Trial examination of direct pebble fabrication for advanced tritium breeders by the emulsion method

Hoshino, Tsuyoshi

Demonstration power reactors (DEMOs) require advanced tritium breeders with high thermal stability. For the mass production of advanced tritium breeder pebbles, pebble fabrication by the emulsion method is a promising technique. To develop the most efficient pebble fabrication method, a new direct pebble fabrication process utilizing the emulsion method was implemented. A prior pebble fabrication process consisted of the preparation of raw materials followed by granulation. The new process integrates the preparation and granulation of raw materials. The slurry for the emulsion granulation of LiTiO as a tritium breeder consists of mixtures of LiCO and TiO at specific ratios. The average diameter of the obtained sintered LiTiO pebbles were 1.0 mm. The trial fabrication results suggest that the new process has the potential to increase the fabrication efficiency of advanced tritium breeder pebbles.