Reduction of impurities and activation of lithium orthosilicate breeder materials

The fabrication of lithium orthosilicate pebbles by melt-spraying enables a facile reprocessing of irradiated material by direct remelting. However, the necessary waiting period for the reprocessing is determined by the long-term activation of the material under irradiation that is dominated by the impurities. The activation characteristics for the current composition of lithium orthosilicate pebbles were assessed on the basis of three-dimensional activation calculations for a fusion power reactor. The calculations were used to identify critical amounts of impurities and were compared to the results of a hypothetical, pure material without impurities, as well as to a calculated Li-6 enriched OSi composition. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.