Feasibility study on the blanket tritium recovery system using the palladium membrane diffuser

Tritium bred in the solid breeder blanket of a fusion reactor is extracted by passing H2 added helium sweep gas through the blanket itself. In the blanket tritium recovery system (BTR), tritium is separated from sweep gas. Palladium (Pd) membrane diffuser is one of the applicable processes for BTR. Recently, the conceptual design study on the demonstration reactor with supercritical water cooling blanket, that is named ‘DEMO2001’, has been carried out in JAERI. In this report, the application of the Pd diffuser to the blanket sweep gas condition is discussed based on DEMO2001 conditions. The counter flow may be the most opportune flow type for the Pd diffuser. However, Pd diffuser is suitable for the secondary process, like the purification process, after the tritium in the sweep gas has been concentrated by another method.