃ from Ti^4＋ to Ti^3＋ is accompanied by mass decrease due to decrease in oxygen content of Li2TiO3. In this study, development of Li₂TiO₃ with added Li was attempted to improve its resistance to deoxidization at high temperatures.