Quantitative measurement of beryllium-controlled redox of hydrogen fluoride in molten Flibe

• Published in: Fusion engineering and design 2006-02, Vol.81 (1), p.541-547
• Main Authors: Simpson, Michael F., Smolik, Galen R., Sharpe, John P., Anderl, Robert A., Petti, David A., Hatano, Yuji, Hara, Masanori, Oya, Yasuhisa, Fukada, Satoshi, Tanaka, Satoru, Terai, Takayuki, Sze, Dai-Kai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Beryllium; Controled nuclear fusion plants; Corrosion; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Flibe; Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy; Kinetics; Redox
• ISSN: 0920-3796; 1873-7196
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2005.08.031

In order to investigate the viability of using Be as a redox agent in a molten Flibe (2LiF–BeF 2) blanket, a series of kinetics experiments were performed in which HF was bubbled through Flibe with varying concentrations of dissolved Be. The feed gas consisted of 910–1800 ppm HF and 0.1–0.2 vol.% H 2, with the balance comprised of He. A cylindrical rod of Be was contacted with the salt for periods of time ranging from 600 to 3600 s, resulting in mole fractions in the salt ranging from 4.3 × 10 −5 to 2.6 × 10 −4. Initially, high HF conversion levels in excess of 90% were observed. As HF reacted with the Be, the conversion levels slowly dropped over a period of several hours to a few days. A simple kinetic model, which is first order in both HF and Be concentration has been coupled with a non-mixed reactor model to yield a good fit to the data. Application of this model indicates that Be should be suitable for keeping the TF concentration in the salt below 0.02 ppb.