Lasarte34 t1_j18vxk4 wrote
Reply to comment by zimirken in How do fusion scientists expect to produce enough Tritium to sustain D-T fusion (see text)? by DanTheTerrible
How many tons of lithium are needed to generate a ton of tritium? (I figure nothing close the billion tons of coal, but I would love to know the math still)
EvanDaniel t1_j18xaek wrote
That ratio is just the atomic mass ratio.
One atom of lithium-6 (or 7) produces one atom of tritium. Atomic masses are 6 (or 7) for the Li, 3 for the tritium.
So for one ton of tritium you need 2 tons (or a little more) of lithium. And some amount more than that of beryllium, though I don't know what ratio that's proposed to be used at.
Game_Minds t1_j198wil wrote
A ton of tritium would also go a pretty long way for the cost of the exchange
Wyrggle t1_j19u0pg wrote
It's a molar ratio. In a perfect world, you need the same number of atoms as opposed to mass.
Neutron flux from fission reactors is on the order of 10^19 to 10^25 neutrons/cm^2/s depending on location in the core and would light be similar for fusion reactors. So you're correct you'd need the same amount of source material to generate 1 ton of tritium from 2 tons of Li-6 with 100% efficiency. However, you'd lose tritium via decay and hydrogen diffusion along with uncaptured neutrons paint through the Li-6 target.
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